| Thoughts on Wine... |
| There are two common misconceptions about wine pairing and wine appreciation: 1. White meat = White wine Red meat = Red wine 2. "Cooking" wine Wine, no matter what the grape, should be matched with the flavour of the food. You do not want a wine that will overpower your food and, conversely, you don't want a wine that will get lost in the food. Typically, with every type of food, you will find both a white wine and a red wine that matches perfectly with it. Occasionally, you will even find a rose wine to match with your food choice. I know, I said rose and your first thought was probably that glass of White Zinfandel you had last summer sitting on your patio by the pool. There is nothing wrong with White Zinfandel - after all, it was a good place to start - but there is more to rose wines than just it. Jackson-Triggs Vintners makes a great White Merlot that, like most rose wines, is great with a summer day lounging my the pool. However, rose wines, depending on the grape used, can be a great match with a cream sauce pasta or maybe a plate of Bruschetta. Variety is the spice of life they say and it is a very good practice to work with when pairing food with wine. Each year, each winery, releases a new vintage of their wines. Occasionally, they will release a new wine that they have not tried in the past but a large number of their wines will be the tried and true classics they have developed over the past years. However, with each new vintage, there are differences in the soil, the vines and the grapes that the wine picks up on making each year slightly different from the past one. These differences give each wine their variety and your ability to "spice" things up. My way to "spice" things up is to always try to pair a red wine with a white meat dish. The combination of Roast Turkey with a lighter red grape wine can be truly mouth watering. Although some people would typically gravitate towards a white wine to go with that turkey dinner at Thanksgiving, next time try a red wine and see how well it matches. On the other hand, there is no denying how great a steak tastes with a Bordeaux blend or a nice Chianti. One important thing to keep in mind when matching a Chianti with your next steak is that you do not want a vintage that is too young nor do you want one that is too old. Try to aim for one that is between 3 and 5 years old as the young Chianti's we get in North America are 2 years old so they will show too weak, or undeveloped, against the steak while some of the older vintages might be too mellow to match with your hearty, robust steak. Thankfully, Italy's wine laws, in existence since 1963, but actually in development since 1933 are rather stringent meaning that those of us in North America, when they do make it here, get a nicer bottle of Italian wine than our grandparents would have had access to. As you can see there are no hard and fast rules when matching a wine with the food you are serving. it is very much a try and see game if you do not understand what flavours come from each wine. Each type of grape, or varietal, has certain flavours and aromas that it will typically impart. However, that can vary from country to country, even region to region, and is affected by the weather, the soil and, most importantly, the winemaker's influence. The other thing to keep in mind is the concept of a "cooking" wine. "Cooking" wine is a term that was created to describe those wines that, although they have good aromas and flavours, do not make your taste buds stand up and pay attention. They are good wines, but they are not amazing. Although they do serve a purpose from time to time, there is a very important thing to keep in mind: Life's too short to drink bad wines! However, I did say that they serve a purpose every now and then. Suppose you are planning a dinner party where one of your guests is allergic to alcohol but the flavour you are wanting for the food necessitates the use of a particular wine. Don't panic - there is a solution! Use the wine you want as a cooking wine where all of the alcohol will burn off during cooking, thus making it safe for your guest to eat. Another possibility where cooking wine can be useful is, as a responsible host, you have already established having designated drivers for the end of the evening. Those individuals can still enjoy an amazing, mouth watering meal but not worry about being under the influence at the end of the night. The key is to simply have some sparkling water or a non-alcoholic sparkling grape juice on hand. If this seems like a lot of information to absorb, do not worry. Take your time, read some magazine or newspaper articles about wine, join a wine club, or, for the best information, send me an e-mail and ask me your question. There are very few people in this world of ours that can truthfully and legitimally say they have been learning about wine since the age of 3. Remember, the next time you are enjoying a glass of wine, think about what you are smelling and tasting. Chances are you will be able to pick up on a wide variety of tastes and smells. Identifying those are the first steps to understanding and taking the mystery out of wine. Cheers... |