The Wine Academy and Decant by The Wine Academy were founded as a whole immersive wine education experience aimed at professional and wine aficionados alike. I attended the Spanish Wine Dinner featuring 5 wines and 4 meals prepared by Perry Culinary Services.
The hosts of the event were Mary Montalvo - Diploma of Wine Candidate, WSET Certified Educator, Spanish Wine Scholar with Honors, and former owner of the beloved Luisa's Cellar in Sanford. Also Chef Chris Perry - Owner of Perry Culinary Services, recently relocated from Charlotte to Central Florida, bringing years of fine dining expertise and global culinary experience to the area.
This was much more than wine and dinner. Mary is an encyclopedia of wine facts and shared so much more information than just the regions of Spain and the grapes. She is a dynamic host and by far this event was the most educational wine event I have attended. I have been to Spain and I loved how much this expanded on the basic information I learned during my trip.
The food prepared by Chef Chris was another highlight. He explained each course and how it was prepared and is normally served. Mary explained why she selected each wine to complement the course.
The dinner was held upstairs in a 'speakcheesy' owned by La Femme du Fromage within the East End Market. This is an elegant private dining room where Decant will be holding pop up events several times a month. The meal was upscale and authentic.
The menu for the Wines of Spain dinner:
- Reception Wine: Carlos Serres Cava Reserva 2019. We also got a bite of Spanish sausage in balsamic
-Pulpo Gallego paired with Ignacio Txakolina
-Tortilla Espanola paired with Sierras Verdes Mencia
-Carrillada de Ternera (slow braised beef cheeks with saffron rice)
paired with Carlos Seres Gran Reserva 2018
-Spanish Olive Oil Cake paired with Hidalgo Gobernador Oloroso Sherry
It was a small group of people so it was fun meeting new people and we had a short introduction by each attendee.
The wine portions were not a full pour but a generous amount. Full glasses and bottles to take home were available to purchase. Mary owns two wine stores in North Carolina. The prices of the wines were at a good discount from retail.
Chef Chris Perry is a seasoned private chef and his meals can also be booked through 'Takeachef' and it was mentioned Chris and Mary do corporate and private wine events too.
They have several upcoming wine classes and dinners planned which can be viewed on FB by following Decant Wine or checking ncwineacademy.com. read more