Maverick’s Wine Director Mike Pierce leads entertaining and interactive wine seminars one Wednesday a month—but true to the overall premise of irreverence that is Maverick, these are not your ordinary wine seminars. While the tasting themes change for each months experience, you can count on three hand-selected wines paired with a complementing, original dish from the award-winning kitchen. Join us every other Wednesday from 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm. Limited to 10 guests - $35 June 18th “Discover Zippy Austrian Wines” When is the last time you tasted any of the stunning, bright whites and light, unique reds coming out of Austria? We will taste two crisp whites, and a light, smoky, completely unique red that will blow your mind. Because of their natural acidity, these wines pair great with a wide variety of dishes. July 9th “Junk Food Wine Pairing Challenge #3” Mike will tackle four challenging foods that are often eaten but rarely, if ever, paired with wine. Think Pringles, pepperoni pizza and a few more surprises. You decide if the pairings work. This is one not to miss! July 23rd “American Sparkling Wine” -SOLD OUT Domestic Bubbly has come a long way, both stylistically and in terms of quality. We will taste and discuss three magnificent examples of this movement. Each sparkling wine will be paired with a complimenting dish from the kitchen. . August 20th “Cal-Ital Red Revolution” Barbera, Sangiovese, and Dolcetto are the workhouse red’s of Italy, with thousands of delicious and affordable examples imported every year. Unfortunately, too many California examples of these varietals simply taste like ubiquitous California red wine. The three examples we will taste capture the intrinsic character of these classic Italian varietals. Their subtle fruit, underlying earthiness and great acidity make them wonderful for diverse food pairing. . September 17th “My Favorite California Cabernet Sauvignons” We will taste the difference the right soil composition and growing climate can have on the structure of this easy to grow, worldly varietal. We will taste three Cabernets which have been aged properly, have not been over oaked or picked to ripe. These Mount Veeder, Rutherford and Alexander Valley offerings stand far and above most wallet exhausting Napa Cabernets being marketed as fine wines. October 8th “Junk Food Wine Pairing Challenge 4” Mike will once again tackle some challenging foods that are often eaten but rarely, if ever, paired with wine. Think french fries, Twinkies and a few more surprises. You decide if the pairings work. This is one not to miss! October 22nd “A Real Wine and Cheese Tasting” Too many times the term "Wine and Cheese" has been used in a cliché manner to draw groups of people to events where the focus is rarely the wine and cheese. Furthermore, there has been recent scientific research showing that, because of their chemical makeup, cheese and wine are not natural partners. We will taste three artisan American cheeses and pair each of them with wines to defy this research. Mike’s "One of a Kind Wine Wednesday" Philosophy • Ordering, enjoying and pairing wine properly wine with food should never be intimidating • Anyone who enjoys wine enough to learn more about it is an expert in Mike’s book • The best way to learn about wine is by drinking it and talking about it • Seminars should inspire drinkers to take more risks when ordering wine or to provide tools to more fully enjoy a single varietal they have always loved • Most importantly it is all about fun - sheer delight and revelry are feelings that wine and food should conjure