I’ve always wanted to add a tapas tasting to our wine tasting experience at the winery and my dream is coming true! We just debuted our first Winter Series featuring our three classic Spanish wines, Albariño, Tempranillo and Graciano paired with three tapas. It’s a guided 90 minute tasting experience and is being held inside the bones of the winery. Guests loved getting the insider view and enjoyed having time to savor the wine and food pairings!

To pick the best food and wine pairings, I made several different tapas and tasted them with the wines. Our whole team at the winery signed on to be my “guinea pigs”  to give feedback. Tough job! Hahah.  Here is a peek at the tapas we enjoyed.

The first paring was our classically Spanish Albariño from our organically grown Terra Alta Vineyard which is located on site at the winery. It’s balanced citrus acidity goes perfectly with my Pistachio Feta Dip. This dip has fresh Meyer’s lemon juice along with parsley, dill and greek yogurt. Click here for the recipe!

The second combination was our flagship Liberty Oaks Vineyard Tempranillo. I paired this with these scrumptious Chorizo-Manchego Cheese Puffs. I love this recipe because you can make it in advance and freeze it. All you have to do it pop them in the oven for 30 minutes before serving and sprinkle with Pimenton Dulce (Spanish smoked paprika) and Sea Salt. Oh my gosh, I could eat these all day! Click here for the recipe!

The final tasting combination was with our Graciano from Terra Alta Vineyard. Did you know that Markus was the first person to plant Graciano in the United States back in 1999? We were also the first American winery to produce and bottle it! If you haven’t tried Graciano you are in for a treat! This wine is big and bold, yet soooo smooth and yummy! It’s bold flavors really matched well with our spoonful bites of Manchego Cheese and Olive Tapenade. This tapenade combines green and black olives along with some roasted red pepper. You can make your own (see this recipe) or pick up your favorite brand to save some time!

We had several guests who were there because someone had gifted them the Wine and Tapas Tasting Experience. They were first timers to the winery and they loved getting the insider stories! For reservations, go to our website or go to ExploreTock and book an experience!

Oh, and I forgot, we also served up a surprise dessert tapa! Shhhh…don’t tell anyone!