Craig Camp
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Posts posted by Craig Camp
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Dover Canyon
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Txakolina from the Basque region, with its little bit of fizz, would be perfect.
Yes!!
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Hi everyone,
I'm trying to organize a wine-tasting/dinner party and need some help. The crowd is basically people that enjoy wine, but don't really know much about it (myself included). I'd like to put together a menu with pairings that will allow us to sample a variety of different wines and have the food accentuate specific notes in the wine (which we might otherwise miss). Here's some ideas I've had so far:
-olivade and baguette
-cherry and homemade tuscan salami skewers (sicilian cab?)
-fennel stuffed rabbit wrapped in pancetta
-some sort of braised dish (lamb shanks or shortribs)
-cheese course (I was thinking 2-3 blue cheeses that would interact with 1 wine in various ways)
-trio of sorbets (some sort of tropical flavours) (NZ sauvignon blanc?)
Am I being to literal (I basically just looked at some tasting notes and chose dishes that contained those flavours
)? General wine suggestions (keeping in mind that I'm limited to the Kingston LCBO)? Thanks, and I apologize for the generality of this post, it's still a bit fuzzy in my brain.Please, please no Sicilian cab. Not now, not ever.
You would want a natural flow from the starting wine to the finish, so serving a NZ sauvignon at the end would be jarring.
Start with a Prosecco with and then go to a flight of several Tuscan reds to go with both the Salami and Rabbit. Nothing spoils a good red like blue cheese, so go to something sweet - a Vin Santo if you want to keep the Tuscan theme. I would enjoy the sorbetti on their own merits sans wine.
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So it had to be only in recent decades that the barbera-tomato sauce (or, according to some, sangioves-tomato sauce) "classic" pairing surfaced.
You'd be hard pressed to find a tomato sauce in Piemonte.
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How many centuries is the rule before a product becomes local?
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The main reason I follow the drink local rule is not because the local wines and foods automatically go better together than similar wines from outside the region, but because I want to taste wines that may not be readily available outside the region.
Well, generally, you don't really have a choice about drinking locally or non-locally. For the most part, in Europe, local wines are the only ones on the list. Paris and Rome are exceptions. But I've been to a good 30 restaurants in the Cote d'Or, and I can't recall a single one other than Lameloise that had wines from outside the region.
Even places like Naples, cities built on trade, offer only local wines (for the most part).
There are wine regions outside of Europe.
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The main reason I follow the drink local rule is not because the local wines and foods automatically go better together than similar wines from outside the region, but because I want to taste wines that may not be readily available outside the region. When I eat in Alba I am unlikely to order a Vietti or Giacosa simply because I can easily buy those wines at home. I'm looking for small hard to get producers or to find new discoveries by trying producers I'm not familiar with. In the later regard I usually rely on the proprietor and/or sommelier.
I also drink local just because it's fun.
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until we insist that latours nsg "les crots" goes better with roast chicken than the nsg "les argillieres".
them's fightn' words. It's les Crots hands down.
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pan- craig's point that higher end wines are mostly exported is on the mark. that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of local wines left for the locals to drink with their meals. if you spend time with wine makers in piemonte, for example, the majority of them will reach for dolcetto and barbera many more times than their barolo or barbaresco. they gladly sell their barolo and keep a little for special occasions.
Don't most people who have expensive wines keep them for special occasions?
Yes, for example last night I had leftovers from New Years Eve. New Year's Eve is a special occasion, so as these leftovers were from a special occasion, dinner last night became another special occasion. Therefore I absolutely had to open a nice bottle of wine.
I seem to be able to find special occasions almost every day. However, on days I don't, I like to open a really special bottle as just opening such a bottle is a special occasion.
By the way, great bottles do not have to be expensive and often expensive bottles are not great.
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I went to bed with visions of FatGuy, Pedro, Craig Camp and Docsconz and the rest of us, all dancing like putti on the head of a pin debating the merits of micro-pairing; when I had an inspiration.
A rare fillet mignon, blue bloody soft at the center radiating out until you reach the crusty, salty exterior. You serve only one wine…only its 6 bottles of the same wine, BUT each glass has been aerated for a different amount of time. The blue bloody part gets 2 sips of the freshly opened wine, radiating out to the overnight aged wine for the crusty exterior.
So, am I onto something or what??
