wine pairing at Victoria & Albert's

[stitchywoman]

My DH and I are having our honeymoon in August and are going to V&A's our first night and it is covered by our dining plan, but we are thinking about adding the wine pairing. Is this something that will be worth it if we aren't completely knowledgeable about wine? I mean, we both like to have a glass of wine with dinner, but most of it is not expensive or is specialty from the vineyards near where we live. Can anyone who has done the wine pairing give me more info on it? Thank you so much.

By the way, hi, nice to meet all of you. I've been reading for a while, but just joined a few days ago. I guess I was afraid to make a fool of myself.

 

[Pakey]

Welcome to this dis and I hope you have a wonderful disneymoon.

The wine pairing at V&A is wonderful but let me warn you, you will get 4-5 glasses through the dinner and you will be feeling no pain unless you are used to drinking that much. I can't remember the exact number of glasses because I was a bit fuzzy after 3.

If you tell your waiter that you want to do the wine pairing but are not very familiar with wines, he/she will give you as much info as you probably can stand about the wine. Every glass they pour, they will tell you something about that wine, the winery it came from and why it was selected to accompany that particular course.

Depending on what the two of you order, you may not have the same wines as each other for every course.

Also, if you like coffee, please please get their coffee with your dessert. They use a reverse pressure pot that is quite unique and it's really a special way to end the evening watching that coffee brew at your table.

Have a great time. We try to make it to V&A every trip and it's just a great place to have a quiet and intimat dinner.

 

[davinakb]

The sommelier at V&A was very helpful when we've been at the Chef's Table. The wines were paired to go with the food, but he was also flexible. We let him know our preferences (white/red; dry, etc.), asked lots of questions which he was glad to answer. Pakey is right, it is a lot to drink so you may want to share the pairing, then order a glass or two separate for anything you order differently. And the wines themselves are not always fancy/expensive (one year we had King's Estate Pinot Gris, another Conundrum; both easily found at our local wine shop for less than $30) so don't worry about your knowledge or anything, just relax and enjoy!

 

[KristiMc]

Welcome and have a great time on your honeymoon.

We will be visiting V&A's for the first time in October for our anniversary.

I like the idea of sharing the wine - I think 3-4 glasses would be way to much. I don't want to forget to pick up the kids at the Neverland Club.

 

[Cobbo]

My DH and I are having our honeymoon in August and are going to V&A's our first night and it is covered by our dining plan, but we are thinking about adding the wine pairing. Is this something that will be worth it if we aren't completely knowledgeable about wine? I mean, we both like to have a glass of wine with dinner, but most of it is not expensive or is specialty from the vineyards near where we live. Can anyone who has done the wine pairing give me more info on it? Thank you so much.

By all means, do it! DW & I are known to enjoy a drink now and again, but by are no means heavy drinkers (well, okay, once upon a time I was, but that was a long long time ago in a land far far away)....DW is in fact, a lightweight. Nevertheless, we have enjoyed the wine pairings each time we've gone. True, it is 6 glasses (typically 1 champagne & 5 different wines 1/per course - and there is a different wine paired with every item in each course, so you really have a selection at each choice if you really saw one that you wanted to try in lieu of the one preselected - though I've only done that once @ V&A's b/c they do such an excellent job of pairing the wine & food), they will pour you tall or small depending upon your request, and if there's one you particularly like, they're sure to "find" you some more...

We've found that sometimes we make it through everthing, and other nights, DW may enjoy 3-4 and some of her others seem to make it over by my plate...and occassionally some of them are left on the table to be taken away....

Now, as for "being completely knowlegeable" about wines, I feel fairly comfortable in my knowledge, but I'm not one to try and piece apart each flavor or aroma in the glass, I just like to enjoy it as a whole, and I'm partial to cabernets....DW on the other hand tends to like rieslings and ice wines, but is typically just happy to find a wine low on sulfites since she has a sulfa allergy...I'm pleased to report that in all of our V&A outings, she has never had a problem with the wines & having a reaction (whereas she often can only have a sip or two at some of our local restaurants before her face heats up)....so not only are they delicious, but they are healthy too....

Anyway, you've seen my vote...go for it....after all, it's your disneymoon, right?

