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Choosing a Wine
A lot has been written about what type of wines should be be served with what
type of foods. This author's opinion is that one should serve whatever tastes
good to you and your friends. After all, the purpose of wine is enjoyment, so if
you prefer heavy red wines then feel free to serve them no matter which food is
being served. Likewise, if you prefer light and fruity whites, then
nothing should stop you from drinking them with all your meals.
However, if you don't have strong preferences in terms of the type of wine
you drink, choosing a wine that complements the food will make both the food and
wine more enjoyable. To some extent, the decision of what type of wine is most
suitable is a matter of personal preference, but here are some general
guidelines:
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Guideline 1: Strong tasting food calls for strong wines; food
with light and subtle flavours calls for delicate wines. If food with a
strong taste is combined with a delicate wine, the strong flavours of the food
will overwhelm the taste of the wine and one cannot properly taste the wine.
It is a bit like eating an apple at the same time as a very spicy curry dish,
one cannot taste the apple properly. Likewise, if a strong wine is drunk at
the same time as a food with light flavours, the taste of the wine will mask
the taste of the food. It would be like drinking a pint of Guinness at the
same time as eating a trout; the taste of the trout would be overwhelmed by
the strong flavour of the beer.
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Guideline 2: Red wine with meat, white with fish and white meat.
This is perhaps the best known rule. It developed during a time when red wines
were almost always strong tasting (partly due to extensive aging in oak
barrels, which imparts a strong oak taste to the wine) and white wines were
relatively delicate tasting. It was merely a simplification of the first rule
above. However, for many decades there has been a wide selection of reds that
are light and whites that are quite powerful. Therefore, the second rule is
nonsense as it makes perfect sense to serve a light red with fish and a heavy
white with red meat. Unfortunately, the old rule of red with meat and white with
fish is so widely and deeply accepted that any attempt to do otherwise is
almost always seen as proof of extreme ignorance, rather than being correctly
perceived as wine sophistication. Consequently, if one wants to make a good
impression, it is generally best to follow this guideline.
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Guideline 3: Serve wine from the same region as the food.
Each region in France has its own distinctive culinary traditions and
flavours. The wines tend to reflect this, with the wine styles for each region
having developed over centuries to match the local dishes. The traditionally
heavy and often spicy wines of the Mediterranean go well with the use of olive
oil and herbs common to that area. The solid reds of Burgundy match the meaty
dishes (often with heavy sauces) common to that area. In particular, the
unique food of Alsace, which is Germanic in style (reflecting its position
close to the border and the fact that it was for a time part of Germany), is
reflected by the Germanic style of its wines. Consequently, if one is unsure
what wine to serve, choosing one from the same region as the food is a
relatively safe bet. This is particularly true in the case of Alsace,
especially as many Frenchmen and women accept as an absolute rule that Alsace
food should always be accompanied by Alsace wine.
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Guideline 4: When cooking with wine, serve the same wine. If one is
cooking with a medium quality wine, it makes sense to drink the same wine. In
the first place, this tends to result in a better match between the wine and
the food. Secondly, it discourages one from cooking with bad wine (cooking
does not completely mask the poor taste, so one should not cook with a wine
which isn't fit to drink). This guideline is generally not applicable if one
is drinking a fine wine (it would be a shame to cook a great wine).
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Guideline 5: Serve regional wine. If in doubt of what wine to
serve, particularly if it is being served on its own (i.e. before or after a
meal), consider serving a local wine. Frenchmen (and women) are generally most
accustomed to the wines from the regions where they live and frequently prefer
them to other regions. Not infrequently, their regional patriotism will extend
to insisting that the local wines are undoubtedly the best in France, so
serving a local wine will be appreciated.
For more
information, click on Wine & French Wine,
which will take you to our home page for this topic.
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