Today has not been an ordinary Friday. After lunch, I was given a wine pairing assignment that came at me out of the blue. And when I was given the assignment, my pulse began to race. My palms may have even gotten a bit sweaty.
You see, I am going to be attending a rather nice and definitely important dinner on this coming Tuesday evening. There will be a number of local dignitaries and one very special guest. We’re dining at one of the better restaurants in town that’s actually a club (my parents were members but I am not). We’re going to have four courses (chicken piccata, salmon, beef tenderloin and lamb), and I was asked to select wines from the wine list to go with the different dishes.
People who have listened to the podcast know that I’m one who advocates throwing out the rules and drinking what you like when it comes to pairing wines with foods. So this assignment shouldn’t bother me, right? Well, if this was any ordinary dinner, I wouldn’t worry about it. Even if the special guest was a major wine critic I probably wouldn’t sweat it too much.
But, we’ll be dining with the mayor, county commissioners, judges from appellate and trial courts, and a number of lawyers.
Plus retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. The first woman to ever be appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States. A major, major figure in the law.
So here I am–holy crap, I’m picking out wine suggestions for Sandra Day O’Connor. This is one I don’t want to screw up.
Okay, take a deep breath. Go back to what you know: Chicken piccata can probably use a white wine. Ooh, the wine list includes a nice white Rhône blend from Australia. Ding! Salmon can go with red or white. Pinot Noir from Sonoma County is easy, and there’s an unoaked Chardonnay that won’t dominate the salmon. Ding! Beef tenderloin–a nice Aussie Cabernet Sauvignon will do just fine. Ding! Lamb…hmm…something big. There’s a nice French Syrah. Ding! Hey, if we’re having cocktail hour, how about some Cava for a sparkler and a nice Riesling. If they want red wine before dinner, this Merlot ought to work.
A few minutes later, I’m done. That really was not so bad after all. Apply the basic rules and there’s no problem. Regardless of who the guest is, the wines will work just fine. Are they perfect? I don’t know since I haven’t tasted the wines or the foods. But I know they are safe choices even if a couple are slightly non-traditional.
The moral of the story is this: If you’re asked to pick out wines, don’t panic–even if your guest is someone that you don’t want to screw up in front of. Polite company will never admit you made a mistake (and, in some instances like this one, the guests may never know who made the wine picks). Use the knowledge you have and enjoy the process. And don’t forget to enjoy the dinner!
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