Newport is such a pleasant place even on a rainy winter evening. Perhaps it's the ocean, perhaps the memories that most of us have of sunny summer days there, who knows. The Chanler sits imposingly on the hillside overlooking the ocean. It's a grand place, evoking thoughts of those fortunate New Englanders of a different era to whom these wonderful buildings were mere summer homes. Chanler does a great deal to evoke that bygone age. Sumptuous surroundings, discrete staff and a true sense of sophisticated elegance make this a very special place. If that were not enough, then just check out the breath-taking views of the ocean from its elevated vantage point. All-in-all a New England classic.

The Spiced Pear is the restaurant within the Chanler. It continues the sense of elegance and sophistication as a true fine dining establishment that compares favorably to any of the very best in Boston or for that matter elsewhere.

Spiced Pear's executive chef Richard Hamilton is a very interesting chef. He has a very broad repertoire, mixing New England seafood and southern flavors to delight even the most jaded palate. Hamilton has a terrific pedigree with training at the Ritz-Escoffier Ecole du Gastronomie and Le Cordon Bleu culinary academy. He worked in France under chef Michel Roth and Guy Legay. Anyone who saw the renaissance of food in Las Vegas will recognized Richard's name from the Bellagio where he worked as Chef du Cuisine. He has a heap of awards and probably should have a very big ego to go with them. Not so, Richard is an approachable and likable chef who still loves to delight his customers and create beautiful looking food that tastes extraordinary.

The thing about wine pairings is, that good ones are sublime and mediocre ones leave you wondering what the fuss was all about. The Spice Pear has nailed this genre of menu and delivered a terrific blend of foods and wines that seemed to compliment each other perfectly. We tasted a number of Taittinger's champagnes, which really are a personal favorite, followed by a selection of wines from Domain Caneros. Caneros is a US offshoot of the Taittinger company, who make US champagne (“style wine”, to be pedantic) and some terrific reds at their Californian estates.

Both Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger and Richard explained their thinking behind the pairings as we enjoyed a splendid multi-course dinner. When you see the portion sizes at a wine pairing – don't panic, they're small. Obviously with, from 5 to 12 courses you need to save a little room for the next course. You will also often see fairly small wine glasses alongside your plate for the same reason. It is really a good idea not to drive to a wine pairing or tasting dinner, so you can enjoy the wines and food and not end up a guest of the state for the night.

My personal tasting survival guide is as follows. Don't eat much that day because you will want to eat everything you see and after all it's often not an inexpensive meal. Don't be tempted to have a cocktail while you wait to take your seat unless you have hollow legs and have booked a room at the restaurant. The Chanler were offering a special room rate for diners the night we were there. If you want to be able to remember what you drank then take a small note book – some tastings do provide pen and paper. This is not because you will be incoherent, but more because there are often a number of unfamiliar wines and you probably can't remember them and your impressions the next day. Take advantage of the chance to speak to the wine producers and the chef during the evening. It's enlightening and very educational. Chefs of Richard's caliber take extraordinary efforts to produce the food you eat and you can learn a lot from hearing how they actually decide which wines go with which flavors. Finally enjoy your fellow diners company. They wouldn't be at an event of this kind if they weren't interested in wine and food so make an introduction and share the moment with fellow wine enthusiasts.

I can't recommend the Spiced Pear highly enough. Great food, terrific wine list, a million dollar view and high probability that you will enjoy a world class dinner. It's not inexpensive by any standard, but it's worth every cent.