What Wine for What Occasion?
by Ed Young
Frugal MacDoogal's Monthly Guest Wine Letter August, 2004
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Here is an interesting question that you may never have thought about: How do you decide what wine to drink on any specific occasion? The question, which assumes that you’re enough into wines to have a selection to choose from, has multiple answers, and those answers can tell you a lot about yourself and your wine knowledge and preferences.
1. Is it winter or summer? Am I dining outside or inside? I’d never drink a chilled rose on a cold winter’s night, but that would be just right for an outdoor jazz concert with a picnic on the lawn.
2. Is this a celebratory occasion? Personally, “National Peanut Week” is enough for me to crack open a bottle, but for the real special occasions I’ll choose Champagne or Prosecco, or Amarone.
3. How extravagant do I want to be? Some nights you just don’t want to blow a bottle of expensive wine on the kind of day you’ve had. On the other hand, if you’ve had a REALLY bad day (say your daughter eloped with your least favorite of her suitors), you might want the most expensive bottle you have in the cellar.
4. Who will be sharing the wine with you? Is this someone I’m trying to impress? What does he or she like?
5. A corollary of #4 above is how many bottles of this do you have? If we get on a roll, and another bottle is called for, is there another one, or will I have to substitute something else?
6. Is this wine for sipping, or drinking with a meal? If I’m sipping (which happens frequently), I prefer something fruit forward and soft. Save those wines with edgy tannins for the meat course!
7. What is on the menu? Although there aren’t any ironclad rules anymore about wines and foods, I personally wouldn’t drink Chateauneuf du Pape with Dover Sole, or open a delicate Sauvignon Blanc if I’m having a pot roast with gravy. But, if you’re having possum with sweet potatoes, suit yourself.
8. Do I want something light or something heavy? Rose, Pinot Noir, and whites are on the light side, and Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Zinfandel are heavy reds to my taste.
9. Have I ever had this before? Sometimes you feel experimental and ready to explore new frontiers of wine pleasure. This can be one of the most rewarding motivations for choosing a wine, but other times you may want to stick with the tried and true.
10. What did I drink last night? How much is left in the bottle? Lets be honest-we all hate to see wine sitting there going to waste in a bottle that has already been opened.
11. How soon do I want to pour and drink? Some wines take some time to open up and show what they’ve got. If I can spare an hour or so, I may test my discipline by opening a bottle now and letting it sit for awhile.
12. Is there something interesting in my kitchen wine rack, or will I need to visit the cellar? If I’m in a hurry, I tend to grab something handy.
13. Has this wine been down long enough to mature? This is a tricky one because most of us wine lovers tend to put away vintages and then forget when we bought them and how long they are supposed to sleep before they are ready. We will drink no wine before its time, but is it time?
14. Obviously, personal taste enters into your wine selection. I know people who rarely drink whites, and others who dislike the “barnyardy” character of “Old World” reds. Some like a little sweetness in their wines (white Zinfandel or Riesling). This excludes many choices before you start.
15. Finally, your choice of a wine (like your choice of music) on any given occasion may be most affected by what kind of mood you are in. A “blues” mood is different from a Brahms trio mood, and a bluegrass mood is likely to produce a different wine selection than an opera mood.
Aren’t we lucky that we have so many choices? Drop by the store soon and let the Frugal’s staff help you cultivate your wine preferences. You’ll discover that one of the very best reasons for selecting a given wine is because Jeff, or Jack, or Jerry recommended it!
July 2004 letter: >click here<
For A List of Ed Young's Archived Newsletters >click here<
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