Last night for dinner, we decided to experiment with a food and wine pairing. We chose to have a sweet wine with dinner as one of our family members likes a sweet, white wine. Our choice was Midnight Magnolia from Duplin Estate Wines in North Carolina. According to the label this is a Mid Harvest White Table Wine. A member of the muscadine family (V. rotundifolia,) Magnolia is an early, bronze grape, suitable for juice or wine. Midnight Magnolia is medium to heavy bodied and semi-sweet on taste.
For dinner we were having tacos and all the fixings. I know what you’re thinking why in the world would you pair a sweet wine with tacos? We like to experiment with pairings and usually they work out because we are drinking a wine we like. However, in this case the body of the wine was too heavy and the wine was too sweet. Most likely a dry white wine would have enhanced the flavor of the tacos. What food mismatches have you tried?
How many times have you been told a wine is an “acquired taste?” Traditionally many wine connoisseurs say that consumers start drinking white, sweet wine and gradually move on to red wines. For myself, I started with sweet fruit wines, and now I can appreciate a dry, red wine with an Italian dinner or sizzling steak, hot off the grill. However, when I want a wine to sip and relax with, a sweet fruit wine is my favorite. I suppose one could say I “acquired” a taste for dry, red wines.
More specifically, two other wines come to mind when I hear the words “acquired” taste: Scuppernong and Rechina. While visiting wineries in North Carolina, we discovered Scuppernong. Scuppernong does not grow in colder climates and has a foxy taste to it. Some, including myself, believe it has a similar but different taste than Niagara. Wineries we came across continually proclaimed the health benefits of Scuppernong wine due to its high antioxidant levels.
In Virginia, we discovered Rechina, an Americanized version of Retsina, at Mediterranean Cellars. It was unique with a resinated character. We talked to a neighborhood wine storeowner and were told that it is an “acquired” taste. If you have a chance, give it a try.
Tasting wines can be a great adventure. When you have the opportunity, try different wines even though you might be told they have an “acquired” taste. Sipping a variety of different wines opens up your taste buds from the mundane everyday wines to the exotic and makes tasting wines an adventure. Have you tried Scuppernong or Rechina? What wines have you had that you believe have an “acquired” taste?
Whenever we gather with a group of friends discussion eventually comes to wine. Almost apologetically someone mentioned that she has tried many wines and prefers to drink only sweet wines. Most of the others in the group indicated that they would drink sweet wines although the preferences were to drier reds. Why would one need to apologize for drinking what they like?
Part of your wine journey is to search for the wines you like. If you keep an open mind along the journey and try many different wines, what types of wine you enjoy is a personal choice. No one has a right to tell you not to drink any particular wine. If you like a sweet wine then drink a sweet wine. If you like a dry wine then drink a dry wine.
Most wine and food pairing charts are suggestive in nature. Often the suggestion is to drink what you like. Although there are sound reasons behind the suggestions in wine pairing charts, what you like trumps all of those suggestions. Challenges arise when two or more people share a meal and they each have their own wine favorites. Look at this as an opportunity to try something new and different and see how the food and wine complement each other.
You also have an opportunity to explore different wines by visiting wineries in your community and as you travel. Most wineries have tasting rooms and you often can taste a wide range of their portfolio. Other tasting rooms limit tasting to five or six wines, if you go with another person you can double that number and share. When in a tasting room, don’t limit yourself to the types of wine you know you like, explore other wines. If you don’t like them, that’s fine. The experience is your wine journey. Wines that you don’t like are just as important as wines that you do like. There are always surprises. I am not a big fan of a single varietal Cabernet Franc. I like it in a blend but not as the single variety. While visiting wineries in Ontario, I had the opportunity to taste Cabernet Franc icewines. They were wonderful. So I discovered an exception. Be open to discovering exceptions.
I always look forward to the first peaches of the summer. The cool and refreshing peach is nature’s answer to hot summer days. After spending hours cleaning an old house, it was time for a refreshing pick-me-up. I had a chilled bottle of Knapp George’s Peach wine. I added a peach slice to the wine and presented the wine to my fellow cleaners. It was an immediate hit. Everyone commented on the presentation and how good the wine and peach slice was. Although not my favorite, the Knapp peach wine was semi-sweet, cool and refreshing. We drank the entire bottle in minutes and seemed to have the energy, at least our spirits were higher, to continue cleaning.
Winemakers often make fruit wines during the summer. Unlike grape wines, most fruit wines do not need to age. My favorite peach wine is made by Piedmont Vineyards and Winery, Inc., The Plains, Virginia. Their peach wine is made from peaches and is bone dry with a great peach nose and taste with a long peach aftertaste. The dryness of this wine was a departure from other fruit wines that tend to be sweeter. If near The Plains, Virginia, stop by and give their peach wine a taste.
-1.5in.jpg)
August Newsletter from Wine Trail Traveler
Wine Trail Traveler publishes a monthly newsletter. Topics include anything related to wine, wineries and vineyards. This month’s newsletter focuses on visiting wineries near to home. A review is included of Garlic Mike’s restaurant in Colorado where a wonderful food and wine pairing occurred. It was a terrific dinner, ambiance and conversation. Are you looking for a Shish Kabob recipe? Check out the recipe from Cottonwood Cellars. The August newsletter can be viewed at http://www.winetrailtraveler.com/newsletter/newsletter.html.
If you have any ideas you would like added to the Wine Trail Traveler newsletter, let me know by adding a comment to this blog.
Cheers!
Kathy