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Local Resources | Wine Pairing with Paul |
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Page 2 of 5 So to order this quick & easy first glass of wine, I usually look for a glass of Pinot Grigio or Chenin Blanc if I’m in a White mood, or a Pinot Noir or Grenache if I’m in a Red mood. Trust me … I have other moods we don’t need to talk about here. The Wine List at The Phoenix is very welcoming. A great picture covers the front of the wine list … a couple of souls enjoying the classic wine & cheese. It’s a great picture … the colors make you think wine. Upon opening the list, I’m happy to see it is nicely organized with some easy, mostly simple and not overtly snobby wine descriptions. Twelve glasses on the left, all white, and 12 on the right, the reds … perfect. And they are arranged from lighter to more full-bodied … also good. This makes it a little easier for the novice … a good enough selection to hold anybody’s attention while trying to get that first glass of wine. Lauren, my very friendly & knowledgeable bartender, suggested the Trebbiano, a white wine from Orvieto, Italy. However, I decided on the Indaba Chenin Blanc from South Africa. Known for this grape in South Africa, I had heard of this particular wine and thought it the perfect time to try it. I was not disappointed. It was crisp & refreshing like I had hoped, with a little more of a bite that I would have expected … however, South African Chenin Blancs tend to have a little bite to them. It was just what I needed to get me moving into my course selections and wine pairings. As I sipped on this glass, I thought of all the effort that could possibly go into matching food & wine. There is always the safe choice … easy drinking lighter wines that would pretty much pair with anything. Like the wines I usually start of with. Then the question arises … Should I order a glass with each course, to perfectly match each glass with my cuisine? This could get deadly, and expensive if I made a foolish decision to drive home after a 5 course meal. And what about all the interesting sauces that come on a plate these days? Food, dressings, wine, pairings ughh! … I’m getting nervous again. Another question … Should I match the cuisine to country? Well, if I decide on having calamari, I should go Italian, right? This certainly can work, but I feel like I should go out on more of a limb than that, right? I mean, I can match my clothes together from all over, why should wine be that hard? Should I get a bottle of wine, and if I do, how can that possibly match & enhance my dining experience all the way through? Again, I could take the easy way out with a very light Pinot Noir or soft Riesling, but I’m here to expand my horizons, right? I feel the sweat beading on my forehead … I may need some help here! But then I think … winging it ain’t such a bad thing … it is very 21st Century … the “we all make mistakes” excuse is out there, so I should get over these jitters and just order something. And what’s the worst thing that could happen? The wine police are going to take me away, or present me with a pairing violation? I mean, I know the fashion police exist and the gay mafia has been after me for years, but the Wine Police? Come on! So with the help of Lauren (and the fact that I get to write this article), I’m going to taste several wines with each of my two courses to see how I do on my pairing abilities. Hey, this game isn’t in the Olympics yet, but still can be very impressive sport to play. |
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