The Unsophisticated Palate

In the words of George Carlin, “What wine goes with Captain Crunch?” In this episode, we tackled wine pairings…and we discovered,  this whole wine pairing thing…it isn’t as simple as we thought it was going to be.

There are some basic pairings that are easy to remember and will make us all look like experts! Pair: red with red, white with white, bold with bold, and sweet with spicy. What do we mean by this? You’ll want to pair your red wine with your red meats. Get that juicy steak ready! Pair your chardonnay with a nice piece of white fish. Pour a glass of a bold Zinfandel and pair it with barbecued pork ribs. You know that spicy noodle dish you love? A sweet glass of Riesling would be a perfect compliment to that dish!

Now, let’s get a little fancy. Marc used some big words this week, and here’s a quick recap of what he said: When you’re making some decisions on your pairings you need to decide if you want your food to complement or contrast with your wine. In other words (BIG words)  are these pairings congruent or contrasting? If they are congruent then they share flavors to enhance one another. If they are contrasting, there is a balance between two different flavors, like spicy and sweet. So, what are you gonna do? 

All this being said, studies have come out that have stated that we shouldn’t be pairing our wines with our foods, we should be pairing them with our moods…. The article is referenced below! If you still want to pair your wines with your foods, here are some amazing tips for you!

Unsophisticated Tips:

Pair rosé  with appetizers – Because rosé  has the qualities of both red and white it’s versatile wine that goes with most foods!

Pair whites with whites  – Go for the unoaked whites over the oaked. Try an albariño or an unoaked chardonnay. It won’t compete with the food the way an oaked white will. 

Don’t go too Sweet with Your Dessert Wines – You don’t want the dessert wine to be as sweet as the dessert. One needs to be less sweet than the other in order for the flavors to complement one another.

Pair Tannic Reds with  Red Meat – Tannic reds provide a mouth feel that go well with meat.

Pair Earthy Food with Earthy wines – Try a pinot and something gamey like bison, or a veggie like mushrooms!

Pair Light meats with light wines – You can pair a light meat such as pork or chicken with a white OR a light red, like pinot!

Pair Sweet with Spicy – Why do these go together? Sweet wines are lower in alcohol. Wines that are higher in alcohol accentuate the spiciness, making the meal unpleasant. Plus, these flavors work well together!

With ALL of this information, the MOST important thing is to drink what you like! If you like a glass of chardonnay with your ribeye, go for it! If you want a cabernet with your fettuccini alfredo, enjoy!

Until next time, drink responsibly! Cheers!

“As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans.”

― Ernest Hemingway, A Moveable Feast

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Choosing a wine can be tough, even for the seasoned wine drinker! Hopefully, after listening to our episode on How to Choose a Wine,  you now have a few new tools to make that process a tad bit easier. First of all, remember, you are NOT alone! The majority of people have no idea how to pick a wine and simply choose a wine based on its label. “Oh look at you, you gorgeous thing! I bet you’re delicious!” Good luck with that! There is a chance that the pretty label will indeed be drinkable, and in fact tasty; but, it’s also likely that you will be disappointed.

To avoid that scenario, here are some words of wisdom that we shared this week.

Unsophisticated Tips:

When choosing wine in a restaurant

• If you notice that the restaurant specializes in a certain type of wine, maybe lean that way.
• If there are local wines on the wine list, give them a try!
• Ask for a taste!!! If you’re deciding between a couple of wines, ask for samples so you make sure you get what you like. Jen does this ALL. THE. TIME!

“When in Rome…”

• Drink Italian with Italian
• Drink Greek with Greek, etc…

Online Quizzes

• There are a bunch of online wine profile quizzes out there, usually associated with wine clubs. This is kind of a fun way to test find out your taste profile.

Make a Friend in a Wine Store

• When you get to a wine store, make a friend with someone that works there. Have that person show you around and ask them tons of questions. They are the experts! Get some good recs and try out some wines!

Find a similar varietal!

• If you like Pinot, try Gamay
• If you like Zinfandel, try Grenache, Primitivo, Carnignane
• If you like Cabernet, try  Cab Franc, Montepulciano
• If you like Syrah, try Barbera
• If you like Chardonnay, try Burgundy…it’s the Same Grape! Whaaaaatttt!!! Yep!  

 

Until next time, drink responsibly! Cheers!

 

“The simplest definition of a great bottle of wine is when you feel sad because the bottle is empty.”

― Tony Margiotta

 

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Thank you so much for joining us for our first OFFICIAL episode! Woo hoo! We couldn’t be more excited to be taking this journey with you. As I’m sure you gathered almost immediately, we are not experts! We are just two people who love to drink, love to learn, and really love to talk. In case you weren’t able to diligently take notes on all of the amazing words of wisdom we shared, here’s a short summary of what we covered along with some key tips.

First of all, finding a good wine can be a daunting task. It’s important to remember that most people are NOT truly experts, so just start testing out different wines and have fun with it. Start off by learning about the basic wine varietals (or grapes), such as Chardonnay, Cabernet, Pinot Noir, and Sauvignon Blanc. These are wines you’ll see all the time at dinner parties and at restaurants.

There are some simple strategies that we use and find helpful such as making a friend in a wine store that can show you the ropes. It never hurts to ask for advice and there is no shame in it. Remember, these people are trained professionals who know their stuff! Also, when you find something you like then learn about it – the kind, region, and flavor profile (bold, light) and anything else notable, such as its elevation, what type of soil the vines were grown in. You’d be surprised at how that affects the flavor of the wine and how that will influence what wines you’ll like down the line!

Unsophisticated Tips: 

• Don’t be afraid to ask for advice! – There are experts out there that can help guide you in your search for wine. Use them! Tell them what you’re looking for, or even if you don’t know exactly what you’re looking for, have a conversation with them and let them lead the way. 
• Learn about wines you like! – When you taste something delicious, learn about that wine. You may find that there are qualities in a particular wine that you really like and that can impact your wine choices in the future. 
• When you find a wine you love, take a picture of the bottle! – This will help you catalog wines you like and ensure that you don’t forget great wines that you’ve tried.
• DRINK WHAT YOU LIKE!!! – self explanatory (and perhaps the most important tip of all!) 

 

 

Tune in next week for our episode on How to Choose a Wine. Until next time, drink responsibly!

Cheers!

Marc and Jen

“In wine, there’s truth.”

― Pliny the Elder, Natural History

 

Information Referenced:

6 DEAD GIVEAWAYS THAT YOU ARE AN AMATEUR WINE DRINKER