I’m with Docsconz and Kounin: if you aren’t having fun with the concept, its not for you. Cin-cin!
P.S. There is no 'perfection', only perception. If you are chasing perfection, you might want to hire Sancho Panza as your sidekick.
Been there. Done that.
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It should also be noted that even within one specific wine there are differences. For eg there are different styles of Burgundy or Bordeaux or Rioja or Barolo.
How about one company? If you made a wine list of only Louis Latour's wines, you'd have a significant wine list with quite a few matching opportunities and challenges. Louis Latour offers:
Aloxe-Corton 1er Cru « Les Chaillots »
Aloxe-Corton Vin du Bicentenaire
Aloxe-Corton « Domaine Latour »
Auxey-Duresses Blanc
Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
Beaujolais-Lancié
Beaujolais-Villages
Beaujolais-Villages «Chameroy»
Beaune 1er Cru "Aux Cras"
Beaune 1er Cru "Cent Vignes"
Beaune 1er Cru "Grèves" rouge
Beaune 1er Cru 'Les Aigrots'
Beaune 1er Cru Blanc
Beaune 1er Cru Perrières
Beaune 1er Cru « Domaine Latour »
Beaune 1er Cru «Grèves» blanc
Beaune 1er Cru «Vignes Franches»
Beaune Blanc
Beaune Rouge
Bienvenues-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
Bonnes Mares Grand Cru
Bourgogne Aligoté
Bourgogne Blanc « Anniversaire »
Bourgogne Blanc « Cuvée Latour »
Bourgogne Passetoutgrain
Bourgogne Rouge « Anniversaire »
Bourgogne Rouge « Cuvée Latour »
Bouzeron
Brouilly « Les Saburins »
Chablis
Chablis 1er Cru
Chablis 1er Cru 'Beauroy'
Chablis 1er Cru « Fourchaume »
Chablis 1er Cru « Montmains »
Chablis Grand Cru 'Bougros'
Chablis Grand Cru « Blanchots »
Chablis Grand Cru « Vaudésir »
Chablis «La Chanfleure»
Chambertin 'Clos de Bèze' Grand Cru
Chambertin Grand Cru « Cuvée Héritiers Latour »
Chambolle Musigny 1er Cru "Les Charmes"
Chambolle-Musigny
Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru
Chardonnay d'Ardèche
Chardonnay « Bourgogne »
Charmes-Chambertin Grand Cru
Chassagne Montrachet 1er Cru "Morgeot" rouge
Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru 'Les Caillerets'
Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru blanc
Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru « Les Chenevottes »
Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru « Morgeot » blanc
Chassagne-Montrachet blanc
Chassagne-Montrachet Rouge
Château Corton Grancey Grand Cru
Chénas
Chevalier-Montrachet Grand cru « Les Demoiselles »
Clos de la Roche Grand Cru
Clos Vougeot Grand Cru
Corton Grand Cru « Clos de la Vigne au Saint »
Corton Grand Cru « Domaine Latour »
Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru
Côte de Beaune-Villages
Côte-de-Nuits Villages
Criots-Bâtard-Montrachet Grand Cru
Domaine de Valmoissine
Duet
Echézeaux Grand Cru
Fixin
Fleurie « Les Garans »
Gevrey-Chambertin
Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru
Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru « Cazetiers »
Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru "Les Corbeaux"
Givry Blanc
Givry Rouge
Grand Ardèche
Grands Echézeaux Grand Cru
Juliénas
Latricières-Chambertin « Grand Cru »
Le Bourgogne de Louis Latour Blanc
Le Bourgogne de Louis Latour rouge
Mâcon-Lugny
Mâcon-Lugny « Les Genièvres »
Mâcon-Villages
Mâcon-Villages « Chameroy »
Maranges
Maranges 1er Cru "La Fussière"
Marsannay
Marsannay Blanc
Mazis-Chambertin Grand Cru
Mercurey Blanc
Mercurey Rouge
Meursault 1er Cru « Goutte d’Or »
Meursault 1er Cru Blanc
Meursault 1er Cru Château de Blagny
Meursault 1er Cru « Charmes »
Meursault 1er Cru « Genevrières »
Meursault 1er Cru « Perrières »
Meursault 1er Cru « Poruzots »
Meursault Blanc
Meursault Rouge
Montagny
Montagny 1er Cru « La Grande Roche »
Monthélie
Monthélie "Clos des Toisières" blanc
Monthelie 'Clos des Toisières' rouge
Montrachet Grand Cru
Morey-Saint-Denis
Morey-Saint-Denis 1er Cru
Morgon « Les Charmes »
Morgon « Les Corcelettes »
Moulin-à-Vent « Les Michelons »
Nuits-Saint-Georges
Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru
Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru "Les Crots"
Nuits-Saint-Georges 1er Cru « Clos des Argillières »
Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru « Ile des Vergelesses »
Pernand-Vergelesses Blanc
Pernand-Vergelesses Rouge
Pinot Noir
Pommard
Pommard 1er Cru« Les Epenots »
Pommard 1er Cru
