Wine, Pleasure, Beauty
Wine, happiness, a culture of pleasure. An exploration that roams from a local wine drinking community to a whole world of passion, beauty, and pleasure that awaits us out there. You know, eat, drink, and be merry-type stuff. Let's dive into wine and pleasure, but not take ourselves too seriously. After all, as a friend of mine likes to point out to beer geeks and wine freaks, "we're just talking about 10 minutes of pleasure, that's all."
To connect with me elsewhere, I can be found on Twitter @RonMarks, on Cork'd to share what we're drinking, or for my more personal mindcasting stuff, check out www.ronmarks.tumblr.com, or you can simply ask me a question here
Cheers!
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Pleasantly Surprised Wine Pairing of the Week
Tonight I was wondering what to pair with the pork chops I was cooking. The typical recommendations are Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, or Merlot. I currently have no Merlots in my house, I didn’t have any Chards chilled, and I just wasn’t excited about Pinot Noir tonight. It just didn’t suit my mood. So I said, fuck it, tonight is sparkling wine night. See how a Prosecco handles a pork chop and vegetable meal.
So I opened my bottle of Borgo Magredo. I tasted it before the meal, and began impressed. But then again, I love all Proseccos. What struck me was the finish. Apples, hell yeah, apples, apples that went on for miles. So crisp, yummy, and apples. Then I served it with the meal. How would it do?
First off, how you prepare a meal has an impact on how it pairs with the wine you serve. People have different cooking styles. Here’s mine. For meat, simple. I want my cooking just to show off what the meat really tastes like. For pork chops that means salt and pepper, nothing else. Here’s how it came off. The pepper and the Prosecco were a match made in heaven. The crispness of the wine balanced nicely the savory flavor of the pork chops.
When recommendations are made for certain kinds of food, some wines always make the list, but others never seem to be mentioned. Apparently, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir pair with almost anything, because they make every list on every website and blog, but I rarely see sparkling wine recommended for anything but special occasions or as an aperitif. It’s time we not only opened our sparkling wines to celebrate the ordinary sort of days that make up our lives, but also that we learn what regular foods these wines go well with. I think we’ll find they go with almost anything.
Here’s my review of the win on Cork’d for those of you who record your wines there.
Here’s to la dolce vita!
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