Wine without food
From our winemaker dinners to our tasting notes that go with our wine club we tend to focus on wine and food pairing. How each can make the other and together better. We recently received a question from one of our regular readers though, “What if food is not a big part of our wine enjoyment?” The reader continued, “We enjoy our wine more frequently with good conversation or just for the simple pleasure of drinking a nice glass of wine.”
The short response is of course, why not? Reflecting on our own consumption at home we almost always have a glass while preparing dinner, on its own with no food. Other times we will stop for a “cocktail” glass of wine again with no food. While the combination of the two is meant to enhance your dining experience and all components of it, it’s not a requirement.
The natural follow on question then is, should you pick wines differently if you simply enjoy them on their own? The straightforward and predictable response from this wine writer is first and foremost to pick what you like to drink. Like all other purchase categories of wine let your palate be the judge, if you like it then it is the right wine for you to buy.
Digging a bit deeper though here are some things we would focus on if our goal is to find a good wine for an aperitif. One of the components of wine that makes it pair better with food is acid. In addition to balancing out rich character of food it also allows the fruit flavors to come through on your palate without being masked by the flavors of the food, especially spicy flavors. So when shopping for wine to be consumed on its own acid is less important and a softer rounder palate presentation may be better.
Oak flavors can frequently fight with many foods masking the flavor of the food, or if the food is spicy or rich the oak flavors in the wine are all that will make it through to your palate. If you like your wine with ample oak barrel aging you need not be as concerned about having them without food.
Alcohol level in the wine will typically be masked when a higher alcohol wine is consumed with food. When wine has higher levels of alcohol for instance above 15% or 16% it will present on the palate and even in the aromatic profile as a bit warm. In fact high alcohol wines are referred to as “hot.” So when picking wines to be enjoyed over a nice conversation it will likely be better for your palate if they have modest alcohol levels, it may improve the caliber of the conversation too as the night progresses!
Tannin and sweetness are also calmed by the influence of food. While many of us enjoy a sweet wine from time to time, you may find that you will be satisfied with less of it without food. Similarly highly tannic wines may cause palate fatigue more quickly without the balancing effect of food. A well balanced wine is always better. Balance is one of those criteria for me that divide the many wines that are out there between well and poorly made. Regardless of whether you are having wine with food an unbalanced wine is just not enjoyable, so while the characteristics we have talked about can be more or less important depending on how we will be consuming the wine any one component of the wine from alcohol to oak to tannin should not dominate the overall impression of the wine in aromatics or on the palate.
While much of the wine consuming public may prefer to pair wine and food it is not the only way to consume wine, more importantly it is not the “right” way to consume wine that is up to each of us to choose. If you are looking for a wine to have just on its own, stop by the shop or consult your favorite wine professional to find just the right one for you.
If there is a topic you would like to read about or if you have questions on wine, you can email George@thedinnerpartyshop.com, or make suggestions by contacting the Healthy Community section at the Coeur d’Alene Press.
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George Balling is co-owner (with his wife Mary Lancaster) of the dinner party, a wine and table top décor shop located by Costco in Coeur d’Alene. George worked as a judge in many wine competitions, and his articles are published around the country. You can learn more about the dinner party at www.thedinnerpartyshop.com. Be sure and check out our weekly blog at www.thedinnerpartyshop.com/home/blog-2. You can get all of these articles as well as other great wine tips by friending us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/#!/dinnerpartyshop.