Wine pairing ideas for this summer's fun and friendship

Photo: Chelsea Pridham/Unsplash

News USA -- "Wine and food pairings don't have to be complicated," says Riana Mondavi, a member of the fourth generation of the Mondavi wine family from Napa and an ambassador for her family's CK Mondavi and Family wines. "It's really about what you taste and smell in the wine and how you feel the wine brings out and compliments the food you are eating."

If done correctly, a proper pairing can enhance the flavors of both the food and your chosen bottle of wine. The intensity of a specific food or wine depends on a lot of things such as sugar, acid, salt and spice. The food should not overpower the wine (and vice versa). By matching a light wine with light fare or a heavy dish with a heavier wine, the food and wine balance each other out and their intensities line up for a perfect pairing.

For example, if you have a dish that has a lot of citrus in it, it's great to pair with a Chardonnay, as it also has hints of citrus in it. The two enhance each other and balance out the flavors. A lighter white wine, such as a Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio, pairs well with summer vegetables, as it brings out the crisp, light flavor profiles. Red wines typically pair best with richer food such as steak and sweets, but there's no set rule. Many people pair a Merlot with seafood.

CK Mondavi and Family has made wine pairing easy for everyone, and this summer they invite you to play around with pairings. They've created a downloadable "Wine pairing made simple" guide on their website: https://www.ckmondavi.com/ckm-pairings. They also added flavor descriptors to each bottle of CK Mondavi and Family. With descriptors such as "Rich & Velvety" for Cabernet Sauvignon and "Bright & Fresh" for Chardonnay, anyone can quickly decide on a wine.

Riana Mondavi also recommends impromptu wine pairings with friends. "It's fun to get together with a group to see what everyone tastes or smells in the wine," she adds. "Everyone has a different opinion and it's fun to see what we all come up with."

So, this summer, have some fun pairing wines with your favorite foods. And while doing it, enter CK Mondavi and Family's monthly #pairNpost drawing, where you can enter to win a prize. Just snap a photo of your favorite pairing and tag it with #pairNpost on Twitter or Instagram.

It's all part of a new, fun approach to wine. After all, summer is about enjoying yourself and what better way to enjoy life than at the table with friends and family?

Illinois taxes are driving families and businesses out of the state

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by Mark Richardson
Illinois News Connection

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Studies show the tax burden on people and businesses in Illinois - and particularly those in Chicago - is among the highest in the country.

Economists warn that unless lawmakers change how they write budgets, Illinois is likely to continue its decade-long exodus of residents and businesses.

Reports show that the median Illinois household has a tax liability of $9,500, while Chicago's debt per taxpayer is almost $42,000.

Justin Carlson is a policy analyst for Illinois Policy Institute. He said the main driver of debt at both Chicago City Hall and the statehouse is underfunded pensions.

"It means higher taxes and higher fees, as the pension systems have required more funding," said Carlson. "That's less funding that you have for education or health care or social programs, or violence prevention, different things that communities rely on."

Carlson said the watchdog group Truth in Accounting reports Chicago's debt totals almost $49 billion, with two-thirds of that owed to the city's pension fund. In recent years, the city has almost doubled its property taxes to make its annual payments.

Carlson said across the state, the annual effective tax rate is just over 15%, making it the largest among the 50 states and Washington, D.C.

He said the high taxes are taking the biggest bite out of the incomes of people in marginalized neighborhoods and communities of color.

"That burden shifts even more to the people who can't afford to leave or don't want to leave," said Carlson. "Your taxes are just going to continue to go up, and that kind of feeds this vicious cycle where you have less money to draw from, and then the people who are left need to pay for higher and higher burdens."

He said part of the problem is that the formula for funding public pensions is spelled out in the Illinois Constitution, giving lawmakers very little leeway in how they write the budget.

"If you wanted to reform public pensions in Illinois, you would need to advance a constitutional amendment in order to change the benefits that are currently being offered," said Carlson. "So it's the case really locally and statewide of pensions being over-promised."