The Ride Inside

Tom N. has asked me to describe different grapes and different styles of wine in this question, “But what is the difference between a Pinot Noir, a Merlot, a Cabernet, a Shiraz, a Barbera, a Chianti , a Super Tuscan, a Barolo, etc? I honestly don’t know what is what or anything, so any insight would be appreciated. Also – what would you generally pair with a Chicken dish, a pasta dish, and a fish dish?”

The list that he cited encompasses a wide variety of styles, grapes and regions of production. I will only discuss a couple of examples in this piece

Pinot Noir- This is grape that is grown throughout the world.  It is made in both a New World style and an Old World style. It is lighter in color than most most red wines and also has a lower tannin content.  Tannins are the chemical compounds in wine that give you that dry feeling in you mouth when you drink red wine. New World styles tend to be fuller bodied and more  fruit driven.  Flavors include juicy fruits like ripe cherries and strawberries along with some smokey meat and earth aromas. If you want to get into Pinot you are going to have to shell out some bucks because good Pinot is hard to find for less than $20 now-a-days because of the movie Sideways.

Old Worlds styles are bit more restrained.  Usually light bodied and very complex, these wines are not for everyone.  Their aroma and flavor profile can include tart fruits like cranberries and sour cherries but also some smells that most new wine drinkers will not be attracted to at first such as barn yard, mushrooms, compost, spice, flowers, wet rocks and sweaty socks.  This profile is typical of Pinot from the Burgundy  region in  France.  These scents may sound a little crazy but I assure you that it is the truth, it is very distinct variety that has a a seductive quality to it. Some people describe Burgundian Pinot Noir as “sex in a  bottle.”  They are also some of the finest and most expensive wines in the world.

Cabernet Sauvigon- This is also a grape that is grown through out the world and represents the complete opposite from Pinot Noir in terms of style.  It’s home town is in the region of Bordeaux, but here it is blended with other red varieties to produce what most believe is a more balanced wine.  Cabernet wines are medium to full bodied wines with a very dark  color, almost ink-like texture and high tannin content.  Cabernet is also grown in New and Old World Styles.  A generic flavor profile includes dark  ripe dark fruits from black currant,blackberry, blueberry and black cherry with notes of tobacco, bell pepper, graphite and cedar.

For the food pairing part this is also a difficult question because it depends on how each is cooked and what type of flavoring and sauces predominate the dish.  Whites generally make a better pairing with white meats, such as chicken, fish, pork and veal.  Any red meat deserves a red wine.  Sauvignon blanc is great with a grilled chicken caesar salad and shellfish.  Muscadet is also perfect with delicately prepared fish and shellfish, a perfect summer dish.  Try Rieslings with Asian foods and a Gerwurtstraminer with spicy foods.  Chardonnay is great with cream sauces on chicken, veal and pork.  Depending on the pasta sauce a red or white can be a good compliment.  Any pasta sauce with meat in it is good pairing with a Chianti.(The term Chianti refers to the region in Tuscany where the wine is produced.  The grape that makes the wine is Sangiovese.  This grape is good at making food friendly wines because it has a medium body, restrained fruit flavors, mild tannins and good acidity.)  Try it with  aged cheeses and salamis as well.  Pinot Noir goes excellently with a nice rare tuna steak,  if you would like to try red wine and fish. Oh yeah, Cabernet Franc is a great food wine that I mentioned in the wine and pizza post.  This grape goes really well with an herbed grilled chicken loaded with parsely, garlic, rosemary, tyme and squeeze of lemon.  This is really great and easy to prepare summer dish with a great wine that most have never never tried before.

I hope I explained enough to give a little primer on this subject.  The best words of advice I can say are to try different styles of wines and find which one you like best.  Then after that, find another style then another.  The wine world is huge so don’t limit yourself to the same wines over and over again.