So what are some of the best wine choices for summer? Bob, a certified sommelier and wine instructor, has selected Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, unoaked Chardonnay,

Rosé, Gamay and Pinot Noir for tasting and will pair them with an array of summer foods, "things that are light, sort of a Mediterranean diet," he says.

Rather than serving full-portion summer dishes, Bob will interpret their taste through upscale open-face baguette versions of what Bob calls "church-lady sandwiches": egg salad, ham salad, tuna salad, salmon salad, and the like. For the tuna salad, for example, Bob will ask the kitchen to add capers and dill. Each food tasting will be accompanied by a two-ounce pour of one of the six wines.

 

By the time the event has concluded, participants will have had a mini-winetasting course. Before he studied to become a sommelier, Bob says, "nobody ever showed me the difference between drinking wine and tasting wine - and there's a huge difference."

"This is about wine and food pairing, which I think should be most people's interest because wine by itself is sort of a hollow exercise. But when you taste that correct wine with the right food, most people totally get it, so I hope there are some epiphanies there."

 

Tickets ($50) are available at Fanfare Books or by calling the SSO office: 519-271-0990. The event is a fundraiser for the Stratford Symphony and a $25 tax receipt will be issued with each ticket. 

Bob was on the Fanshawe College faculty for 30 years, teaching science courses first, then gradually moving into law (he took his law courses through King's College of the University of London). He took early retirement in 2000. He began his sommelier training in 2001 as one of 330 in the entering class at the International Sommelier Guild in Toronto. Four years later, he was one of six who completed the course. He now teaches wine courses, including the course at the Stratford Chefs School. He does restaurant wine lists as well, and has a wine buying club that holds tastings four times a year.