Wine Pairing FAIL

Maybe it was because The Wino and her friend North were hungry when they started tasting wine at Esquin on Saturday afternoon. Maybe it was because before they went wine tasting, they stopped for a couple of glasses of Rose at 106 Pine. Or maybe North was lacking protein. Well, whatever it was, every wine they tasted that afternoon resulted in a drooling conversation about food. “This would be so good with roasted lamb crusted in rock salt and herbs. This would be so good with a rare fillet mignon. This wine would be good with ravioli and a rich ragout.” When, after nine or so other wines, they finally started tasting the DiStefano Suavignon Blanc, there was simply no question. The sweet and herbal wine with the teeny-tiniest bit of oak would be a perfect match for pasta with prosciutto and arugula. The Wino and North (who is one of the legendary Purse Wine ladies and also a very fine cook) laid out a plan for gathering the ingredients and making dinner at the Wino’s house that very evening. It all seemed so brilliant, so effortless, and so perfect.

But The Wino and North couldn’t have been more wrong.

The DiStefano wine is primarily a Sauvignon Blanc blended with a little bit of Semillion. On it’s own, it's richer and sweeter than a traditional sauv blanc in The Wino’s novice opinion, but solid on some of the traditional floral and citrus flavors.

Pairing the DiStefano and the pasta’s salty prosciutto and nutty parmesan produced a strong alcohol flavor that overpowered pretty much everything. Within minutes, the ladies were enjoying the pasta but choking on the wine, which didn’t fit in with their fabulous vision of food and wine pairing nirvana. After a few bites it seemed ridiculous to keep forcing down the wine with the pasta. Especially since the wine was delicious on its own. North immediately suggested that they switch to a much less expensive and distinguished Glass Mountain Chardonnay. It was astounding how much better the chardonnay went with the pasta. It wasn’t a perfect pairing by any means, but it was an infinite an improvement over the DiStefano.

Fellow boozers, The Wino learned that sometimes what seems like the perfect wine-food paring can be anything but. It can be a complete and utter failure.

So The Wino will pick herself up, dust herself off, and repeat the old W.C. Fields quote: “If at first your don’t succeed try, try again” as a mantra. (And, thankfully, if it involves wine, The Wino will have no trouble trying and trying and trying again.)

Cheers!