Wine pairing for some college staples...

Let me first apologize for the lack of posts over the past couple of weeks.  I'm studying to take the Certified Specialist of Wine exam next Tuesday, and my brain has been completely fried with wine knowledge.  It's an exam put on by the Society of Wine Educators.  It literally encompasses everything from viticulture to grape varietal/region knowledge to chemical reactions of photosynthesis/fermentation.  It's gotten a little intense studying for a couple hours every night (as I decided to take this 3 weeks ago!), and I have been too motivated to conjure up a good post!

Anyways, I wanted to write a short entry today about pairing wines with "budget" food.  When the bank account gets a little tight, sometimes the dinner selection reverts back to college favorites:  Easy Mac, Tombstone Pizza, and Ramen noodles.  Check out my pairings below, and tell me what you think!

Easy Mac

This dish is cheesy, buttery, and fatty.  It was a classic dish for me, since it took 3 minutes to make.  Easy Mac is a great dish with a bottle of California Chardonnay.  Chards from California are known to have a rich buttery component to them, which would mesh well with the cheese/butter in the dish.  My choices:  Clos du Bois, Sterling, Kendall Jackson, Beauleau Vineyards, and Beringer Founders Estate.  These producers all make a style that is "traditional" California.

Tombstone Pizza

I think value/dollar, Tombstone is the best deal in the frozen pizza department.  You can usually find these at 3 for $9.99.  I was also a huge fan of their commercial.  When the guy's sitting in the jail cell, and warden comes by and says: "What do you want on your Tombstone?!"  There are a lot of reds that are versital with pizza.  My favs would be:  Valpolicella or Montepulciano di Abruzzo from Italy, Cote du Rhone from France, and Tempranillo from Spain.  These reds tend to be "lighter", and express a softer fruit component....very little tannin.  The texture/flavor of the pizza is not overpowered by the weight of the wine.  You can find values in these categories for under $10/bottle.

Ramen noodles

Probably the all time "go-to" dish in college.  You could buy Ramen for pennies, and it usually did the trick late at night.  This pairing is a little trickier since Ramen is light, has little flavor, and it pretty salty.  I'm going to hate to type this, but here it goes:  Franzia, Almaden, or Charles Shaw Sauvignon Blanc/Pinot Grigio, or anything that is supercheap and a lighter white.  The reason for the pairing is that most of Chuck Shaw whites have no body, and are virtually like tasting flavored, alcoholic water!  Ramen is essentially flavored, salty water with spongey noodles.  I'm envious of the person who is reaping millions of dollars from the creation of this dish!

Next time you've spent a little too much money and have to curtail the dinner budget, pick up a pack of Easy Mac & Clos du Bois!  It could turn into a monthly staple?! 

 

Wine trends, and the millennial consumer....

Like anything, wine is a trendy topic.  The wine world has it's "ebs and flows", and it's "ups and downs".  Back in the late 80s/early 90s, 60 minutes aired a show about the French Paradox.  Basically stating, drinking red wine is good for your health.  Soon after that show, Merlot made a big splash.  Everyone, and their mother was buying this grape, because it was an easy drinking, red wine.  It was the perfect marketing tool:  drinking wine makes you live longer.  California vitners ripped up many of their vineyards, and started to plant merlot.  Per capita wine consumption in the U.S. exploded! 

Early this century, Sideways came out and Pinot Noir was the hottest grape varietal in the world.  Those same California vitners ripped up their merlot, and started to plant Pinot.  Pinot Noir has had tremendous growth in the last 5 years.  We are now the largest wine consuming nation in the world.

This trend also correlates to "generations" of wine drinkers.  In my opinion, the wines of the Babyboomer generation were/are chardonnay, merlot, and cabernet sauvignon.  More recently, pinot grigio, and pinot noir.  My generation, the Millennial, is a little harder to predict.  We love to try all and anything NEW.  We're a generation that goes out and travels the world.  We like brand names.  We buy Starbucks, not coffee.  We order Grey Goose, not well vodka.  We dress in Diesel jeans, not "blue jeans".  We are not getting married as early, so we have more disposable income.  This is why I find it interesting that when it comes to wine, we still buy Charles Shaw, Tisdale, & Foxhorn ($3.99).  This has to do with education.  Why do you drink Starbucks?  Because it's good coffee...maybe?  or is it because your friends drink it, and it's trendy to be seen at a meeting with that little Mermaid/Siren on your cup?  Millennials aren't drinking drip coffee, they want to try what's new....Peppermint Mocha Latte, Pumpkin Spiced Latte, right?  Why are we spending the same amount on a latte, as we are on our wine?  It doesn't make sense to me!  It has do with knowledge, and we don't know much about wine.  Wine selection over the past 10 years has increased significantly.  Wine tastings have become trendy, and wine dinners WERE the new date night.  We need to buy our wine with the same mentality of buying our coffee: spend more on your wine, and try new things.  Experimentation is the only way you be able to expand your wine knowledge!  Don't be afraid to pickup a bottle of Albarino, Torrontes, or Roussanne.  Take a chance with Grenache, Cinsault, and Mourvedre.  You'll surprise yourself, and try a bunch of cool and exotic wines.

Part 2, the dinner wine...