Pommard 1er Cru 'Les Rugiens'
Pouilly-Fuissé
Pouilly-Vinzelles 'En Paradis'
Puligny-Montrachet
Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru 'Hameau de Blagny'
Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru « Les Truffières »
Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru « Sous le Puits »
Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru
Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru « La Garenne »
Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru « Les Champgains »
Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru « Les Folatières »
Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru « Les Referts »
Regnié « La Roche Thulon »
Romanée-Saint-Vivant Grand Cru ' Les Quatre Journaux '
Rully Blanc
Rully Rouge
Saint-Aubin
Saint-Romain
Saint-Véran
Saint-Véran « Les Deux Moulins »
Santenay 1er Cru "La Comme"
Santenay Blanc
Santenay Rouge
Santenay Rouge 1er Cru
Savigny-lès-Beaune 1er Cru
Savigny-lès-Beaune Blanc
Savigny-lès-Beaune Rouge
Volnay
Volnay 1er Cru 'Clos des Chênes'
Volnay 1er Cru 'En Chevret'
Volnay 1er Cru 'Les Mitans'
Volnay 1er Cru Rouge
Volnay 1er Cru « Santenots »
Vosne-Romanée
Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru
Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru « Beaumonts »
Vosne-Romanée 1er Cru « Les Suchots »
Count me in! When and where?
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Which means that almost 20% of it is consumed in Italy, and considering what the population of the rest of the world is vs. the population of Italy, that is a pretty substantial percentage.
When considering the total wine consumption in Italy, I would not use the size of the population as a reliable indicator. They pop a few more corks than the average American.
Only 8,000,000 bottles of Barolo are produced a year. That leaves 1,600,000 bottles of Barolo for 60,000,000 Italians. Subtract out the bottles consumed in Piemonte and Lombardia and you'll see there are few bottles left for the rest of Italy.
As Hathor pointed out, Italians tend to support the wines of their region. Is there something you find objectionable about that? And if there is, do you also object to their tending to eat local-style food the great majority of the time? Because when you're talking about matching wine with food, isn't there something to the idea that the wines grown in a region match the traditional food of the region, both redolent of terroir in some sense? I found that Chianti and Montepulciano wines went very well with Tuscan cuisine.
I have no idea what point you are trying to make. Obviously I love the regional foods and wines of Italy. What does this have to do with this argument? Please clarify.
It seemed to me that you were criticizing both the lack of variety in wines on sale in shops in Europe and the fact that certain European wines are largely exported, rather than drunk in other regions of Italy, for example. And my counterargument is that if you want to match a regional cuisine with a wine, the intuitive thing to do is to select a local wine, not one from outside the region or country. Does that clarify the context of this discussion I'm having with you?
I am certainly not criticizing them. Just relating the facts. Frankly, they seem quite satisfied with the situation. The point I was trying to make is that most of the top wines of the world are consumed outside their country of production and therefore out of the local cultural and culinary context of the people that made them.
As far as drinking regional when I'm in Barolo I drink Barolo, when I'm in Burgundy I drink Burgundy. However, here in Oregon where I make wine, I not only drink local wines, but wines from around the world. Portland has a fantastic selection of small producer wines from everywhere in the world. Bordeaux and Alba don't. This makes the wine choices easily available to me far more extensive and diverse than someone in Alba.
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Which means that almost 20% of it is consumed in Italy, and considering what the population of the rest of the world is vs. the population of Italy, that is a pretty substantial percentage.
When considering the total wine consumption in Italy, I would not use the size of the population as a reliable indicator. They pop a few more corks than the average American.
