Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar Introduces a Winning Pair with Small Plates and Big Pours. Gives Guests the Chance to Try Their Hand at Pairing Premium Wines and Steakhouse Small Plates in the Bar Area for Just $24.95

Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar is now offering a new way for guests to mix and match in the bar area from now until May 31, 2012. The popular steakhouse and wine bar is rolling out “Small Plates, Big Pours” – a selection of seven innovative Small Plates matched with an oversized wine pour from the Fleming’s 100 – for just $24.95 (plus tax and gratuity). Maeve Pesquera, Fleming’s Director of Wine, has chosen each of the seven Big Pour wines to pair with the flavors of the steakhouse Small Plates.

The Small Plates include: Sliced Filet Mignon, Shrimp Scampi Skewers, Petite Lamb Chops, Seared Ahi Tuna, New Bedford Scallops, Filet Mignon Skewers, and Lobster Tempura.

The Big Pours are: Penley Merlot, Paco & Lola Albariño, Cline Cashmere Red Blend, A to Z Wineworks Pinot Noir, Cakebread Sauvignon Blanc, B.R. Cohn Silver Cabernet, and Silverado Chardonnay.

Guests can select one Maeve’s suggested pairings listed below or create a unique flavor combination of their own by mixing and matching their own wine and food pairs:

Sliced Filet Mignon and Penley Merlot
Beef filet, mushroom risotto and Merlot all exhibit a smooth, melt-in-your-mouth quality and harmonize well together

Shrimp Scampi Skewers and Paco & Lola Albariño
Albariño’s crisp minerality echoes the fresh ocean flavors of the shrimp, and the green apple and floral notes of the wine are a wonderful complement to the spicy chimichurri sauce

Petite Lamb Chops and Cline Cashmere Red Blend
Oak-aged red wines almost always pair well with grilled meats, and the lamb has flavor compounds that pair particularly well with the chocolate notes and hints of black pepper in this Syrah-Grenache-Mouvèdre blend

Seared Ahi Tuna and A to Z Wineworks Pinot Noir
The bit of spice in this perfectly smooth Pinot Noir soothes the piquant notes of the mustard sauce served with the tuna dish

New Bedford Scallops and Cakebread Sauvignon Blanc
The fruity minerality of this refreshing Sauvignon Blanc accentuates the buttery richness of the scallops, and its citrus qualities echo the dish’s Meyer lemon-honey glaze

Filet Mignon Skewers and B.R. Cohn Silver Cabernet
Powerful foods need a powerful wine, and the full, rich flavors of this Sonoma Cabernet pair well with the robust flavors of seared beef, creamy gorgonzola and smoky bacon

Lobster Tempura and Silverado Chardonnay
The richness and sweetness of the lobster echo the rich flavors of crème brûlée and citrus found in this medium-bodied Chardonnay

“Guests could pick a pairing with a blindfold on and still would not go wrong with the seven wine selections on our Small Plates, Big Pours menu,” says Russell Skall, Fleming’s Executive Chef. “Larger groups can experiment by ordering several of the Small Plates to see who comes up with the favorite pairing of the evening,” he adds.

Skall enjoys pairing the Sliced Filet Mignon with Shitake Risotto with the Penley Merlot or the B.R. Cohn Silver Cabernet. When paired with the merlot, the filet causes the berry and plum flavors of the wine to shine, but when paired with the tighter tannins in the cabernet, new flavors evolve.
There are four Fleming’s in Phoenix at Scottsdale at Lincoln Road, North Scottsdale at DC Ranch, Peoria and Chandler. For more information or to find your nearest Fleming’s location, please visit www.FlemingsSteakhouse.com. Follow Maeve Pesquera and Chef Russell Skall on Twitter @WineMaeven and @RussellOnSteak.