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All that jazz
Last night we stepped out to dinner at a local jazz club, which for me is an experience akin to an American baseball fan dropping in on a soccer match: I could tell it was music, but I didn't really understand the rules of the game. I couldn't hum along with it or tap my toes to it, but after a while it worked its way into my consciousness, and by the end of the game, er, set, I was really getting into it.
As we enjoyed the jazz, the dinner and a bottle of decent, affordable Oregon Pinot Noir, I was struck by how nicely the wine and the music went together ... cool and stylish yet accessible, with just enough complexity to get my attention without being too intellectual to enjoy. Over my years talking about wine in our online communities, light-hearted discussions of matching wine with music have been an often-recurring theme. I tend to connect specific wines with classical genres - Chianti Classico and Verdi's operas being an obvious match, or Bordeaux and Beethoven - but it's easy to make a case for choosing fine wines to accompany just about every musical style from jazz to classic rock to the blues. Ok, maybe not disco, but there has to be a limit somewhere.
If this idea tickles your fancy, I'd be delighted if you would make this the occasion for a visit to the Wine Lovers' Discussion Group, where I daily invite you all to come join in our online conversations about wine. To muse specifically about your favorite musical wine matches, click this link to today's column:
TALK ABOUT WINE ONLINE If you prefer to comment privately, feel free to send me E-mail at wine@wineloverspage.com. I'll respond personally to the extent that time and volume permit.
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Firesteed 2003 Oregon Pinot Noir
Tasted in a restaurant setting: This is a clear, ruby-color wine, on the light side as is often typical of Pinot. Ripe aromas of red and black cherries and spice, youthfully fresh and appealing. Juicy and forward fruit flavors are soft and sippable, making for an easily accessible sipping wine, but a good lemon-squirt of acidity provides the structure needed to make it a fine partner with food. This easy, food-friendly nature makes it a very good choice for an affordable restaurant wine - or for sipping while enjoying cool jazz. (July 26, 2005) FOOD MATCH: As Pinot Noir does so well, it married seamlessly with an eclectic variety of dishes on a restaurant table: Potstickers with spicy North African-accented salsas, lamb chops with couscous and mint pesto, and a hearty grilled-vegetable lasagna on a ripe fresh marinara. VALUE: Its $25 restaurant price is a bit marked up from its usual retail tag in the $10 neighborhood, which is a decent neighborhood indeed for a fruit-forward New World-style Pinot with distinct varietal character. WHEN TO DRINK: Made for immediate enjoyment, but a year or two on the wine rack shouldn't do it any harm.
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SUBSCRIBE: Administrivia To subscribe or unsubscribe from The 30 Second Wine Advisor, change your E-mail address, or for any other administrative matters, please use the individualized hotlink found at the end of your E-mail edition. If this is not practical, contact me by E-mail at wine@wineloverspage.com, including the exact E-mail address that you used when you subscribed, so I can find your record. We do not use our E-mail list for any other purpose and will never give or sell your name or E-mail address to anyone. I welcome feedback, suggestions, and ideas for future columns. To contact me, please send E-mail to wine@wineloverspage.com All the wine-tasting reports posted here are consumer-oriented. In order to maintain objectivity and avoid conflicts of interest, I purchase all the wines I rate at my own expense in retail stores and accept no samples, gifts or other gratuities from the wine industry.
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
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