Americans don't pay much attention to putting main dishes with side dishes and then with the beverage. That's why we have Coke and Jello salads and the like. In some countries wine and food just naturally go together. In certain places the food was designed to go with the local wines available or maybe it was the other way around.
Why isn't wine and food more integrated into the American lifestyle?
In many European countries wine is a part of life. Usually with lunch and dinner you eat a meal slowly and enjoy a nice bottle of wine with food, friends, and family.
So what's with the U.S. attitude? Alcohol has a bad reputation (see Prohibition). It's for getting drunk and raising hell. Apparently, even a $75 Cabernet is something you guzzle then get into a bar fight. We don't seem to have time to take a two hour lunch let alone a two hour dinner. Gulp your food and maybe a glass of wine or just eat at Burger King.
So how has affected American wine? Since having a proper match with you food isn't important wines have gotten much easier to drink by themselves -- just like soda pop. The wines often are fruity, come across sweet, and are soft (low acid). Is this good or bad for a food wine? If you're fine with a Coke with your meal (like at Burger King) then these wines are okay.
But are you missing anything? Well, next time you have a nice tomato-based pasta sauce try it with Dr. Pepper then try it with a nice Italian Barbera or Sangiovese and decide for yourself.
Why should wine and food get so much attention?
And why is there so much science and pretentious writing into food and wine pairing? Some writers make it seem like only a select few highly educated people can really pull off the proper wine and food parings.
It's pretty simple to have a successful meal. Most people know the simple rule of white wine with lighter dishes like seafood and chicken and reds with beef. That's pretty close to all you need to know. Just a couple other things to think about:
1. Rather than saying simply "white with white meat, red with red" it's more lighter meals with lighter wine and heavier meals with heavy wine. For instance, Pinot Noir can match well with salmon and pork as Pinot is a lighter red wine.
2. Pay attention to any sauce and seasoning you put on a dish. For instance, spaghetti in a light cream sauce is a whole lot different from spaghetti and meatballs in a spicy tomato sauce. The former is probably best with Chardonnay, the latter with Zinfandel or similar. Same with chicken: A basic plain baked chicken is a white wine meal, but once you slather your grilled chicken in a tomato-based BBQ it can become a red wine meal. Okay, that's really simplified, but good enough. Don't lose any sleep over it (unless you're a chef).
3. It's not just the variety of wine, but the style as some are made to go better with food. Often those soft, fruity, oaky wines that you might like by the glass aren't the best for a meal.
4. There are meals that pair better with wine than others. Anything that's considered Mediterranean cooking probably works well. Something like meatloaf, buttery mashed potatoes and green beans? Well, that's kind of difficult as each one of those probably needs a different kind of wine. What do I do in situations like that? Sparkling wine goes well with so many things and is underutilized as a food wine in this country.
This may not be perfect, but this is good enough for most of us. You can always Google "food and wine" and get lots more help.
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