Only 8,000,000 bottles of Barolo are produced a year. That leaves 1,600,000 bottles of Barolo for 60,000,000 Italians. Subtract out the bottles consumed in Piemonte and Lombardia and you'll see there are few bottles left for the rest of Italy.
As Hathor pointed out, Italians tend to support the wines of their region. Is there something you find objectionable about that? And if there is, do you also object to their tending to eat local-style food the great majority of the time? Because when you're talking about matching wine with food, isn't there something to the idea that the wines grown in a region match the traditional food of the region, both redolent of terroir in some sense? I found that Chianti and Montepulciano wines went very well with Tuscan cuisine.
I have no idea what point you are trying to make. Obviously I love the regional foods and wines of Italy. What does this have to do with this argument? Please clarify.
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Which means that almost 20% of it is consumed in Italy, and considering what the population of the rest of the world is vs. the population of Italy, that is a pretty substantial percentage.
When considering the total wine consumption in Italy, I would not use the size of the population as a reliable indicator. They pop a few more corks than the average American.
Only 8,000,000 bottles of Barolo are produced a year. That leaves 1,600,000 bottles of Barolo for 60,000,000 Italians. Subtract out the bottles consumed in Piemonte and Lombardia and you'll see there are few bottles left for the rest of Italy.
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Then again, you're a wine-producer and I'm only an occasional wine-drinker.
You may be on to something here
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[...]more than 80% of Barolo is consumed outside of Italy.
Which means that almost 20% of it is consumed in Italy, and considering what the population of the rest of the world is vs. the population of Italy, that is a pretty substantial percentage.
But getting back to the main topic: I've really enjoyed pairings on a few occasions but don't do them much. One occasion was a trip to the New York branch of Chanto, an upscale Japanese chain, where Sethro was the Pastry Chef at the time. I had sake pairings that were listed in their menu. Another occasion was a trip to Al Di La in Brooklyn, where my friend and I had the bartender/sommelier select half glasses to pair with our appetizer, primo, and secondo. I was getting tipsy and didn't order wine with dessert, but he gave us more pours, anyway, and I had a hangover the next day, but it was worth it. But when I drink wine, I usually either have a glass or two with a meal (not necessarily paired to courses as such) or share a bottle. I always consult with the sommelier, or failing that, the waiter, regarding what will go well with what I've ordered. But I digress. My main point would be that on the one hand, pairings can be very pleasurable, but on the other, a bottle can itself pair brilliantly with all the savory courses in a meal (one memorable such occasion was when I had a meal with a friend at Union Pacific, not the most conventional food). Craig, you seem militant about this, in a way that I don't understand. Then again, you're a wine-producer and I'm only an occasional wine-drinker.
Craig can certainly speak for himself, but my sense of his "militancy" comes from the impression given in this topic that pairing different courses with specific wines over a dinner is inherently nonsensical, something that both he and I feel is ridiculous. If we have reached the point when every corner diner or mom and pop restaurant start getting into the act or it becomes de rigeur that everyone does it all the time then I would agree that we have become "too matchy." In the meantime, I applaud those who are making a concerted and honest effort to make wine service and dining as pleasurable as they can. For me a dinner with well-matched interesting wines increases my pleasure with that meal considerably. Sometimes that occurs with a couple of well chosen bottles. In other instances it occurs with a paired flight of wine. What is the big deal?
John - I'll happily let you talk for me. That's it exactly.
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are you arguing that just because El Bulli does it one way that it's the right way and Grant has no right to try to make his own statement at Alinea?
I'm arguing that if anybody says avant-garde cuisine can only be enjoyed with micro pairings, we can just point to the counter-example of El Bulli and laugh that person out of the room.
No one is saying that (here anyway), so I guess no one has to leave the room in humiliation.
It would seem to me that by going to a restaurant like El Bulli, you are going for an extreme culinary experience that has little to do with dining in general. If you're going for a peak experience why not go all the way and include the wine in that experience? The only reason I can think of is that you don't drink or just aren't that interested in the wines. If you're just looking for background music from your wines no problem, but if you're looking for something special, which I would be while dining at El Bulli, I would want to reach for something more meaningful.