In follow up to my last blog, "Johnny" (my hopeless romantic friend, that is seeking to impress his date with wine knowledge) had purchased his cocktail wine.  Which, by the way, was a Vouvray from Remy Pannier.  Great little bottle of wine, which will run you about $11-$12.  He's one step closer to pulling off the perfect date!

Johnny is a simple guy.  He likes to keep his dinners on a consistent rotation: salmon, chicken, shrimp, and steak.  I try to tell Johnny to keep it effortless with his wine pairing, and not to overthink the match.  In the past, pairing wine came down to it's simplest form: white wine w/ white meat, red wine w/ red meat.  As the wine industry has advanced over the past couple decades, so had that methodology.  We now focus on the seasoning of the protein, when looking to pair it with wine.  Below are a few basic dishes, and a few easy pairings:

Chicken -

1. Sauteed in butter - chardonnay, preferable from California.  Most California chard is oaked, which gives it a buttery characteristic
2. BBQ chicken - syrah, or malbec.  the spice from the BBQ sauce will most like pair very well with any spice that's in either of these two wines.
   

Salmon -

1. Baked/Sauteed - California Pinot Noir, or Unoaked Chardonnay.  Salmon is a pretty flavorful fish (compared to others).  A lighter style Pinot, or a Chard w/ some nice backbone would work well
2. Blackened - Zinfandel.  The fruit from Zin will play well with the spice of the blackened fish.  Zin doesn't have a lot tannin, so the body won't overpower the weight of the fish.

 I told Johnny to start simple, and not to over analyze his pairings.  Chicken and salmon are heathly dishes, and are super versatile.  You can try a multitude of different pairings, and figure out dishes that you really like.  Again, be adventerous, take a risk, and trust your pallet!

Selecting cocktail wines...

I've always been a big fan of cooking dinner on a date.  Now, I'm not a love doctor or match maker, but the "date" wine selection is crucial.  As a heads up, this entry is geared for the male reader.  Let's face it, 80% of all wine drinkers are women.  That 20% need help from time to time!  Too many men out there use the infamous wine copout: "I'm a big, red guy.  Give me something that's bold, with tannins and guts!"  Guys, that perspective needs to change.  The majority of women won't follow suit.  You're going to appear narrow-minded, and ignorant, when it comes to drinking good wine.

I have a friend, let's call him Johnny, who used to call me all the time before cooking for his date.  He'd peruse the grocery store for food, and when it came to wine, he'd call me.  First of all, I'd ask how much he was looking to spend.  Always key to know what your budget is, before selecting wine.  Secondly, I'd ask what he was serving.  With phone in hand, Johnny would guide me through the wine department, and we'd decide on a few wines together.  I'm a big fan of always have TWO different bottles of wine with a meal.  I like to have a cocktail wine, and a dinner wine.  Plan on a budget of $20-$30. 

I'd like to focus on the "cocktail wine".  The cocktail wine should always be accompanied by a simple hors d'oveur.  Rosemary & Olive Oil Triscuits w/ cheese are phenomenol, by the way.  Also, as a rule of thumb, you can't go wrong serving anything with "sweetness".  Now, let me clarify this:  Arbor Mist, Boones Farm, Beringer White Zinfandel, and Reunite Lambrusco are OFF limits.  You might as well be serving a Hungry Man, Ramon noodles, or Lean Cuisine for dinner.  Not cool. Anyways, wines with sweetness....first thing that comes to mind is riesling, right?  Over the years, I've become a huge fan of riesling.  I like riesling on a 90 degree day, chilled to slush, and sipping it on the porch.  I, also, like riesling at PF Changs, with General Chang's spicy chicken.  Riesling rocks!  If riesling is the route you take, there are three major regions to look: 1) Alsace (FRA), 2) Mosel (GER), 3)Rheingau (GER).  Alsace gives you the sweetness you're looking for, but also has this amazing petrol, flinty, minerally component that makes it super unique.  The Mosel is known for great wines, at great prices.  The Rheingau is the "king" of Germany.  Ridiculous wines, but you're going to pay some dough for them.  These rieslings also pair well with softer cheeses (Port Salut has been a fav of mine).

As I mentioned, there are SOO many wines out there.  Please stay away from big labels, when it comes to riesling.  Everyone and their mother is producing a style, especially the Californians.  Riesling perform best under cooler climates, because it ripens their acidity...stick to Europe!

NOW, if you're really looking to diversify and impress, try one of these selections:

1)Chenin Blanc - the white grape of the Loire Valley in France.  Typically, produced under the name Vouvray.  Most Vouvrays are semi-sweet, and have great acidity. Depending on the style, Vouvrays can exhibit notes of honey, nuts, ginger, fig, and white flowers.  Pair with a "heartier" soft cheese.

2)Gewurtztraminer - grows along-side riesling in Alsace.  The variety has high natural sugar and the wines are usually off dry, with a bouquet of lychees.  Gewurtz pairs well with Muenster cheese, and all sorts of Asian cuisine

3)Muscat - Moscato d'Asti is one of the most popular wines produce from muscat, because of its slight efforvensence.  These tend to be on the sweetest end of the spectrum, but are always crowd pleasers to dry and sweet wine drinkers alike!

Do your homework, take a risk, and you'll surprise yourself.  Johnny was completely lost when it came to wine.  Now he is a budding casanova, and appreciating the "International Wine Tasting" experience!