Most events do not have a sommelier. Yours can.
Most guests arrive at an event not expecting to be surprised by what is in their glass.
That is exactly what Martina is counting on.
Our general manager and sommelier has spent decades in fine dining, from the wine cellars of Minneapolis to Tulum to Hong Kong, studying under some of the most educated wine minds in the country and working in rooms where the beverage program was taken as seriously as the food. What all of that taught her is that the guest who expects the least is the most satisfying to surprise.
At a Create event, that surprise starts before anyone sits down. A drink arrives in your hand before you have had to make a single decision. The awkwardness of arrival dissolves. The room starts to feel familiar. It is a small thing that signals something larger: someone has already thought about you before you got here.
From there, Martina follows the food. Every glass, whether wine, cocktail, or non-alcoholic, is chosen around what is on the plate. Bitter against sweet. Acid against salt. When the balance is right, the food and the drink together create a third flavor, something neither could reach alone. One of her most memorable pairings was a basil sorbet alongside a Cline late harvest Mourvèdre. The wine's notes of coffee, chocolate, and prune drew out the anise in the basil in a way that catches you off guard, a small, unexpected joy that arrives before you have time to think about it. The effect changed how the guest understood what a pairing could be.
The season shapes all of it. Lilac lemonade during the two weeks it blooms. Nasturtium, basil, and verbena through summer. Berries that make their specific two weeks unrepeatable. The beverage program at a July event and a November event are as different as the food menus themselves.
Most catered events do not have a sommelier. The ones that do feel different in a way guests cannot always name. They just know the evening was better than they expected.
An event where the food and the beverage create something together that neither one could alone is not an accident. It is a decision made early in the planning process. Joan and Martina can walk you through what that looks like for your occasion.
If something is on the horizon, reach out. We’re here.
Ready when you are,
Philip Dorwart
Founder and Executive Chef,
Create Catering and the Dining Studio