Are We Asking The Wrong Question About Wine? I am often asked what is my favorite wine I reply (half jokingly) with What are we eating? Truthfully, I dont think I have a favorite wine...I really enjoy many different kinds of wines..but then I enjoy many different kinds of foods too. Like the young child in the Life cereal commercial (Mikey) I eat everything (well almost). My wife and I have been trying to sell our home for a while (Connecticut is one of the worst states for jobs and real estate) but now we have to sell because of a recent promotion for my wife. So we have been trying to whittle down our wine cellar to minimize what we will have to transport. I am a big believer that in many countries (especially the Old World countries) the wines have been made to go with the local foods. I think that my experience with a wine variety shortage has made me more of a believer in this concept. Where in the past my wife would ask me to pick a wine for dinner and I would ask what are we having and be able to pretty much match a good wine with our meal over the past two months or so its been more do we drink water or just have this wine xxx? Frequently they havent gone and wines that weve typically enjoyed in the past have not given us the pleasure that we normally get from them. Not long ago I was at a summer BBQ at a friends house who loves wines...but they enjoy a fairly limited range of wines (at least to me). They really do not drink imported wines and when they asked me what wines have I discovered recently I mentioned a Cab France (from Big Dog Winery) and that I had a few really good Pinot Noir wines from Millbrook Winery and William Selyem. The conversation went dead quickly..we dont like the profile of Pinots...in return I asked What do you drink with salmon, only whites? Then it hit me..they said We dont eat fish. Often wine educators and other wine professionals have people try different wines and that is great but if that person doesnt eat a range of different foods its really hard to find a wine that they can enjoy often. Of course someone could drink a wine by itself (without any food) but how often does that happen? Try to drink a decent (or even good quality) American Cabernet or Zinfandel with an Italian meal (I have) and they really dont go well with each other. Are they wine lovers who genuinely enjoy wines from around the world also unrestricted food lovers too? Trying to get a person to enjoy a Spanish Rioja Reverse or a Portuguese Vinho Verde or certain French Rhone wines (the list could go on nearly forever) is not easy if the are strictly a traditional meat and potatoes person. Obviously you need to start with someone who likes wine but next time, instead of asking a person what their favorite wine is ask them what are their favorite foods? I think quickly you may discover if you are talking with a (potential) wine lover who (can) embrace wines from nearly every place or not.
Posted on: Fri, 29 Aug 2014 16:07:23 +0000
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