Not So Serious

One of the great insecurities of the wine world involves pairing the right wine with the right food. If you think that subject makes casual wine drinkers nervous, you should see the craziness it causes in professionals. I fall into that same trap. I always want to drink the right wine with the right meal because it does make a difference. If I'm eating fish I serve a cool, crisp white. If I'm eating beef, I drink Bordeaux. That's usually how it goes. Here's my problem, however: I LOVE BORDEAUX, but I don't really like eating beef as much as I used to. Because my beef consumption has gone down drastically, so has my enjoyment of red wine. I finally sat down yesterday, took a look at my cellar, and said: "This is stupid. I don't need to only eat beef when I drink Bordeaux." So I made myself a frittata and opened a bottle of 2009 Tronquoy de Sainte-Anne. It tasted just as good as it always did, even without the beef.

Why do I let myself be swayed by the rules of the industry so often, especially when I know they're not set in stone? I need to completely break out of that handicapped mindset. You can drink Bordeaux whenever you want, with whatever you want. I'm not sure I'd open it with spicy Thai food, but an omelet works just fine.

-David Driscoll