BARBARALLEN KOCH PHOTO | Blue Duck Bakery owner and master baker Keith Kouris of Aquebogue hands out tastings of sunflower rye bread with creamy dark mushroom topping which was paired with 2007 Sherwood Manor red wine blend.

Nancy and Keith Kouris had never given much thought to which wine might go best with their artisanal breads and spreads. But that was the task the Blue Duck Bakery owners were faced with for Saturday’s ‘Winter Foodie Series’ event hosted by Sherwood House Vineyards.

With notes on the wines from Sherwood co-owner Brian Sckipp, Ms. Kouris researched the spreads as her husband made the breads.

“We tried to match the notes on the wines with the spreads and breads,” Ms. Kouris said.

The result was five pairings: classic Parisian with tarragon/lemon butter spread and 2011 unoaked chardonnay; Italian Pugliese Sesamo with smoked brie and 2010 chardonnay; raisin walnut Levain with olive tapenade and 2007 Oregon Road merlot; pain Levain with roasted red peppers and 2007 cabernet franc; and the last one was German sunflower rye with dark mushroom cream sauce and 2007 Sherwood Manor blend.

“This is always my favorite,” Mr. Sckipp’s told the tasters of the final wine.

BARBARAELLEN KOCH PHOTO | Sherwood House Vineyards co-owner Brian Sckipp tells the tasters about the Sherwood House Manor wine, which he said was one of his favorites.

Mr. Kouris said that the final pairing was one of the easiest.

“I thought out of the box on this one,” he said. “It was rich and creamy with the earthy mushroom spread. The sunflowers adds the nuttiness to it.”

Mr. Sckipp said the duo did “an excellent job of pairing the nuances of the wine with the nuances of the bread.”

“We are truly fortunate to find wonderful local purveyors on both forks,” he said.

Sherwood House Vineyards, which has vines planted on 28 acres in Mattituck since 1996, is in its second season of their ‘Winter Foodie Series’ organized by tasting room manager Ami Davey. The tasting room is in Material Objects in Jamesport and the wine and food pairings take place once a month from November  through February in a cozy barn on the back of the property. So far this season they had tastings with Catapano goat cheese of Southold and a charcuterie platter from Lombardi Market of Holtsville.

Next month the tasting will be spaghetti and meatballs prepared by Jamesport’s Grana Wood Fired Pizza’s chef David Plath.

BARBARAELLEN KOCH PHOTO | Mr. Kouris hands out tastings of sunflower rye bread with creamy mushroom toppings.

BARBARAELLEN KOCH PHOTO | Blue Duck Bakery owners Nancy and Keith Kouris of Aquebogue talk about how they researched pairing their artisanal breads with the wines.