On Fri, 11 Feb 2005 16:05:51 GMT, "Nils Gustaf Lindgren"
> wrote:

>Hello;
>These days, with loads of up tempo restos serving a huge number of tapa
>sized dishes (as in, "Our 17-course menu degustation"), finding a wine that
>will neatly cover all the said dishes is very close to impossible.

>Enter the Wine Menu. A selection of wines by glass, specially chosen by Our
>Wine Waiter/Sommelier/Consultant/A Guy in the Barber Shop Who is Really
>interested in Wines ...

Forgive me for snipping your horror story, but it is on the verge of
becoming the common occurrence worldwide.

Two issues ago the Wine Spectator featured the "world's best
restaurant"--a small, and therefore very exclusive, place in the
Basque hillside a mere two hour mountain drive along treacherous roads
from Barcelona. The "big thing" was the incredible creativity of the
"world's greatest chef" who had a full blown chemistry lab to build
his gastronomic delights.

The standard fare was, as you describe, some sort of twenty-plus tapa
arrangement created to attack each and every one of the senses (except
for the "common".) One course (I couldn't make this up) was the
delivery of balloons filled with orange-blossom aroma which the
waiters released into the nose of the suitably dazzled patrons. (I
wonder if their were accompanying tunes played on the release by
controlling the aperture, thereby titillating the ear as well?--Turkey
in the Straw, or Fool on the Hill might be apropos.)

The lab was busy building a polyester "cream" for future dishes--I
don't know what Escoffier would think of synthesizing the real natural
product.

Apparently the trend among the trendiest is foams and gels and
non-foods. Frankly, I'm into the now old-school fresh and tasty
myself.

Certainly with twenty bites of totally different and usually
outrageous presentations, there is no such thing as an accompanying
wine. The very concept of one wine being around long enough to mature
in the glass, develop some nuance, offer more than one taste, etc. is
repugnant to this new style of "nouvelle cuisine".

I think it is only a matter of time before the cries of nudity among
the emperor will, hopefully, put a stop to this.

Meanwhile, I will continue to attend wine menu dinners which feature
producers with which I am familiar or horizontals of wines in which I
am interested. I appreciate menus that offer recommended accompaniment
wines by-the-glass, but approach them with trepidation at new
establishments which have not yet proven their trustworthiness.
Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
www.thunderchief.org
www.thundertales.blogspot.com