French Wine and good Food
However. it is with
meals that most wines are really at their best and it is with
French wine that a good meal is truly magnificent.
It is the pride of the host (or the hostess)
to select a wine which will be exciting, will enhance the dishes
and will be a "conversation piece" at the table. It is the
easiest thing in the world to select the right French wine.
The geographical configuration of France, its
climate, the tradition of its people have all contributed to
making French wines unique in their variety.
Among this tremendous variety of tastes,
degrees of greatness and prices, there are always many wines to
compliment each particular dish. So the first question which
arises is "which wine to select?" Once the wine has been
selected, "how to serve it?"
WHICH WINES TO SELECT
Any reason at all for selecting a particular
French wine is a good reason. Drinking a fine wine is a pleasure
and the worst possible mistake is to turn such an enjoyable
experience into a strictly regulated protocol.
Any good wine you like is the proper wine for
you.
However, we have to learn what we like. We
don't know before trying. We also want our family and guests to
fully enjoy their meal and we cannot always know, or guess, if
they will share in our pleasure in drinking a particular wine
with a certain food.
 Generations
and generations of gourmets, wine-lovers and wine-experts, each one with his individual and sometimes
unorthodox taste, have agreed that there are certain marriages
of food and wine which are pleasant to everyone.
The "marriages" which meet with general
approval are the following ones. When in doubt, it is wise to
abide by them.
If we follow the classic rules devised by
many generations of experts, this does not mean we must turn our
backs on the search for new combinations and novel contrasts in
flavour.
The golden rule is to aim for dishes and
wines which will enhance each other to mutual advantage, without
undermining each other's individual flavours.
The harmony of flavours is like harmonies in
colour or music:
Different wines at a meal should always be
served in an order which builds to a "crescendo", from the
lightest to the most full-bodied:
-
a DRY WINE before a SWEET WINE
-
a WHITE WINE before a RED WINE
-
a RED WINE before a VERY SWEET WINE
-
a YOUNG WINE before an OLD WINE
Water, not wine, should be drunk with any
dish seasoned with vinegar, salads, oranges and chocolate
puddings.
The bottle we are drinking must not make us
regret
the one we have just drunk
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