Craig Camp

You're not being serious, are you? Are you taking into account that UK, Switzerland and Germany, big importers of wine, are actually part of Europe? If we take Barolo, USA is the largest market with 14% of the share and UK the second with 13%. Even if your figure of 80% is right --according to Wine Business, it's 65%--, that hardly makes Barolo a wine that it's more consumed outside of Europe. It's like saying that few Californians know much about their own best wines because they're consumed outside California. That, without entering on the subject of whether the best barolos have the same export pattern, since your point was about Europe's best wines. ← "You're not being serious" is a fine way to continue a debate. Compliments on your fine statistics, but I think you miss the point. As far as I can tell while the UK, Switzerland and Germany are clearly part of Europe, they are, as far I know, not part of Italy. The point I was trying to make is that the Italians don't drink much of their best wines, nor do the French.

That hypothesis doesn't stand up to cross-cultural comparison, though, does it? Because if we accept that top restaurants in Europe rarely if ever do course-by-course pairings, then we have a large body of "wine people" who don't fit the hypothesis. ← I didn't realize that Europe was our standard in this regard. If it is, it's not a very good one as few Europeans know much about their own best wines, which are often mostly exported. For example, more than 80% of Barolo is consumed outside of Italy.

What happens when you get a wine and food person?

A sommelier in a top London restaurant told me recently that he believes he got the job because he told the chef at his interview that he didn't really believe in matching food and wine and just wanted his customers to enjoy what they were drinking, whatever it was. Apparently that was music to the chef's ears. ← I think that's quite the fashionable thing for sommeliers to say these days, but I've met few that did not have very exact ideas of what wines they thought were the best for various dishes.

The same thing that happened to being satisfied with the plastic food at your local chain grocery. ← That's a surprising comparison to make in my view. I think trying to pair a wine with every two or three bites of food on an extended tasting menu can easily become rather tiresome and be more about marketing pricey wines to a certain sector of the restaurant going public than the pleasures of the table. What could possibly be wrong with carefully selecting an adaptable wine to compliment a number of different dishes? To me, that shows respect for the efforts of both the chef and the winemaker without turning a sociable meal into a convoluted and expensive exercise. ← Well you could make the same argument for an extended tasting menu then. At what number of courses does it become tiresome? Absolutly nothing 99% of the time, but perhaps restaurants like Alinea are that other 1%.

This is it. It's a regional specialty of Le Marche.

I agree with you John, Alinea sees the wine and food as part of the same experience and to choose some wines would detract from the statement Grant is trying to make with that dish. Alinea is not a normal restaurant and they are looking to create a unique synergy with the food and the wine. You go to Alinea for the experience, not simply because you are hungry.

The same thing that happened to being satisfied with the plastic food at your local chain grocery. How can the same people who will drive all over town to find the right butcher, the freshest vegetables, pristine seafood, ethnic ingredients and great bread feel it's too nitpicky to pair wine with food?

Thank you for mentioning that. Pinot is not supposed to taste like syrah and vice versa. Do we really need to turn all varieties into the same wine?

It just shows how palates differ Craig. I can think of no better wine to serve with turkey than a zin. I don't think a pinot stands up to the dark meat at all, though I do think it works well with the breast. I choose zin because I think it matches both very well. I think the issue is is that you like the flavor of zinfandel so you accept those flavors with a wide range of foods just so you can drink zinfandel, which you love. I do the same thing with pinot noir and drink it with almost everything because there is nothing in wine I love so much as the flavors and structure of pinot noir (except, of course, for nebbiolo). But you have to take into account I am an total geek. I live pinot noir as a daily experience as someone who is dedicated his life to making that varietal.

Now you're talkin' !

Why? How does it work and what do you drink with a big New York Strip at Morton's if you think Zin works best with turkey? None.

Just to elaborate on the point - with the weight and girth of most American pinot noir these days, you'd be hard pressed to call them delicate in any sense. Most are rich, dark ripe wines in excess of 14% alcohol and more than a few are out and out jammy (ever taste a Loring?). So you you want a wine with pinot on the label and Zin-like wine in the bottle you'll have no trouble finding one. As far as Zin and turkey, I can think of few less appealing matches. If I found my guests preferring Zin with my turkey instead of pinot noir, I would stop serving the Zin not the pinot noir. I assure you your dinner companions will be very happy drinking the pinot and you won't be forced to drink Zin with turkey. The same goes when you are bringing the wine to someone else's house. Be kind to your own palate and bring the pinot. Not that there is anything wrong with Zin, which I like, but not with turkey.

Yes, but the last two years I have lived in the Willamette Valley and they three years before that in Italy. Big, jammy wines are really not in style in Portland.

I've never had this experience. I usually find that average wine drinkers wince at high alcohol wines. Also, if you combine Zinfandel with religion and politics at a dinner party you can end up with a food fight. Why would you see Bethel Heights as something only for aficionados? I find it graceful, silky and seductive and a more layered wine than the Nuthouse, which is a charming wine to be sure. You may not be able to find much AGED Bordeaux for $30, you can certainly find a lot of very nice subtle Bordeaux from current vintages within that budget.

That's the problem with hanging out with the wrong crowd.

That's a great point. Simple dishes are the best for older wines and a classic aged Bordeaux would be excellent with prime rib. Robust wines need robust foods, and simply roasted beef is not such a dish. These big New World Zins and Syrahs need something equally assertive to compliment them.

Not getting the bigger is better thing, I don't see Zin with prime rib, but as a better match for a big charred steak. Some of my suggestions would include: A top California pinot noir like Alma Rosa A Washington Cabernet like L'Ecole 41 An 03 Oregon pinot noir like Bethel Heights

According to Oxford Companion to Wine, Cheval Blanc is a 36 ha. vineyard planted to 66% cabernet franc, 33% merlot and 1% malbec. It seems Jancis and Bob agree on one less thing. The cepage would certainly change from year to year, but they are either throwing out a lot of cabernet franc or someone's numbers are incorrect.

What a lovely compliment. However, if a wine is strikingly delicious why would you want it to be heavier - something that would certainly obliterate some of the nuances you found so delicious. Weight should be less important than being "strikingly delicious" as a great wine is only great at the table.

The predominate grape variety in Cheval Blanc is cabernet franc.

Try it with a splash of Campari. It's great!

Craig, I've acquired a couple of bottles of a Greco di Tufo (Terre degli Angeli, Terredora 2005). Not having had one before, what can I expect and how long should I keep them. Thanks ← I would see no advantage to aging these wines and would drink them while young and fresh.

There's an interesting story in today's Wall Street Journal about values in zinfandel. Check it out!

Ridge zins run just over $20, but their 3 Valleys blend, which is mostly zinfandel, is under $20.