Jump to content
  • Welcome to the eG Forums, a service of the eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters. The Society is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the culinary arts. These advertising-free forums are provided free of charge through donations from Society members. Anyone may read the forums, but to post you must create a free account.

Wine Wisdoms


kitchensqueen

Recommended Posts

Today while listening to a podcast on food (I forget which one, it was hours ago) the host said "the heavier the food, the heavier the wine" in reference to making a good pairing.

Now this seems counter-intuitive to me (or at least not a hard-and-fast rule), but what do the oenophiles in the house think?

And what wine sayings/wisdoms has everyone else heard?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

A personal favorite, apparently about Bordeaux and said by the eminently quotable Anonymous:

The French drink them young, so a Socialist government won’t take them. The English drink them old, so they can show their friends cobwebs and dusty bottles. The American drink them exactly when they are ready, because they don’t know any better.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...

"If it grows together, it goes together..."

Most definitely true. Think of all of the classic pairings and they are the wines and foods of the same areas. Muscadet and oysters. Sancerre and goat cheese. Tempranillo and Iberico ham. Prosecco and prosciutto and melon. And so on...

Katie M. Loeb
Booze Muse, Spiritual Advisor

Author: Shake, Stir, Pour:Fresh Homegrown Cocktails

Cheers!
Bartendrix,Intoxicologist, Beverage Consultant, Philadelphia, PA
Captain Liberty of the Good Varietals, Aphrodite of Alcohol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

"With wine in hand, one reaches the happy state - where men are wise, women beautiful; and even one's children begin to look promising." Anon.

Presumably the food tastes better as well. In vino veritas.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Today while listening to a podcast on food (I forget which one, it was hours ago) the host said "the heavier the food, the heavier the wine" in reference to making a good pairing. Now this seems counter-intuitive to me (or at least not a hard-and-fast rule), but what do the oenophiles in the house think?

It's a major consideration when I pair wine with food. The saying is only about the body and full flavor of a wine. If you paired a "lightweight" wine, like pinot grigio, with a heavy-duty grilled steak, the wine would be lost. So instead you pair a charred steak with a heavier wine like cabernet sauvignon or petite sirah. Or if you paired that cabernet sauvignon with sauteed scallops, the wine would overwhelm the delicate seafood. That's when you reach for the pinot grigio.

Why did you think this was counterintuitive?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Today while listening to a podcast on food (I forget which one, it was hours ago) the host said "the heavier the food, the heavier the wine" in reference to making a good pairing. Now this seems counter-intuitive to me (or at least not a hard-and-fast rule), but what do the oenophiles in the house think?

It's a major consideration when I pair wine with food. The saying is only about the body and full flavor of a wine. If you paired a "lightweight" wine, like pinot grigio, with a heavy-duty grilled steak, the wine would be lost. So instead you pair a charred steak with a heavier wine like cabernet sauvignon or petite sirah. Or if you paired that cabernet sauvignon with sauteed scallops, the wine would overwhelm the delicate seafood. That's when you reach for the pinot grigio.

Why did you think this was counterintuitive?

Actually, the way you explain it makes perfect sense - maybe the word "heavy" just threw me off. I just had this impression of a heavy dinner with an equally heavy wine sitting with you like a ton of bricks... which didn't seem like a good post-dinner state of affairs! :-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...
×
×
  • Create New...