 

[moparop]

I am no wine effienciando, but I LOVED the wine pairing! It really changed the taste of the foods we ate.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

As others have said, it's a lot of wine. They will have no problem with your odering only one wine pairing. If asked, they will bring an extra glass for each course, or possibly even split the amount into two glasses prior to bringing it out to you.

And if they become aware you are on your honeymoon don't be too surprised if they offer you a (free) champagne toast.

 

[Mickey_Man]

As others have said, it's a lot of wine. They will have no problem with your odering only one wine pairing. If asked, they will bring an extra glass for each course, or possibly even split the amount into two glasses prior to bringing it out to you.

And if they become aware you are on your honeymoon don't be too surprised if they offer you a (free) champagne toast.

Another idea is to order certain glasses of wine with your meal as opposed to doing the entire wine pairing. You will pay per glass, so it might be best to just do the pairing and drink what you would like for each course.

I seem to recall 6 glasses - well, I think I recall 9 glasses for me and 3 for DW, but it is hard to recal anything after that much wine!! Seriously though, the wine pairing is part of the experience IMHO and as others have mentioned, your server will help you through the reasoning for the wine with each meal. It is not a pretentious atmosphere at all, which surprised me (in a good way). The wines do enhance the food flavors quite a bit, and it isn't a HUGE pour of wine with each serving.

 

[Uncleromulus]

The pours are pretty standard, and no law says that you have to finish every drop of every glass. We always do the wine pairings at V&A and given the pace of the meal, it really isn't TOO much wine. We always drive back to OKW after our dinner at V&A and it's never been any sort of problem.

 

[engle]

I think this is a matter of how you handle your liquor!! DH and I LOVE the wine pairing. We DO drink every drop (to quote DH: "I paid for it, you better drink it!!" LOL!!) and there is NO WAY we could drive back to anywhere.

We are not afficianados of wine but it goes SO perfectly with the food!!

BTW, what type of dining plan includes V&A???

 

[Cheshire Figment]

If you have the DDE you get a 20% discount on the entire bill (except the Chef's Table).

I think that the Platinum Plan allows V&A.

I don't think any of the other plans would include it; if they did it would take six or seven credits per person (and if you had DDP + Wine it would use at least three days of your wine allowance).

 

[ahcupcake]

If you have the DDE you get a 20% discount on the entire bill (except the Chef's Table).

I think that the Platinum Plan allows V&A.

I don't think any of the other plans would include it; if they did it would take six or seven credits per person (and if you had DDP + Wine it would use at least three days of your wine allowance).

Yes it's the Platinum Plan. Just ate there on May 26 and had the wine pairing.Just be aware that there are some food choices on the menu that are not included on the dining plan like Kobe beef or caviar those are paid oop like the alcohol.......I know they asked if we were celebating anything special when the ressie was made.I told them it was my b-day dinner and I got a little treat.
~~~AnnMarie

 

[buckeyebill1995]

My husband and I have gone twice and done the wine tasting both times. It was wonderful! I am a bit of a lightweight, however, and the second trip I was paying for it the next day! Good thing my DH can handle his liquor because like you, our DD was at the Mousekeeter Club downstairs and it was a bit...fuzzy...for me the second time around. This year I am planning ahead -- drinking lots of water ahead of time! It doesn't matter if you don't know a lot about wine -- you can learn a lot about wine while you are there.

 

[iluvpluto27]

I thought the pairings were well worth the cost, although I was a little tipsy by the end of the night. You do get fair bit of wine but it is spread out over a couple of hours, with a lot of food to help absorb the alcohol.

 

[tigger536]

I did not know you could split the pairing! That I could never drink that many glasses of wine and stand upright has been what has kept me from doing the pairing in the past! So thanks for the great info!

 

[stitchywoman]

yes, we got the platinum plan....

you can upgrade to the elite menu or the chef's table for a little more if you want, but when we made our reservation the chef's table was *pout* taken. I think we may end up splitting the pairing....partly because we have spent so much on the honeymoon. Thanks so much guys....Does anyone have any food recommendations for there too?

 

[Cheshire Figment]

As a general rule, other than the entrees and dessets there are only two choices per course. It is extremely common for each person to order differently for each course and share. That way you get the maximum experience.