By now, hundreds (perhaps thousands) of posts and stories have been published about Thanksgiving wine picks. What I'm curious, is how many of these specific picks have actually been tasted with the suggested food, vs. how many have been paired hypothetically?
"Oooh this Frankenberry Pinot Noir smells like Fruitloops and sage, it will surely work! This Kit Crawfish Sauvignon Blanc will work because it is snappy, and people like it all-up in their snappy!"
Pairing is not rocket science, but it is something that comes with specific trial and error-- Most importantly TRIAL. The goal of pairing isn't just to drink something you like-- that's just called drinking. Rather, pairing is about finding things that taste even better together than they do apart-- There's only one way to find out and that's through trying things out.
As mentioned last week, I was part of a group that tasted and rated 200 wines (blind) with Thanksgiving dinner- Though not everyone agreed on each pick, the most popular wines that actually worked with the traditional spread were compiled and posted (Check out Ziggy's picks here.) Most of these specific wines I would have never considered (I am kind of snotty like that), but paired with the traditional spread (Turkey, stuffing, mashed potato, gravy, and cranberry) they worked really well.
In the next weeks practice your Xmas / Hanukkah / Kwanzaa spread and take a few wines for a spin-- Does the food and wine taste better together or apart? You'll know for sure if they taste better together because you'll be sweating profusely up on the roof blasting Ying Yang twins while declaring the death to apathy in wine and food pairing!
Salt Shaker - Ying Yang Twins,...
For more info: Check out "Sippin on the Nasty While Chompin' on the Gobbler!"
