Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/776532
106 / the tasting panel / january/february 2017 COGNAC French Grapes IN NAPA VALLEY COURVOISIER COGNAC BRINGS DEPTH AND DISTINCTION TO THE DINNER TABLE by Diane Denham / photos by Alexander Rubin Zahra Bates, Courvoisier National Brand Ambassador. hen you live and work in Cabernet-centric Napa Valley, there's a danger of developing myopia when it comes to food-and-wine pairings. Thus, an invite to a four-course meal entirely paired with Courvoisier Cognac was a concept too intriguing to miss for Napa Valley–area bartenders and beverage directors. A four-round match-up between food and a high-alcohol spirit might be like pitting a sumo wrestler against a toddler, or it might be a mind-expanding experience. While patrons of the Napa Valley Film Festival were on a feeding frenzy all over the valley and Yountville was bursting at the seams, the intimate dinner took place in an elegant tent on a restaurant lawn. The lovely, rose-colored welcome cocktail, the Crusta, was named for the crust of sugar rimming the glass, explained Zahra Bates, Courvoisier's charming National Brand