Food and Wine

Geoffrey Bouvier Co-owner of 19XO Wine & Cocktail Bar, Torquay.

The way you educate people about wine is different in every corner of the globe. In France, for example, my memories take me back to the days when my grandparents gave me sneaky tastes of wine during our family lunches. As I got older, I started to add different flavours of food pairings alongside my favourite drop. Some of my favourites are chocolate mousse as dessert, or strawberry Chantilly with champagne, which is simply amazing. I am the kind of person who will always enjoy a wine better if it’s matched with food because I find it’s much more enjoyable this way. Sometimes wine can be quite powerful, dry or too much, and not be enjoyed as it should be. But bring in some salty, some sweet, or a variety of other flavours … this is what will help make those flavours pop. I also truly believe that what taste and flavours you like depends on your age. For example, if you are a younger lady who has just started to drink wine and you have a sweet tooth - you might start with a sauvignon blanc from New Zealand or pinot grigio. Perhaps you are the kind of person who enjoys a beautiful filet mignon, which then may mean you find the most enjoyment out of a bold shiraz or a Bordeaux. What I find amazing about wine is that one day you will try a wine, that’s completely different, and realise “Oh sacre bleu! My tastes have changed! You can witness the evolution in your own palate. Just as once perhaps when you were younger and didn’t like bitterness, but as you become older and you experience different things, you begin to enjoy this taste and your palate expands along with your life experience. This doesn’t mean that when you get older, or as you get more experienced with wine you cannot enjoy a sexy sweet wine. For example, if you give me a Sauternes with a Toasted Brioche and Foie Gras, I will be the happiest man alive. This an example I give to you, because when I was a teenager I took a bottle of 1990 Sauternes from my father’s cellar and he called me two hours later very grumpy. Later I realised that he was mostly grumpy because I did not keep some for him. That bottle would have cost around $400. Sorry not sorry, Papa. Memories for life. Evolving your tastes of wine takes time. It is quite amazing how you personally enjoy different things depending on your mood, your new job, your new partner, or how happy or unhappy you are in your life.

WHY NOT Wine?

The introduction to wine is not something everybody enjoys straight away. Sometimes it’s a case of time, maybe years. Sometimes it’s the case of having too many bottles. Sometimes it depends on who you’re sharing that wine with and at the end of the day, that’s the main thing - sharing something with someone you enjoy being with. So, why not wine? Give it a try. It’s a personal journey.

@19XOBAR

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