A great wine and food pairing can create a memory. The mysterious alchemy not only makes for a happy palate, but also connects you to a place and time. I’ll never forget the solomillo con foie I had with many glasses of cold cava in Barcelona. When I think about that meal, I can remember every detail about the bustling tapas bar, right down to the way my server styled his beard. Great pairings are able to bring the present into razor-sharp relief. They need not be fussy or complicated. The best pairing I’ve ever had? That’s easy: Whipped chicken liver mousse with red Burgundy.

This took place at a wine bar seated alongside fellow sommelier and friend, Dave. We’d just gotten off of work after an intense night’s service. It was eleven o’clock in the evening and we were in need of a restorative libation. I should note that Dave was a much better sommelier than I. He had textbooks about vineyard soil and was particularly obsessed with the Kimmeridgian chalk of Chablis, composed of so many fossilized fish bones and oyster shells. One day he came into work with fish bones and oyster shells tattooed on his forearm. He did the entire service with his arm wrapped in cling wrap. Dave’s allegiance to wine (and soil) was intimidating, but I’ve always been drawn to people with unbalanced passions. Working the floor alongside him made me a better sommelier by osmosis. And the fact that we’d gotten over hating each other’s guts to become best friends was a big plus, too. When I first started at the job, Dave had already been there a few months and wanted to let me know it. We’d do cellar work in complete silence. Eat family meals in silence, glued to our phones. He broke one day when a Smiths song came on and Morrissey crooned: “I was looking for a job and then I found a job, and heaven knows I’m miserable now.” We’d been silently checking all the open wines for the day, and I muttered, “This is the song that plays in my head when I see Playbills all over a table.” I’d never heard Dave laugh until then. And it was a ripper.

After twenty minutes squabbling over the wine list, we decided on a bottle of Premier Cru Pommard with six years of age and ordered the chicken liver mousse with toast points. The combination of the minerally mousse and old-world pinot noir went straight to the source of everything that was ailing us. It was more than just a good pairing. The earthy flavors and searing acidity seemed to pay homage to the unspoken heroism felt by those who toil and lay their demons to rest. We talked about that Pommard for the rest of the year. It still comes up in conversation to this day.

Here in the Finger Lakes, opportunities abound for wine and food pairings where great memories are sure to be made. Enjoying the regional bounty of locally-made snacks with your wine just goes with the territory, so if you’re visiting the area, be sure to sight in some wineries that specifically offer food and wine options, as not all do.

Here are some places to get you started.

Ryan William Vineyard in Burdett is a food destination in and of itself, but thoughtfully lists wine pairings to match their meals as well. They emphasize a dry wine portfolio and boast outstanding views of Seneca Lake from their patio dining area. Their famous brunch, featuring homemade brioche French toast with seasonal fruit compote, smash burgers, and kimchi fries is known across the land and serves as a great launching point for a day of winery hopping along the lake’s eastern rim. The house-smoked shrimp cocktail matched with chardonnay would be a delectable starter.

On the west side, a wildly popular pickle pairing is making waves at Toast Winery in Rock Stream. I have to admit that when I first got wind of the pickle pairing, it sounded like blasphemy, the kind of thing that would have sent Dave spiraling on a three-day rant. Pickles are weird, wet, and green, and wine is, to quote Galileo, “sunlight held together by water.” As much as I advocate for simple pairings, they still have to work, and I couldn’t see how this was going to work at all. Until I tried it. The line-up was as follows: Moonshine pickles and grüner veltliner, taco pickles and pinot noir, garlic-dill pickles with Luminescence white port, pineapple pickles and sweet Bubbly Pink Brindar, and honey-chiptole pickles with riesling.

The attack of flavors was like a carnival ride across the tongue. The tasting room was filling up and plate after plate of pickles were circulating around the bar. The mood was buoyant and people were highly engaged in their picklerific little bubbles. Some of the pairings worked better than others. And one in particular stayed with me long after I’d left. Leave it to taco pickles and pinot noir to create a memory. Inherent smoky notes in both succeeded in bridging the great pickle/wine divide. The taco seasoning was subdued just enough in the brine to establish harmony with the spicy and smoked notes of the wine. Was I surprised? Oh, yeah.

Be advised that the pickle pairing doesn’t come back until the first week of August. That’s plenty of time for this writer to spread the gospel of wine and brine, and to plot my return. Because I’ll be back. And maybe next time I’ll bring Dave along for the ride.