One of my goals this year is to provide more education in the field of wine.

With that in mind, I recently attended an inspiring food-and-wine weekend at The Resort of Paws Up just outside of Missoula, Mont.

I had the pleasure of pairing wines with culinary creations by top-echelon chefs. They included Hosea Rosenberg, 2005 “Top Chef” winner and chef-owner of Blackbelly restaurant in Boulder, Colo.; Brooke Williamson, 2010 “Top Chef” first runner-up and a co-owner-chef of Playa Provisions, The Tripel and Hudson House; Colby and Megan Garrelts of Rye and Bluestem restaurants (Colby was a 2015 James Beard award winner); and Paws Up executive chef Ben Jones.

Though the task was daunting, such opportunities have the potential to be a lot of fun. When a chef and I can come up with food and wine “magic,” it can inspire everyone involved, including the guests. Thankfully, each of the chefs was open to collaboration, which made the weekend a hoot of a time and a real learning opportunity.

A highlight was “Streams,” a colorful dish of beet-cured trout, trout roe, smoked whitefish roe and 63C quail egg. The wine we served was the 2013 Furst Muller Thurgau “Pur Mineral” (about $22 a bottle); its delicate aromatics and soil-driven minerality made for a striking, memorable pairing. This duo served as a reminder of how aromatic white wines can uplift food just as fresh herbs do. While trout is not readily available in the islands, we can still use this wine with myriad fresh fish dishes to similar effect.

A couple of other examples: Pair ahi cubes, dressed with sea salt, a tiny bit of chili pepper flakes and shiso chiffonade, with Birichino Malvasia Bianca (about $15). Or saute panko-dusted swordfish, finishing it off with a squeeze of lemon, a touch of white wine, butter and fresh thyme. Then try the dish with a perfumed, minerally white wine such as the Melville Viognier “Verna’s” (about $28).

Another highlight was a pairing of elk loin, jerky and demi-glace, red currant jam, pine dust and potato pillow, and the 2012 Cantina Valpane Grignolino del Monferrato (about $22), an exotically perfumed Italian “country”-style red wine.

Also in the running was the 2012 Samsara Grenache “Larner Vineyard” (about $40), a delicious, plush red wine from Santa Barbara winemaker Chad Melville. In Hawaii, wild boar or Lanai venison would work well in place of elk.

Speaking of venison, Rosenberg’s peppered venison loin was made more wine-friendly with pureed smoked sweet potatoes and charred purple Brussels sprouts, plus Montana wild cherries with a port wine reduction. This unfussy, wintery dish was outstanding on its own, but it became sensational alongside a northern Rhone Valley — 2012 Faury St Joseph (about $28). The pepper, smoke and savoriness of both the wine and the food were memorable.

Another wine option here: a savory, cooler-climate California syrah such as the 2012 Melville Syrah “Santa Rita Hills” (about $32). Here again, a locally caught wild boar or Lanai venison would pair nicely.

Chuck Furuya is a master sommelier and a partner in the DK Restaurants group. Follow his blog at chuckfuruya.com.