Occasionally, I’ll interview local people who love wine, whether they’re novices or experienced. Selman is the first, and in this Q&A, he explains why he thinks pairing wine with food is overemphasized, how good stemware makes all the difference, and how his favorite quote applies to the world of wine.
QUESTION: We were talking about ordering wine in a restaurant. Diners, I think, will look at the menu and see rose, white and red, and you just pick one. What are they missing?
ANSWER: You would gain more by doing a little prep work. If they’re going to a restaurant, you’ll look online to see what’s on the menu, what the dishes are, etc. So look at the wine if the wine list is online. Get an understanding of the kind of food, and get your thoughts together on what type of wines you might want to order. I can’t stress the importance of that enough.
Q: Let’s say you’re a wine novice, you know you like white wines, but you’re not all that familiar with Chardonnay vs. Sauvignon Blanc vs. Viognier. You see a salmon dish you might want to order. How do you figure out what wine you might like best?
A: You could do a Google search and see that Pinot Grigio goes with salmon or whatever. But I think the pairing thing is overemphasized. If you’re at a restaurant, is the wine for your family? Your boss? You and your spouse? If you have the salmon dish and someone else has the steak, what do you get to pair equally as well? Just think about what you like. Fruity? Robust and strong?
Q: So the pairing doesn’t really matter as long as you enjoy the wine and the food?
A: It certainly can enhance a meal, but will it make it or break it? I just don’t think so. You drink the wine. The pairing may not enhance each other, but on their own, you’re drinking the wine. Do you like it?
Q: How important is it for wine drinkers to bring their own stemware?
A: If you’re new to wine, I don’t think the stemware is going to make that much of a difference. But to me, the glass is more important than the pairing. Having a good glass can make a difference in your experience with wine.
Q: How so?
A: Let’s say a wine’s very aromatic and needs some air to breathe, to show those aromatics to you. You get a wine glass with a nice-sized bowl, which gives the wine a chance to interact with its environment. As you’re smelling it, you get a better sense of the wine’s bouquet. If I take that same wine and drink it out of, in essence, a water glass, you’re not going to have that experience.
Q: So the wine comes to the table. Should you try it on its own or wait for the food?
A: Taste the wine, make sure you’re happy with it. And then after that, I like to try the wine on its own, because food can have a huge impact on how you perceive wine, especially with salt. If you want to experiment with this, put a bit of salt on your tongue and taste the wine, and then taste the wine without that salt. The tastes are far different.
Q: Do people who don’t know a lot about wine get intimidated when ordering?
A: Absolutely. I would tell people not to be afraid if they mispronounce something. It’s not that big of a deal. So, if you see a Gigondas and pronounce it some other way, who cares? The way I look at it, would you be intimidated by ordering a main course that you’ve never had before? So why would it be different with wine?
Q: People should ask questions about wine, but they often don’t because they’re afraid of coming off as unintelligent.
A: Exactly. It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes: “Judge not a man by his answers, rather by his questions.”
Q: That’s an excellent point. You go to a restaurant, you know that you like wine, but there are so many different bottles and glasses. What questions would you ask the server?
A: I would start off by saying I like wines that are, let’s say, big and bold, and anything else you would add to that. I would tell them my budget and what wines the server would recommend. And don’t be seduced by the wine region. The region is one thing that’s kind of always been a sore point for me. People will order Napa Cab because it has a celebrity status. But, you can order great cabs that are not from Napa and that are a much better value.
Q: People can also get caught up in regions, wondering, for example, if a Chilean Cabernet is better than one from the Alexander Valley.
A: Don’t overthink the minutia of wine because then you’ll go down a rabbit hole that you can never get out of.
Ray Marcano’s Fine Wine and Dine column explores the best wine and dining options in the Dayton region. He can be reached at winedineddn@gmail.com.
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