Instagram story viewer> @deb.vanpelt> Tagged

Deborah Van Pelt

@deb.vanpelt

2.3K

followers

685

following

Let us drink wine to remember what kind of mystical beauties life offers us and to comprehend what sort of magic potions existence has!
CM WSET

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Nashville, what a life chapter 🖤Eleven of the best years. I am forever grateful for my time here, it brought me friends who have become family, countless laughs, so much love, and priceless memories. I will miss it dearly, but will be back for many visits🥹
On to the next chapter ✌🏻

286

68

Germany wine study night (with French bubbles to start😬)

The wines of the night were: Pol Roger bubbles, Mosel Trocken Riesling, Rheingau Spatlese Riesling, and a Spatbugunder.

Foods- pretzels with German mustard, Stilton Cheddar, Brie, Chive Cheddar, Roast Turkey, Apple pie and vanilla gelato

A little more on these wines - we started with Pol Roger Reserve Champagne even though it was Germany night because we had a little celebration to toast to🥂Pol Roger is super notable in the wine world, and always served at royal weddings ! It paired well with everything, as bubbles do!

On to Germany- a Trocken Riesling is a dry Riesling and pairs beautifully with turkey - hint hint Thanksgiving is coming up. It also paired well with the mustard and pretzels!
Spatlese Riesling is made from grapes that are picked later during harvest, when they are more ripe, meaning they have more sugar at fermentation- these will usually have more tropical fruit notes and taste a bit sweeter on the palette versus a Trocken. This paired so well with Stilton and the Brie!
Spatburgunder is simply Pinot Noir but grown in Germany. I am personally a huge Pinot Noir gal, and love a Burgundy. Spatburgunder is wildly different and if i had to describe it, it’s just a spicier wilder Burgundy while maintaining high acid and cherry notes. This paired well with the turkey and some BBQ sauce.

The star of the show for me was both the Trocken and Spatlese Rieslings with apple pie. My god. It’s delicious!

German wines, particularly rieslings are largely overlooked in our market, but they are truly special and worth a try- I would note though, these are best paired with food versus drinking on their own. The compliment of food helps them to truly shine!

Cheers ! 🍷

#winenight #germany #germanwine #riesling #winestudy #spatburgunder #polroger

3

11

September snaps 📸

116

4

My favorite wines and pairings from August (in no particular order):
1. Spanish Study Night: Muga Rosé, Martin Codax Albariño, and R. Lopez Heredia Rioja - all 3 were fabulous with spanish cheeses and paella!
2. Nuits Saint Georges 1er Cru “Les Pruliers”
3. Castagnoli Chianti Classico - fabulous with pizza!
4. Le Petit Ducru de Ducru Beaucaillou Saint Julien - AMAZING wine especially with a Burger! (If I had an August favorite this might have been it)
5. Burgundy Study Night: Montagny Premier Cru, Albert Bichot Chablis, Domaine Thevenot-Le Brun, Domaine Billard Pere et Fils Beaune Burgundy- all paired fabulous with an assortment of french cheeses and Croque Monsieur
6. Morgon 2022 ‘Cuvee Corcelette” Beaujolais- paired this with Clam Pasta and it was fab
7. Cremant de Bourgogne (Burgundy Bubbles) with a burger - also a fabulous pairing - bubbles and fatty or fried foods!
8. Italy Study Night: Limizzani Vermentino, La Combarbia Vin Nobile de Montepulciano, Vietti Barbera - We did light snacks this night, italian bread and cheeses. The La Combarbia was the winner here, straight from Italy (thanks @deb.vanpelt )
9. All the Rosé for Fantasy Football Draft- Tavel is my favorite here and paired with literally any and all the cheese and snacks that I was stress eating whilst drafting

3

10

Piedmont study night 🇮🇹

It doesn’t get much better than Piedmont when it comes to Italian wines! I was super excited for this study session for the king, Barolo. But honestly, the Arneis stole my heart.

This was my first time tasting Arneis and tbh it might replace Sancerre as my favorite white. Arneis is called “the white Barolo”. It is medium bodied, medium acidity, with notes of pear, yellow apple, and honey. What made this a stunner for me was that it paired well with literally everything we tried. Truffle pasta, cheeses, meats, and even pizza which I’d never have thought ! Ya’ll, it was just so SO good, if you find it on a menu or in a store, give it a try!!!

Okay so the main event was supposed to be Barolo, and it was still, (kind of) lol. @deb.vanpelt decanted half of the Barolo and kept the other half bottled to taste test next to each other to compare.
This. Blew. My. Mind.
After just about two hours decanted the wine smelled and tasted almost completely different. 🤯 lesson learned, decant your Barolo!!

