Wine With Dinner

Make Your Own Rules

 BY SARAH STEFFENS

We have all been there sitting at our table with eager anticipation, quietly waiting for the server to pour the head of the table their first sip of a carefully selected wine to find out if the chosen spirit will be enjoyed and approved for all to drink, or as a hopefully polite rejection, be sent back to the bar in quest for a more perfect pairing (what happens with all of those barely full bottles, anyway?).

This moment has always met me with fascination. What influences a person to enjoy a wine’s flavor? How can one person boast of a wine’s mouth-watering tannins while another’s lips pucker with distaste? We have traditionally thought to choose and favor wines based on what foods we are pairing them with, rosés with a light summer picnic at the park, whites with grilled fish and crisp chicken salads, reds with slowcooked roasts or hearty pastas with meatballs, and ports with dark chocolate and a selection of fancy aged cheese.

At some point, it seems we have passed on our personal preferences for a wine’s acidity, aroma, and array of flavor to the choice of those we deem more experienced, educated, and cultured. As far as our tendency to choose wines based on the meal being served with it, perhaps it is timely to design our menus based on the wines we genuinely favor.

So, how do you discover what wine you prefer to pair with food? The key is to taste and explore the vast flavor complexities contained in each and every bottle. Keep a journal, if it helps, of each glass’ unique