Jermaine Stone is giving Us — along with Winter House stars Danielle Olivera and Jordan Emanuel — his best food and wine pairing tips perfect for the chillier temperatures.
In an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, Stone, who hosts the show Street Somm on Tastemade, pairs his go-to colder weather meals with some of his favorite wines — and reveals that the dish doesn’t need to be fancy to be delicious.
“When [people] think about wine and food pairing, they feel like it has to be the sorts of foods that you have at big, expensive tastings,” he says as he sets up the duo’s first tasting. “I eat ramen, it’s how I grew up. So I like to start with something that I really enjoy.”
In his first match-up, Stone pairs Chenin Blanc with top ramen. While most think red wines work best in the colder season, Stone explains that as long as a wine has the right texture and weight, the color doesn’t matter.
As Danielle, 34, and Jordan, 31, prepare to taste the varietal, Stone gives the Bravo stars a little advice on how to properly test the wine.
“So what we’re going to do is appreciate wine on all levels,” he shares. “So first you’re going to take a look at the color. Appreciate the color. You can appreciate the beauty of a painting. You can appreciate the color of wine. Then you’re going to swirl it.”
While on Winter House, Danielle’s drink of choice is a “morning beer” followed by an “afternoon tequila.” Jordan prefers to go “softer” and opts for a “Moscow mule.” However, both women like to have a glass of white wine during the wintertime and were impressed with the tasty Chenin Blanc.
For the next pairing, Stone decides he wanted to pay homage to the 50th anniversary of hip-hop by highlighting Jamaican cuisine, which includes authentic Jamaican beef patties straight from his native the Bronx to match with a Blanc de Noirs — a white wine made with red grapes.
“This is also super unconventional, but most people think red grapes, they think red wine. However, the color of wine really just comes from skin contact,” Stone says. “If you wanted a deeper red wine, you would keep it with the skin’s longer, and that’s a winemaker’s decision.”
Before Stone got his start on his foodie show, he worked in the shipping department of a wine auction warehouse as he pursued his dreams of becoming a rapper. While working in the wine industry, Stone — who is often referred to as the “Wolf of Wine” — realized he also had a passion for wine and wanted to combine his new interest with his love of hip-hop. He went on to form his own marketing agency, making a name for himself as he intertwined the two industries.
On Street Somm, Stone travels the country to meet fellow foodies and try different cuisines while searching for a wine that best complements the meal.
“I get people to think outside of the box on how they’re approaching wine,” he tells Us of his Tastemade series. “I can’t be there with you every time, so I just want to break the convention in your mind and allow people to think differently.”
The season finale of Street Somm airs on Monday, October 30, on the Tastemade streaming channel, which is available everywhere. Previous episodes are also available on-demand in the Tastemade mobile and TV apps and ad-free with Tastemade+.