Lastly, we tried Barolo next to a humble Langhe Nebbiolo. Those who do not know this, Barolo is Nebbiolo, but gets its name from its prestige vineyard sites, and stricter rules on aging. Langhe Nebbiolo’s are a great, more budget friendly way to enjoy Piedmont wines! They also can drink a little younger than Barolo. This wine was also fab, but just not as complex and developed as the Barolo, which is expected and totally okay!

All pairings were Italian, of course and of course, the reds and the meatballs🤌🏻🤌🏻🤌🏻

Another fabulous wine night with my fave Somm gals 🍷

3

6

Had so much fun in TN!🩷

17

2

Last night’s tasting lineup: Southern Rhône Valley

1.2021 E. Guigial Viognier - Côtes du Rhône
2. 2023 Chateau De Trinquevedel Rosé - Tavel
3 & 4 were both Southern Rhône red blends from very different regions that we wanted to do a side by side tasting, and the difference was insanity.
3. 2019 Chateau De Rouanne - Vinsobres
4. 2021 Domaine De Beaurenard - Rasteau
(Not pictured, the additional 2 Côtes du Rhône reds we included last minute hehe🤣)

We tried all with traditional pairings, and all were phenomenal:
Viognier with grilled peaches and brie 🤌🏻
Rosé with Salmon 2 ways; simply prepared and blackened 🤌🏻
Southern Rhône blends with BBQ Beef, and Pulled Pork - and then Cherry pie for dessert.🤌🏻 The Vinsobres was super tannic, and went great with the beef and the pork. The Rasteau did not stand up to the pork so much and drank lighter.

We also tried all the wines with an assortment of cheeses, olives, and some meats! 🤌🏻🤌🏻

It was a truly perfect night of wines and pairings! But for me, the absolute show stopper was the Rosé. It paired well with literally everything, especially the salmon, an herby cheese, and surprisingly the cherry pie. It is crisp, clean, drinks almost like a light red, and elevated the flavors of food so beautifully. I will likely be drinking this all summer!

Cheers! 🍷

3

5

Two somm’s take Broadway 💃🏻and here is what we sipped on🍷🥂

#broadwaygirls #sommelier #sommlife #morganwallen

3

2

Happy Easter 🌅✟

Today is a reminder that every single day we have the opportunity to grow. Thankful for the friends who help ME grow in different ways every day 💕

3

15

Last nights study session was Rhône River Valley focused. We enjoyed 3 different Côtes du Rhône, 2 red and 1 white paired with BBQ pork, fries, truffle Gouda, and finally with Dark Chocolate Raspberry bites 🤌🏻

If you don’t know too much about the Rhône, here are some highlights:
Côtes du Rhône is the wine you definitely have heard of. These wines can be sourced from anywhere in the Rhône, and are full bodied reds (typically blends of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre). You can drink these young. Côtes du Rhône also produces great whites (typically blends of Viognier, Marsanne, Roussanne).

Northern Rhône is known for some of the most expensive wines in the world, from Côte Rotie and Hermitage (which we did not enjoy last night, sigh).
Northern Rhône vineyards are steep terraces (slide 4). This region is all about Syrah. A producer to look for at the store is E. Guigal

Within Southern Rhône is my favorite region, Châteauneuf-du-Pape, you can abbreviate this to CdP.
CdP’s are rich, full bodied GSM red blends (whites are rare here but do exist) and typically bear the CdP coat of arms embossed on the bottle (slide 6) which makes them easy to spot at the wine store!

There are so many more fabulous wines from this region, another day, another post!

#rhône #cdp #cotesdurhône

3

8

My journey to become a Court of Masters Sommelier 🥂

To prepare, I studied @the.wine.bible and had the best mentor, @deb.vanpelt . Connecting the curriculum with tasting wine and trying food pairings is super helpful, and fun!

I started my journey in June, 2024 and passed my exam March, 2025. Follow along as I continue my Sommelier journey 🍷

40

7

2024: a year that felt like a dream come true. From wandering the romantic streets of Paris to getting lost in the vibrant souks of Morocco, soaking up the sun in Spain, embracing the timeless charm of Tuscany, and experiencing the magic of Japan—every destination left its mark. But the real treasure this year and every year? The wonderful friendships we made along the way. Here’s to more adventures, connections and unforgettable moments in 2025!

#YearInReview #TravelDiaries #2024Recap #Paris #Morocco #Spain #Tuscany #Japan #Wanderlust #Friendship #beavoyagiste

64

11