Possible the question I get asked the most in the store is, “Do you have a nice red that isn’t expensive and tastes good?”
Let’s break down this question;
Nice- Do they mean courteous?
Isn’t expensive- $10 to $50, it is a sliding scale.
Good- We don’t sell bad wine…. intentionally. Wine can be corked, not our fault. Good is subjective too.
Anyways here is a nice, inexpensive red that I think is good.
Le Paradou from the south of France. ($11.95) Fruit-forward, spicy with soft tannins. 100% Grenache, the sexy grape as it is known in the wine world. Enjoy!

Possible the question I get asked the most in the store is, “Do you have a nice red that isn’t expensive and tastes good?”
Let’s break down this question;
Nice- Do they mean courteous?
Isn’t expensive- $10 to $50, it is a sliding scale.
Good- We don’t sell bad wine…. intentionally. Wine can be corked, not our fault. Good is subjective too.
Anyways here is a nice, inexpensive red that I think is good.
Le Paradou from the south of France. ($11.95) Fruit-forward, spicy with soft tannins. 100% Grenache, the sexy grape as it is known in the wine world. Enjoy!

This short vid should set you at ease about how sulphite in wine may or may not affect you.

Peeps don’t know this shit at all and they should. Let’s face it, we all have to start some where right?

Cold can “freeze” your taste buds. This heightens the acid receptors and numbs the others which are sweet, salty, bitter and “Umami”. Most don’t know the last one. (Save for another day too.) Cold also suppresses scent molecules in the wine. These two “suspects” now give you a simple equation for tart and acidic white wine. Sounds pretty crappy to me!

A good example of these two “criminals” on something else most of us are familiar with…… ice cream. There you are with a nice frozen bowl of ice cream. Tasted pretty good, right. Now you have been chatting for a bit or maybe had to go change a diaper?? I don’t know, whatever. Now you have a bowl of “warm cream”, no longer ice. You take a dip and now it tastes pretty darn sweet!! There you go, a nice home experiment to try if you have not yet experienced “warm cream”.

Wine as we appreciate it has been around hundreds of years and fridges have not. Go figure eh. So if your wine is as cold as your beer or milk it it too cold. Let it warm up a bit before enjoying. 8 to 12 degrees C is about average. Some sweet wines a bit cooler, fine Burgundy a bit warmer.

A fun wine lesson is to have your wine too cold then taste in 5 to 10 minute increments as it warms up. You will be amazed. Now stop sending back you wine and enjoy yourself.

Cheers,

Norm

P.S. Sorry for the long break on writing. I have had a couple great new changes to my life. Stay tuned!

What we are talking is dry roses. The “Old World” Roses. They come from the south of Frances and Spain, mainly. The pink tinge comes from the grapes only being fermented a few days with skin contact. This also adds light tannins.

These are hot regions so they make these wine to be refreshing. White Zins from North America are sweet, cloying and not very refreshing, if at all. “Old World” Roses also go well with food.  Most Euro’s have food when they drink…..anything.

If you would like to try a dry Rose (Granacha based) the best advise I can give you is this;

Think about what a young strawberry just ripening tastes like. The fruit flavor is there but the sugar is not yet developed. You also have acidity which White Zins lack. This acidity gives the wine it’s fresh appeal. Even better, try it on your patio with the sun blazing on your “melon”. May be snacking on some Tapas. Get the picture I am trying to paint here?

Go now and find that wine. Run even, don’t delay as the moment may pass and only you shall miss the experience. Or next time you are in your favorite Shop, search one out. You may be pleasantly surprised!

Cheers,

Norm

Just a reminder that Red Burgundy is Pinot Noir from the Burgundy Valley in France. I found that New World Pinot Noirs just don’t have the connection. This probably illustrates pairing ethnic is the best way.

Some peeps don’t like to pair wine with soup as it is “liquid with liquid” which seems senseless. But French Onion marches to its own drum here.

If you want to try other soups, think of body (light or heavy)and the predominant foods (mushroom to beef, etc) that are involved.

Being winter in Canada at the time of writing this, Canucks may be more prone to try this kind of pairing. We can make anything in our igloos.

Jump in with both snowshoed feet and enjoy!

cheers,

Norm

This certified Organic will blast your nose into orbit with tropical/citrus fruits right up front! Fresh on the palate with a clean crisp, long finish. $12.35 at the Banff Wine Store (Alberta, Canada). Sucks to be in B.C. when it comes to wine, beer and liquor pricing.

Oh, and don’t over chill this or any white wine.

Next off the pad is the Castillo de Almansa Reserva, 2005, Spain.

This bad boy has been around a long time, but with winemaking techniques improved, a new blend and a great vintage, this is the bomb! Tempranillo, Monastrell and Granacha, you have big fruit on the nose and palate but the Tempranillo smooths it down just enough to pair with food. Tannins are soft but still there. This one I do call “Yummie”. $12.45 at the Banff Wine Store (Alberta, Canada)

Let’s check out the four familiar components of taste and how they work in pairing.

Sweetness – While it is not always easy to recognize sweet sauces, such as teriyaki and honey-mustard, they will increase the perception of acidity, bitterness and astringency in a wine. If you pair a sweet dish with a dry wine, the wine will seem even drier.  Matching the same sweet dish with a slightly sweet wine may be more appropriate.

Acidity – Foods with high acidity like vinegar based or tomato sauces will lessen the perception of acidity in a wine. This makes the wine feel more soft and round. The same dish can make an already soft wine seem flabby and too fruity. The rule of thumb is match acid with acid.

Saltiness – As food becomes saltier the flavours tend to increase and overpower a wine. Some salt in a dish can be useful in lowering the bitterness and astringency of a wine. When trying to match wine with salty foods try a tannic wine.

Astringency – Not a part of taste, but rather of touch, astringency can be important in pairing food and wine. Astringency in a wine is often seen as dryness. The perception of astringency in a wine can be increased or decreased by elements in food.

To lessen the astringency in a wine try foods with acidity, saltiness, or high fat content, such as rare meats or soft-ripened cheeses.

To raise the astringency in a wine, foods with sweetness, tannins or other forms of astringency such as nuts, herbs like cumin or green vegetables will make a wine seem drier.

Bitterness – Bitter flavours are usually found in green vegetables, some herbs or foods charred during cooking (eg. BBQ). The bitterness in food will increase the perception of bitterness in a wine. Matching a grilled steak with a tannic red may not be the way to go. You may want to try a softer red. To tone down bitterness in a wine, use foods with the same elements used to lessen astringency.

Conclusions – These guidelines do not give clear cut choices for this dish and that wine. They do offer a way to make any dish and wine react in a predictable way. The key is knowing the characteristics of the food and wine. The sauce is as important as the meat you are pairing it with. Since you probably will not have tasted all the menu items, you will have to rely on some generalizations about a grape type or regional style.

Tastings.com is an interactive site to search for pairings.