Wine connoisseur to close out Kindred Spirits event

HUNTINGTON — Mark Phillips is a serious wine connoisseur.

OK, his quirky video wine blog does have a mannequin (Carole Withanee) as his co-anchor, but don’t let sideshows distract you, Phillips knows his wine like Randy Moss knows catching a football.

He just doesn’t take himself too seriously.

One of the nation’s most popular wine speakers, and Executive Director of the Wine Tasting Association, Phillips is headed to Huntington to close out Marshall Artists Series’ Kindred Spirits nearly month-long fundraiser with a riotous pop of the corks.

From 7 to 9 p.m., Friday, Phillips will be speaking at “Starters and Finishers (a seven-course food and wine pairing event) on the 3rd floor of the Touma Medical Museum, 314 Ninth Street Plaza in downtown Huntington.

Saturday, Phillips will host a wine tasting at 1 p.m. as part of the “Whites, Reds and Thoroughbreds,” Kentucky Derby Party at the Keith-Albee Performing Arts Center, a day-long wine festival that features a live band, a silent auction and the running of the 134th Derby on the big screen.

That event runs 1 to 7 p.m.

Phillips who hosted the PBS special, “Enjoying Wine with Mark Phillips,” that aired on more than 300 stations making it the most watched wine show in the history of America, said it’s the best of times for enjoying wine.

“I think absolutely it is the best of times,” Phillips said. “It is a global economy and wines are being made in so many places and what has happened is the technology and the dissemination of that to every growing region has allowed the wine maker to manipulate the wine. I’m not saying that word negatively, but positive in that there are very few bad wines today. A few years ago you might walk in a shop and chances were you might get a bad bottle of wine. It’s hard to find a bad wine because winemakers today can correct so many flaws with technology. We are awash with good wines. The downside of that is that I think we are losing some individuality in wines. That is what I try to look for.”

Phillips said another great thing these days with wine is that with so many wine growing regions in the world, there are a lot of very good reasonably priced wines.

“My number one goal is to find the best, cheapest wine possible,” Phillips said. “I taste expensive wine throughout the week and a lot of it I wouldn’t buy because there are so many great values out there for under $15 a bottle. Generally, with the Euro exchange rate it’s a little tougher on us but never the less there’s some wines from a wine region called Madrid where win is coming out from the winery at $1 a bottle and they’re sold in America for three or four times that and they are very good.”

Phillips, who’s had stories about him in The Washington Post, Washington Times, Marie USA Today, ABC News, Reuters News Service, Forbes, National Public Radio, and FOX-TV, said one of the up-and-coming wine regions in the U.S., he believes, is Washington State. Other regions with good wine and good value are still found in southern France, southern Italy and Greece.

Friday, Phillips said he will talk a bit about what foods go well with what wines. Saturday, he will give a wine tasting seminar to help people “understand how to taste wine, when to microwave wine and when to freeze wine.”

Whether serious or dripping with sarcasm, Phillips for sure is happy to come and share one of his life’s passions.

“Wine is so versatile,” he said. “Whether  you’ve opened some wine on the beach watching the sunset with someone you love, walking the dog or using power tools, it may be the perfect accompaniment. You can find the wine that matches the occasion for your tastes.”