Food Ideas for winery party??

My parents are in the process of opening a small winery and I was talking to them about food for kind of soft opening, introduction, VIP party. They're looking at 50-70 people and the wines will mostly consist of Zinfandel and Riesling blends. It's Southern IL and the taste buds down there prefer sweeter wines, so they've basically got a dry,semi dry, semi sweet, and sweet wine made from the Zin and Riesling. They also made two wines with natural fruit juices, Riesling blended with blackberry and rasberry in a semi-sweet wine.
They were looking for foods that they'll be able to carry like meats, cheeses, and olives, but I think for a opening party they should step it up for the party and have a few hot appetizers or something more that helps to pair with the wines. It's only the two of them unless I get down to help them for the party, so simpler is better. The crowd mostly won't be sophisticated wine drinkers.

I'm thinking something like:

-Jerk Marinated Pork Skewer (sweeter and fruit blended wines in marinade)
-Meatballs in a red wine sauce (with their dry reserve Zin)
-Mini Beef Welligtons (if I can find a good price on tenderloin)
-Assorted Meats and Cheeses (it's easy, but expensive)
-Hummus, Spinach Dip,
-Melon with wrapped in procuitto or panchetta
-A Sangria made with a few wines

I'm not sure what other food to think of to go with the sweeter wines, everything I'm thinking of works best with dry wines, which aren't the big sellers down south.

I can think of tons of pairings with dry whites, and with dry reds, gotta think on this one.

Maybe some kind of bbq appitizers, not sure exactly what that would be. Most bbq i do is really messy. Maybe change the meatballs to bbq?

a bit off topic but is this winery near Carbondale? I went to school at SIU and used to go to all the wineries down in that area. Yes, you will most likely be dealing with college kids if this is the area your parents have their winery.

steinsato said:

a bit off topic but is this winery near Carbondale? I went to school at SIU and used to go to all the wineries down in that area. Yes, you will most likely be dealing with college kids if this is the area your parents have their winery.

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Yeah, they're right in the wine trail area, closer to the Anna/Cobden area. My parents both went to SIU, and so did I, my brother and my wife. Not sure when you went there, but wineries are just popping up there like crazy. I graduated around '99 and at the time there were basically 4-5, and now they're are around 20 I think. Sounds like the Strip is kind of dwindling down and more people are going out to the bigger wineries instead of bar hopping.
My parents are looking for more of the faculty, grad students, and local professionals for their market.

stuffed mushrooms
smoked beef tenderloin slices

Hophead75 said:

Not sure when you went there, but wineries are just popping up there like crazy. .

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I graduated in 2002 and even then there weren't more than 6 I'd say. It was always fun to do "the wine trail" especially when one of the wineries would host food and music on the weekends. What is your parent's winery called?

I recall one of the wineries always having some cajun type food catered in when I would go. Shrimp and Crablegs type stuff. Although in southern IL that wouldn't exactly be fresh either.

How about smoked and sliced duck breast, make a glaze with the sweet red wine reduction, some garlic, black peppercorns and a sprig or two of fresh thyme or rosemary.

+1 for the cheese fondu, almost limitless possibilities for dippers like apples, fresh veggies, breads,

I like pairing the sweeter wines with spicy foods,

A sweeter Riesling should go well with a chipotle marinated pork tenderloin, it would also go well with spicy creole blackened shrimp placed on a dollop of guacamole on small tortilla rounds.

I'm diggin' all the ideas, I knew asked the right people. Assuming something like 50 people show up, what's my best medium for a fondue, the kits are normally fairly small right? I could make the sauce and keep refreshing right? Suggestions on cheeses for sauce, more mild with some of their white wine splashed in?

You could do a couple of different types of fondue, sharp, mild or even a chocolate for fruit.

I use a mix of Gruyère, swiss, and cheddar, just a Little bit of butter and flour to make a roux, and a good belt of white wine and some white pepper, I also rub the inside of my fondue pot with a fresh garlic clove before adding the cheese, then toss it in whole into the fondue. allrecipes.com is where I found the one I use, there are a ton of recipes out there though.

Has anyone had much experience with using puff pastry or phyllo for appetizers? Is it an expensive item to buy? If I'm able to make it down there, it won't be until the night before the party, and I am trying to think of things that can be prepped in the done in small batches as people show up and keep refreshing the food. I just thought puff pastry would give me flexibility to use whatever fillings best match wines and have them all prepped and ready by the morning, and ready to throw in the oven.
They don't really have much space for chafing dishes or mainting hot items, but I think they are buying a fondue set, so that's one item that is set.

http://www.puffpastry.com/recipecollection.aspx?rc=1 from Pepperidge Farms website, some neat ideas, just not sure how much the puff pastry. I know it's cheap to make, but really takes a lot of time to do right. Anyone ever done a brie or camembert en croute? If so how would it serve?

Actually, probably scratch the en croute if we're doing a fondue, that might be cheese overkill.