Natural Wine and Paleo Food Event in Brooklyn, NYC

One of my best friends is a sommelier. Now that is a good friend to have if you ask me! Wine with Kristen is teaming up with Chef Melissa Gellert on Wednesday, August 27th in DUMBO, Brooklyn, NYC for a cool event natural wine and paleo food event.

During Popping Your Cork: Natural Wines and the Paleo Palate, you will cover topics such as

• Guides to pairing your food and wine
• Foods that are on the Paleo diet 
• Guides to buying natural wines
• Hints on how to start your own Paleo diet

This event is perfect for those eating gluten free and dairy free, along with anyone interested in finding out more about these types of diets and drinking good wines.

To learn more and to also find a discount code for this event, please visit the Popping Your Cork event page on the NYC Celiac Meetup website.

About your hosts:

Wine with Kristen founder, Kristen Siebecker, has been a great fan of viticulture and vinification since her first illicit sip of Boone's Farm wine beverage many years ago. She hosts "Popping Your Cork" a recreational wine class in New York as well as chats about wine on her blog, winewithkristen.com an dis co host of the podcast "I Feel Vine".

Kristen is a Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers, holds the Advanced Certificate from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust with distinction and is certified in Advanced Blind Tasting by the American Sommelier Association.

Chef Melissa Gellert is a culinary professional and has worked as a private chef and at yoga retreats in Vermont, New York, and Mexico.Shespecializes in health-suppportive, Paleo, gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan cuisines.

My GFF (Gluten-Free Friend) Kristen

What's a GFF? It's like a BFF (Best Friends Forever) but someone that is part of your gluten-free support system. It's your Gluten-Free Friend. Your #GFF is that go-to person who lets you vent about being gluten-free, goes out for a gluten-free dinner and/or drink with you, or celebrates being gluten-free and embraces everything that the Celiac Disease curveball has thrown your way.

The new "My GFF" program from Udi's is "aiming to help connect the gluten-free community and provide tools, recipes, and support for maintaining a healthy and joyful gluten-free lifestyle." Udi's recognizes that many deep friendships have been made over the years through a shared gluten-free bond and I couldn't agree more.

Through my eight years organizing the NYC Celiac Meetup group, my six years of blogging, and my obsession with social media, I have made a TON of gluten-free friends and I feel truly blessed about all of those connections. Out of all of the people I have met, there are only a small handful of people that have left the gluten-free friend world and have crossed over to "the other side." My friend Kristen is one of those people!

winewithkristen.com

Kristen, of the famous Wine with Kristen, is a Certified Sommelier with Celiac Disease living in New York City. We "met" via email in April 2010 about a gluten-free retreat in Vermont. Shortly after the emails started, a mutual Meetup group member invited us both to lunch. To say the meal was interesting is being very kind. (wink wink, Kristen!) Less than a month after meeting, Kristen offered to open up the doors of her lovely NYC apartment for a gluten-free snacks and wine pairing event. With her great personality and her kindness to volunteer an event in her home, I instantly clicked with Kristen .

Kristen and I on the porch at Good Commons

Over the past three years (which actually seems quite longer) Kristen and I moved from "Meetup friends" to real life friends. We started inviting each other out for dinner or drinks and talking less about our gluten-free lives and more about family, friends, and life in general. Towards the end of 2011, Kristen and I decided to work together to help plan a gluten-free retreat at Good Commons in Vermont. It was during this time of planning, emailing, and coordinating lots of gluten-free goodness that our friendship grew even stronger. It was a no-brainer to me that we would be roommates during the retreat weekend after all of the hard work we both put into coordinating the event. We ate well, drank well, and decompressed in the woods in Vermont together with 12 other gluten-free friends.



It was also at this time that I realized Kristen was truly someone I could count on. Not only was she stellar in helping to plan the Good Commons weekend, but I was dealing with a lot of stress in work and life in general and Kristen was an awesome listener and advice giver during this time. I trusted Kristen and confided in her, which was quite different from any other people I met through the Meetup group. I guess that is when Kristen officially became my GFF.

Kristen helping me celebrate my 34th birthday

Kristen and I meet regularly for food, drinks, and gossip in New York City. She lets me vent about the Meetup shenanigans on a regular basis yet stays out of the gluten-free drama. One thing I always admired about Kristen is that she dines out all the time, travels the world, and never lets Celiac stop her. This is how I try to live my life so Kristen's attitude towards Celiac resonates strongly with me. We are planning a fun-filled overnight in Atlantic City this fall and I am sure we will be friends for years to come.

I saw Kristen just last week at an Omission Beer and Udi's party here in New York City. Since Udi's is featuring #GFFs, I figured it was most appropriate to end this post with a picture of us at the Udi's party.

Cheers to you Kristen and thank you for being such an awesome GFF!

Do you have a #GFF? Share your story in the comments below and then head over to the Udi's Facebook page to share your story there too!

Popping Your Cork: Summer Wines and (Gluten-Free) Snacks Class!

Join my great friend Kristen of Popping Your Cork and WineWithKristen.com on August 7, 2013 at 6:30p.m. at a new easy access location in Brooklyn partnering with West Elm Market to showcase not only wine and food, but all the cool stuff you can use in your home with wine and food. And all students receive a 15% discount to use after class in the store!

This time we tackle summer wines and food pairings. We have Chef Laura Grimmer joining us again for a terrific selection of warm weather foods that go with summer wines to keep you cool. We will use all our senses in this class to showcase food and strive toward wine pairing perfection.

Have you ever felt intimidated by wine? Choosing a wine to go with your dinner make you nervous? This class will also give everyone from the beginner wine drinker to the experienced oenophile some easy guidelines.

We will cover topics such as:

• How to properly open a bottle of sparkling wine
• Going to or hosting a party?
• What type of wine should you bring/have?
• How to order off a restaurant wine list
• How to hold a wine glass
• How to identify what you like (or don't) about wine
• Tips to pair your wine and food

You'll be able to ask anything about wine and get helpful tips to pick the perfect wine to go with any situation. 

We will taste at least four great value wines that you can enjoy all summer. In addition, Chef Laura will prepare, present and provide three perfectly paired noshes. All food will be naturally gluten free as well!!!

With these nuggets of knowledge, you'll be in the coolest wine-nerd in the room! 

Prerequisites

For all levels! You must be 21 years or older to attend, bring photo ID. Before class, feel free to email me your personal wine experiences so we can use them as discussion points in this session.

Click here to register today!

$45 per person

Use code for 10% OFF: MEETUP10