On Tuesday I will be attending a wine tasting called "Call me a Cab" in the Harford County area. Since food is usually brought by people showing up to the event I thought I'd take a minute to provide food suggestions that are said to pair well with Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc wines.

Cabernet Franc- Usually lighter bodied with fewer tannins then Cab Sauvignon, slight herbal aroma is common, more acidic the Cab Sauvignon, Sometimes called Chinon (appellation in the French Loire Valley and Bordeaux
Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc grapes are the parents of the Cabernet Sauvignon grape.
Favorite grape of 16th Century Francois Rabelias "Beauvez toujours, vous ne mourrez jamais" "Drink always and you will never die"
Great with leafy vegetables and herb sauces
Most common food suggestions- BEEF, DUCK, EGGPLANT, GAME, LAMB, PORK, ROASTED FOODS
Great suggestions- cabbage, strong cheeses like goat, grilled foods, bell peppers, salmon, sausage, tomato, vegetarian
Good suggestions- BBQ chicken, ham, hamburgers, liver, mushrooms, pasta with red sauce, pheasant, pizza, stew, sweetbreads, tuna, turkey, venison, zucchini.

Cabernet Sauvignon-
Dry, full flavored, heavy tannins, usual flavors of dark fruits like currants, plums, black cherries, commonly oaked,
Great with fatty foods, the fat and proteins soften the tannins.
Great with red meats, grilled foods, bitter foods like greens, radicchio, endive, eggplant; earthy foods like mushrooms; black pepper (steak au poivre), fatty creamy buttery foods.
Cheeses like blue veined or firm dry cheeses like pamigiano, manchego, cheddar, gouda, brie,
Dark chocolate, walnuts
other suggestions include-basil, currants, garlic, lentils, LAMB, meatloaf, mint, onions, oregano, osso buco, pasta, peppers, port, potato, risotto, rosemary, sausage, short ribs, squab, thyme, veal, stew, venison,

*These are some of the most common suggestions for these style wines from sommeliers around the world. By no means does this mean other foods will not go with these wines, or that with the uniqueness of every wine that the food will definitely pair with the bottle we open. This is just common guidelines that most sommeliers use as a basis when pairing a meal.