Hello, Welcome to Castle Glen!
My name is Ralph; I will be your guide, from time to time, in the world of wine. This is the first of what I hope will be a series of essays on the fascinating subject of wine!
Frequently, my customers will ask me,
“What wine should I serve with dinner tonight?”
Among wine experts, called oenologists, this is known as ‘pairing’ wine with food. The answer is, “It depends; what are you serving?”
If I know what you’re serving, I can recommend a wine that will maximize your enjoyment of both the food and the wine!
So, how does one pair wine with food?
Following a few general easy to remember rules will do exactly that. These rules are general in nature – they are NOT hard and fast, or carved in stone. There were told to me by a true oenologist. We would wrap a towel around a bottle of wine and pour some into a glass. Paul would take a couple of sips then identify the style, vintage, even whether the wine came from the sunny or shady side of the vineyard! Paul explained it this way:
- Drink what you like. If you don’t like the wine paired with the food, you won’t enjoy your meal.
- Pair red wine with red meat such as beef or game meats like venison and buffalo, or pasta with an acidic sauce such as marinara. The point is, pair a hearty wine with hearty foods so that the food and wine are balanced, and one doesn’t overwhelm the other. Specifically, the food doesn’t overwhelm the wine.
- Pair white wines with lighter foods such as fowl, pork, veal, freshwater fish, seafood, or pasta with a light sauce. Just as with rule 2, the point is to not overwhelm the food or the wine.
- When in doubt, refer to rule 1. If you don’t like the wine, you won’t like the meal!
As I said earlier, these rules are not hard and fast or carved in stone!
There are many exceptions. When talking to my friends here at Castle Glen, one of the most common exceptions seems to be to pair wines and foods together that come from the same region, regardless of their color. Another is to pair sparkling wine with, surprisingly, Chinese food.
There are probably more exceptions to these rules than there are occasions to follow them. Nevertheless, you won’t go horribly wrong by following them. So, raise your glass and enjoy your meal!
That’s all for now, friends. If you have a subject you’d like me to address, send us an email. Better yet, come by and see us and enjoy our menu of stellar wines.
MONTHLY WINE SAVINGS
Subscribe & Save
By signing up to our monthly mailing list you are welcoming the latest news, wines and savings directly into your inbox.