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I've got to reject completely the notion that Europeans are not wine knowledgeable. Again, we're talking about small percentages here. Americans are incredibly wine ignorant as a whole, but there's a very small subset of Americans with wine knowledge. Europeans are less wine ignorant as a whole, but of course the average European knows less about wine than the average American sommelier. But does the average American sommelier know more than the average European sommelier? Of course not. Does the average American customer at a Michelin three-star restaurant know more about wine than the average European customer? No way. You go to these restaurants, they have massive wine lists, they have sommeliers who are super-educated, they have customers accustomed to drinking these wines. There's no ignorance issue at that level. However, what you will find is that the overwhelming majority of super-educated sommeliers and consumers in Europe just don't go in for, as Sam calls them, micro pairings. They like bottles. They drink wines by the glass at wine bars, not at great restaurants -- not even at El Bulli (aka elBulli), which to me is the example that emphatically disproves any claims that avant garde cuisine somehow requires micro pairings to be enjoyable. Make that claim to Ferran Adria and see how far you get.
I reject your rejection.
The difference is that the average American customer has a much, much broader selection available to them than the average European. My experience is that European sommeliers have a higher degree of knowledge about the wines from their own country/region than American sommeliers would about that same area, but the Americans have broader knowledge about wines available from throughout the world.
If you go to a restaurant in Barolo, there is little thought as to which wine to have with which course as these matches have be well worked out. However if you go to a restaurant in Los Angeles with wines from everywhere and food influences from everywhere you have a different problem.
Also, are you arguing that just because El Bulli does it one way that it's the right way and Grant has no right to try to make his own statement at Alinea? It seems to me that Adria does what he wants because he sees it as best for his food, while Grant does the same thing. These are statement restaurants and the owner can make whatever statement they want.
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I don't think it's particularly common for Europeans to read the wine list first and then match the food with their choices. The only people I know who do that sort of thing are Americans.
I think a lot of this has to do with the culinary diversity found at the typical American table. When eating a tasting menu here in the US, there often will be a wide diversity of culinary influenes which tend to make the one-wine-fits-all approach unsatisfying. If the pumpkin gnocchi is in a cardmom-black pepper cream sauce, you won't be drinking the same wine as you did with a classically minimalist venetian shrimp dish. Or, if you do, it really won't be a pleasant match one way or the other.
OTOH, in Lyon, it's a pretty good bet that you can order Beaujolais with an everyday dinner dish, or order Cote Rotie or St Joseph with a special-occasion dish, and it will work. So I think there's a pretty good reason why Europeans are "less matchy" -- the traditional regional food goes well with the traditional regional wine, for the most part. They don't need to spend the mental energy on matching, because the whole package just works out-of-the-box, no assembly required.
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As for the issue of pacing: sure, enjoying one bottle over a period of several hours has its advantages. That's just one of the reasons I place little faith in the results of drive-by tastings. BUT you're not really going to enjoy a bottle at a relaxed pace if there are 6 or more diners at the table...the bottle won't outlast a single course anyway. In this situation, one-wine-per-course is just the natural thing to do. So I make sure to either bring bottles that will be ready to go, or decant the wine earlier.
I think per-course wine pairings are a reasonable way to handle wine in a "tasting menu for 2" setting where the diversity of the plates precludes a good match with only one or two wines (although I might note that in many of these situations a bottle of Champagne would do nicely, but Americans don't think of Champagne as dinner wine). When I do a "tasting menu" dinner, there are usually 6 or more guests -- so this isn't really an issue for me.
I agree with you. Its not only the diversity of the American table, but the diversity of the American wine market. Literally the best of everything from everywhere is available here. This is rarely the case in Europe.
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I think this is 100% a question of focus. I know wine people -- people who pick the wine first and then find food to match it -- who will discuss these subtlties endlessly. On the other hand, food people -- who pick the food first and then find a wine to match -- find it a bit too much.
What happens when you get a wine and food person?
They become completely paralyzed, and starve because they can never eat.
Funny, I've never had that trouble.
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Craig, I'm equally surprised by your position. I was anticipating that you'd be the first to ring in with an endorsement of a more casual, Italianate approach to wine with food, and to join me in railing against anal retentive Americanized wine overmatching, which is probably somehow symptomatically connected to the 100 point scale, Vinovation and other innovations that treat wine as consumer electronics. I love great wine, and I love great food. I probably love great food more than I love great wine, but love them both I do. And I love them together. I just don't think it's necessary to get all crazy about matching a dozen different wines to a dozen different courses. And I think a lot of people who are much more knowledgeable about wine than I am agree, because I'm sure if you study the behavior of the top-spending percentile of wine aficionados you'll find that they almost never order the pairings. Heck they prefer to bring bottles from their own cellars.
