Do you find yourself overwhelmed and intimidated by that 300 page wine list offered up at your favorite posh restaurant? Are you confused about what wine to order with your “death By Decadence” chocolate cake or a fruity and refreshing piece of cheesecake? Do you find yourself wanting to duck under the table as soon as you see the sommelier walking toward your table?
Have no fear, because I have some helpful suggestions for all the average Joes and Janes out there who are seeking the mere basic principals behind what seems to many to be the complex intricacies of food and wine pairing.
First of all, forget all about the predictably typical “old School,” lifelessly canned and conventional “RULES” such as always drink red wine with meat and white wine with fish!”
It’s time to take our epicurean awareness to an entirely new level, based on insights learned from some of the worlds top Master Chefs and cutting-edge sommeliers.
So, suppose you’re entertaining important clients at a steakhouse, and want to sound fairly intelligent about wine. You know that the general rule is to drink red wine with red meat, but which red wine? Old world or New?
No problem, you could do well going a number of ways, from ordering your guests a nice Shiraz, to moving in the direction of a more complex Barbaresco or even Barolo. Under the right circumstances, like a meal served with a rich, meaty tomato sauce, you might actually be far better off going with a good old Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.
So aren’t there any black and white proven rules to go by. Not really, sometimes the rules are exactly the problem. Life, meals, the universe begins to become to darned predictable and stagnate. Wine is supposed to be all about life, fun, enjoyment, movement, flow and spontaneity!
What if you find yourself wanting to dazzle your friends and show off your new kitchen with a fabulous dinner party. Did it ever occur to you that YOU might actually be in a far better position to determine the perfect wine than some professional stranger. Why, because YOU know your guest and their particular personalities and preferences, and the professional doesn’t
I think its equally important to match a wine to a person than to match the wine to a specific food. That idea probably never dawned on you, but I’ve used my own personal knowledge of people to make wise wine and food combination choices for years and I would say I have done spectacularly well about 93% of the time. A much higher and impressive percentage than what the professionals could guarantee you with all the traditional rules! Trust your instincts and intuition, your knowledge and experience, of your friends, family, colleagues, and associate as well as food, wine and LIFE!
Signing off at Pigging out!
(NewsBlaze readers use coupon code Blaze to get 10% off your next order)
Rocco owns and runs a Bacon of the Month Club called The Bacon Freak Bacon is Meat Candy Club as well as a Wine Club called the Coastal Vineyard Wine Club
