Savoring every moment

Tulay Lawton was recently promoted to general manager of the Savory Grape. Lawton grew up in Istanbul and she began cooking when she was 10. She arrived in the U.S. 13 years ago and started her own catering business, Tulay’s Kitchen, which brought Mediterranean cuisine to tables around the Ocean State. Lawton learned to combine her love for cuisine with unique wine, beer and even bourbon pairings. In addition to her responsibilities as a general manager, Lawton is also Savory Grape’s food and wine educator. She holds a degree in culinary arts from Johnson & Wales University.

How did you learn to pick up the subtle nuances of wine and bourbon?

Everything started with cooking. I began pairing wine and food about 15 years ago. By tasting ingredients repetitively and doing the same with wine, this gave me a foundation for understanding and being able to pick out their nuances separately. This process made it easy to understand how wine’s nuances pair with key food ingredients. The same holds true for other pairings, like bourbon or beer.

What are some pairing tips?

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Pairing food and wine often seems daunting for people. Typically, many think that the protein or meat is the most important element of the meal when pairing since it is usually the largest portion of the meal. In reality, the seasoning, sauces and sides are more important. They are often covering the protein and are the items that interact most with wine. I always remind people to consider the weight of food when pairing with wine. The weight of food should match the weight of the wine.

What are some of the varietals that Savory Grape brought back from Napa Valley?

On our explorations to wine country whether in the U.S. or abroad, we’re on the hunt for new vineyards and unique varietals to bring back to Rhode Island so we can expose our guests to new and interesting wines. Cabernet Franc is a grape that we focused on during this trip to Napa. It’s not widely grown in the U.S. and what is grown is much different than Cabernet Franc from France. I absolutely love this grape. •

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