I agree with you totally that most of the time a casual approach to matching food and wine is the best. However, when you reach the level of certain wine and food experiences, like Alinea, it's another situation.
Don't get crazy about getting it right, but also not everything is good with anything and following some broad, general guidelines will enhance your experience.
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I just don't think it would be credible to claim that Americans gourmets are more sophisticated about wine than French and Italian gourmets. Only a tiny percentage of the population of any country is going to have access to the finest wines (not that the finest wines are offered in most course-by-course pairing situations). The question is what level of knowledge does that subset of the population possess?
The food-and-wine knowledgeable subset of the European population is super-knowledgeable. We're talking about the people who create much of the world's greatest food and wine, and the people who dine at the finest restaurants in the land. And when you look at those people -- that super-knowledgeable, sophisticated subset of the population that has intimate familiarity with the great wines -- you find that they don't go in for hyper-matching. They prefer to order bottles.
I dare you to find a wine shop in Europe, outside of England, that offers the range of wines offered by top wine shops the USA. When it comes to "food-and-wine knowledgeable subsets" of European consumers, I think you can find some in Northern Europe, but in producing countries like France, Italy and Spain you don't. It's not that they not interested, but you just can't buy the wines. I have a far better and more diverse range of wines available to me in Portland Oregon than I did in Milano. You live in NYC, the easiest place in the world to buy great wine, but your experience does not reflect the rest fo the world.
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I never thought my simple thread would spur such an interesting topic.
Are we too "matchy" I dunno. Maybe sometimes we over think it. I think I may be guilty of this my self. I DO like tasting menus and I typically go for a wine pairing In most cases, they HAVE been a one-to-one relationship to course. I enjoy this a great deal. Why? Because I get to taste lots of wines. I agree with others that say a place like Aliniea would be an entire experience.. It's like going to a show (movie or theater or concert or whatever). You go, show up, and your senses are exposed to certain things in a certain way (the way the performers/directors, etc. want you to experience them). That restaurant is the same way. You show up and put yourself in the care of the whole team at Aliniea to give you a unique experience. So, no, in a special case like that, I don't think it's too over the top.
Now, when it comes to more causal dining (or even holiday meals with family that aren't really true. hard core food and wine people), being really "matchy" can become a bit much. Steven's idea of picking a nice wine for the whole meal makes a whole lot of sense.. And really, it's something I"m trying to learn more about myself. It''s just the way most people eat at home for family meals. Everything at once. (except dessert)..
For me, I was seeking a wine to go with a prime rid Christmas dinner. I asked for a nice red and possibly a white.. Not much was discussed about the white, but I got some varying suggestions on the reds. I never really thought too much about the comments about WHY one wine was better than the other. (the end cut vs. a middle piece) But Steven dug deeper into some of those comments and came up with this interesting topic we have now.
Why not in Europe? I dunno. Never been there. What are grocery stores like there? Can you buy 20 kinds of coffee in even the most common suburban mega-mart? I think Americans (and maybe other "new worlders") are used to having lots of choices at their disposal. Of course, that may not explain MATCHING. Maybe it is more of the way wine is viewed. If Europeans view wine the way a lot of people in the USA view iced tea or Diet Coke, then I can see why they would largely stick to one wine all the time.
anyway.. really interesting. It's educational to read the various responses.
I think you've it right on the head and certainly you clearly understood everyone's comments on your Christmas dinner thread. We were just talking, not demanding that you drink what we recommended. It should be fun and enjoyable most of all, but going to restaurants like Alinea means that we are seeking a higher level of appreciation of both food and wine.
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I guess I'm just surprised by this topic. Steven has dedicated much of his life to finding the best foods and the best ingredients to make those foods. He goes out of his way to analyze in minute detail the food at restaurants and from food vendors, but then finds the same intensity to match wine with food somehow too demanding. I think that just shows his personal interest is in food far more than wine. Not that there is anything wrong with that. For me, as someone who is dedicating my life to finding a way to make great pinot noir, I don't understand the difference. How is the quest of a chef different from that of a winemaker? Why should the results of a chefs efforts demand more respect than a winemaker?
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I like the interviews on Grape Radio. Their Santa Rita Hills round table (5 parts) was fantastic and the Jadot/Alan Meadows show was incredible two hours.