I'm curious about the origin of the idea that you "should" drink a
particular wine with a particular color of meat--one of the things
that, oddly enough, gave away a Russian spy in _From Russia With Love_
(you would think they'd know about that sort of thing over there,
wouldn't you?).

When did people start associating wine color with meat color?

--
Chris Meadows aka | WWW: http://www.terrania.us | Somebody
Robotech_Master | ICQ: 5477383 AIM: RoboMastr | help, I'm
| Skype, LJ-Gizmo: Robotech_Master | trapped in
| Yahoo: robotech_master_2000 | a sig file!

On Aug 27, 9:46*pm, Robotech_Master > wrote:
> I'm curious about the origin of the idea that you "should" drink a
> particular wine with a particular color of meat--one of the things
> that, oddly enough, gave away a Russian spy in _From Russia With Love_
> (you would think they'd know about that sort of thing over there,
> wouldn't you?).
>
> When did people start associating wine color with meat color?

I am not for sure we will ever know for certain. Wine, of a sort, was
even made a few centuries BC in China. Drinking red wine with red meat
and white wine with white meat has always been an oversimlification.
How a wine goes with food depends on many factors other than color. In
general red wines have considerably more tannin than white wines, so a
better question to ask would be how do low and high tannin wines go
with food. But even here there are exceptions. Beaujolais made to
drink young can be quite red in color but low in tannins. Such "rules"
are to me silly. Was it Lord Chesterfield who said something to the
effect that a gentleman is one who knows the rules before breaking
them? Before modern transportation, most people, except the very rich,
likely drank the wine of their region, be it red or white, and were
happy to have any wine to drink. Of course some regions had both red
and white.

>
> --
> Chris Meadows aka * * * * | WWW:http://www.terrania.us* * *| Somebody
> Robotech_Master * * * * * | ICQ: 5477383 *AIM: RoboMastr * * | help, I'm
> | Skype, LJ-Gizmo: Robotech_Master | trapped in
> * * * *| Yahoo: robotech_master_2000 * * *| a sig file!

Robotech_Master wrote:

> I'm curious about the origin of the idea that you "should" drink a
> particular wine with a particular color of meat--one of the things
> that, oddly enough, gave away a Russian spy in _From Russia With Love_
> (you would think they'd know about that sort of thing over there,
> wouldn't you?).

I would, indeed: Russia had an outstanding culinary culture during the czars
era, with important culinary exchanges with Austro-Ungaric Empire, France,
Germany, Italy and many other countries. And they knew a lot about wine: the
Crystal Champagne was created to give the Czars theyr finest Krug in an
unique bottle designed specially for them.

> When did people start associating wine color with meat color?

I prefer to associate the structure of the wine with the structure of the
dish I'm matching the wine with. Even a white meat dish, if spicy, would
require a red.
--
Vilco
Mai guardare Trailer park Boys senza
qualcosa da bere a portata di mano

"Vilco" > wrote:

> And they knew a lot about wine: the Crystal Champagne was
> created to give the Czars theyr finest Krug
^^^^
Roederer

> in an unique bottle designed specially for them.

M.

Mike Tommasi > wrote:

>>> And they knew a lot about wine: the Crystal Champagne was
>>> created to give the Czars theyr finest Krug
>> ^^^^
>> Roederer
> ^^^^^^^^
> Crystal clear

And now we simply have to agree, that the Champagne's true name is
"Cristal", and we are all happy ... ;-)

M.

Mike Tommasi > wrote:

> Oh, I get it, Roedere makes Cristal. Never crossed my mind ;-)

Roedere? Neve heard ;-)

While we're at it: Yesterday I had an Austrian semi sparkler
("frizzante"), a dry 2006 muscat (blanc à petits grains) from the
Weinviertel with the strangest name I have ever seen: "Schamperl".

To explain: "Schampus" is colloquial German for sparkling wine
(obviously derived from Champagne), "Schamperl" is an imaginary
diminutive form.

M.

Drinking wine is easy: tilt glass and swallow. Tasting wine is more of a challenge. You need special tools, the proper environment, keen concentration, a good memory and a vivid imagination. But after three or four glasses, the basic effect is the same either way. So why bother? I'm a baseball fan. When I take a friend who knows nothing about the sport to the ballpark, he may enjoy the crowd, down a hot dog, cheer if someone hits a home run. The rest of the time he's asking me, What's the big deal? One guy throws a ball, the other guy misses it. But for me, every pitch is a small drama: what the pitcher chooses to throw, how the defense sets up, where the batter tries to hit it, how the strategies play out. When nine innings are over, we both know the score. But while my friend may have passed a pleasant afternoon, I've been totally absorbed in the game.

Life can be lived in a casual way, or plumbed to the depths. We all choose how and where to spend our energy and attention. You may play music, cook seriously, tend a lovely garden. Maybe the things you love aren't vital, but they make life richer. Passion is never wasted effort.

That's why wine lovers learn to taste. We know that the effort we put into understanding and appreciating wine—as opposed to simply enjoying it (or its psychotropic effects)—pays big dividends. Really tasting wine adds an extra dimension to the basic daily routines of eating and drinking. It turns obligation into pleasure, a daily necessity into a celebration of life.