Since we jumped on the whole pairing wines with grilled foods last week in advance of the semi-official beginning of grilling season, let’s take a broader look at pairing food and wine. [level-members]
This makes sense because of the great range of foods we’ll find ourselves being asked to pair wine with on holiday weekends like this. And the broad range of preparations for even the simplest foods. (Burgers with cheddar on top, or stuffed with blue cheese, or stuffed with, basically, Caprese salad, or …)
Eric Asimov’s column from March isn’t about pairing per se, but about picking better bottles of wine. The same principles apply, though. And nothing makes me happier than reading sentiments like this:
But wine in the classic sense is not a cocktail replacement. It is an integral part of a meal, served at the table, with food.
I get downright giddy reading this, though:
You may happen on a good bottle, but chances are you will not. For that, you need a store run by passionate devotees who do much of the advance work for you. A good wine shop or online merchant with a point of view, like a great butcher or baker, will have performed a rigorous selection process before making its wares available to consumers. Knowing that you are in a good wine shop can sharpen your decision-making down to issues of taste and occasion rather than quality.
Preaching to the choir, but still music to my ears.
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