12 Comments

The sommelier’s deepest, darkest secret: 80% (or higher) of what you eat and drink will be just fine. Every once in a while you’ll get something euphoric, and every once in a while you’ll have an absolutely abysmal pairing, but, 8 or 9 times of 10, whatever you’re eating and whatever you’re drinking will be… fine. 🥂

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Agree!

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I absolutely get what you mean about most wine pairings. Does it really matter whether you drink a Rhone red or an Aussie Shiraz with that nice piece of beef? Probably not. But every so often there is a match made in heaven (for me anyway) for example prosciutto and Sauvignon blanc. Or roast pork or chicken with an off dry Riesling. Or Chinese food and Campari soda. (Yes really!). Then I get what they are talking about even if I struggle to reproduce it.

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Chinese food and Campari soda sounds good to me!

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Excellent and thought provoking. I think, though, naysayers about wine and food pairing are that way mostly because the subject does not interest them. The reality is different. All you need do is see how wine and food cultures much older than ours in the U.S. have evolved to the point where wines and foods are more naturally conducive to each other. Many Americans are astounded, of course, when they go to Europe and "discover" this. It's no accident. As a longtime restaurant wine professional (30 years), I will add: Most consumers consume more wine when foods are more compatible. We found this to be true, night after night in our restaurants. A customer may order a $100 wine, but if it tastes unpleasant with the dishes that are ordered, they can barely finish the bottle! Therefore, in order to sell wine, our staff was trained to gently steer guests towards wines with higher percentage chances of complimenting dishes. Going further, we had up to a dozen wines customized towards our cuisine (Asian influenced, French based cooking). The more we engineered wine and food compatibility, the more successful our sales because, simply, even the average consumer who does not consciously think about wine/food matches will eat and drink more when wines and foods are enjoyed in more ideal contexts.

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Ah, this is really fascinating to hear, and it makes so much sense.

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Halllelllllujah! Oh man did this speak to me. Yes indeed - the bulk of pairing "knowledge" is lowest-common.denominator, uninspired, unimaginative "greatest hits" regurgitation. It is based on nothing, just "what people have been doing." Thank you so much.

OK, so here is part of why I am so vocal about this. I live in Georgia (the country) and pairing non-Georgian dishes (I am an expat New Yorker) with any Qvevri wine made here, as well as funky pet nats, and any of the rare grapes that only grow here (Goruli mtsvane, chinuri, ojaleshi, the list goes on) is such a challenge. Georgian food pairs so well with Georgian wine because it is rich and salty, often heavily spiced or drowned in fresh herbs. We have sumac and blue fenugreek, pomegranate.... so pairing has become a fascinating challenge for me. I have been doing pop-up food events, partnering with winemakers, trying to offer up something unexpected, and inspired, all based on what their wine "wants" which sounds a lot like what you went through, ending up on the rielsking as you did. FWIW, I have a lamb dish (heavy on cloves, and exotic black pepper) that is paired with a bone dry Georgian rose, that has an almost smokey finish, and a hint of wet hay on the nose, the grape is Otskinuri Sapere.

Would love to hear more about your pairing adventures. One very savvy somm gave me this advice - to think less about constrasts and much more about the food temperature compared to the wine temperature and how those can talk to each other, and also about texture and mouth feel. Things I would never have considered. Well, he was the somm at Noma ....

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Very interesting! I've always wanted to go to Georgia!

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You are wicked sharp. I’m a little jealous of that.

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Why is wine always being asked to carry such a heavy load? We don’t ask anything of beer, hardly anything from spirits. Wine, alone, is demanded to be “of a place” to “pair with the right dish”…blah, blah, blah.

How about we just let it be delicious. How about we treat it like the Europeans do. It’s on the table, it tastes good, it helps me get over the trials of the day, etcetera, etcetera.

I’m the first person to proclaim that great wine is bottomless, that it has all the stars undreamt of in Horatio’s philosophy, and that you can never, ever, never get all the way through to the essential truth of Cab Franc. But…I live this world…my vinous obsessions are hard won and more than a little twisted. I wish them only on others likewise unbalanced.

For the new winedrinker however, anything that gets in the way of the enjoyment of the beverage itself…pairing, terroir, variety, appellation…is a hurdle that could impede coming to truly love wine in all its complexity…later.

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Wonderful Jason. I'm reminded that the fascination with minutiae absolutely infects this world with a painful plethora of experts. Wine experts may be at the head of the pack but healthcare, fitness, music, cooking just about every aspect of our lives intruded upon by those degreed and credentialed sucking the life out of our amatuer enthusiasm. Just eat it, drink it and live it. Hasn't the idea of the "correct" wine glass for red ,white fizzy etc also been smashed? Was that your writing? Read an article somewhere I recall not where.

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It is ridiculous, but in our research, many wine novices like it and check it out. That is why we added our app, but we always say just drink what you want. I teach wine classes and I am introducing at least cheese and wine to the curriculum because it is fun to pair stinky cheese with wine 🤣

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