Last week I had the pleasure of accompanying my friend to a book launch party at The Gallery at Astor Center--the event space just above Astor Wines. Said launched book being celebrated was Marnie Old's, celebrated sommelier, author, and wine educator from Philly, latest: Wine Secrets: Advice from Sommeliers, Winemakers, and Connoisseurs. It's an advice guidebook of six chapters on all things wine, a big chunk about food and wine pairings. Heading titles range from "Sunshine and Wine Style: How Climate Affects Body and Flavor, to "How To Taste Wine Like A Pro", "How to Guestimate Wine Style from Packaging Clues", and "How to Get The Best Wine Advice in Restaurants". Every article is co-authored by or features sage advice from nationally-acclaimed chefs or sommeliers.
In attendance were a barrel full of wine aficionados, sommeliers, wine experts, even a professor of Wine Studies from the CIA. I saw this as an opportunity to broaden my cork-izons, open my mind..and potentially my palate.
Now, I have to warn all you wine-o's out there: I am not a fan of the fermented grape. Shameful, I know -- I'm a fraud, a scam, a traitor, a faux foodie; I lived in Italy, a waste of space, I was told. I've supposedly tried good wine from my dining companions in the past..but no dice. Especially red wine. Will never like that -- too intense and bitter. I didn't grow up around parents who drank wine, so perhaps it'll just take a bit longer to acquire the taste for it....if I ever do....
The room was set up with different sections of tables, each with a different theme related to a part of the book. The first station was a sampling of sparkling wine. I may not like wine, but boy oh boy, sparkling wine -- champagne, prosecco, asti, cava, you name it, I'll take it. And will be happy as a clam.
The next station was about seasoning and savory/sweet foods. The thesis, if you will, is that seasoning is often just as important as the main ingredient; instead of thinking about the type of fish, pasta, or meat you're ordering in order to pair a suitable, pay more attention to the "salty" and the "sweet".
We were given a glass of Riesling. We took our first sip: very dry, almost bitter. We then took a pinch of salt and popped it in our mouths, and then took another sip of the dry Riesling. The result was a far more toned-down Riesling flavor. The bitterness of the wine was toned down by the salt, and the saltiness was toned down by the wine.
The next glass was another Riesling -- except this one was sweet, very sweet. We took the first sip. Delicious. I liked it on its own. We then took a mini pretzel and dipped it in a bowl of honey, and then ate the pretzel (which served as the adhesive to the honey to facilitate hygienic honey eating from a communal bowl). I initially thought that the extreme sweetness from the honey would enhance the sweetness of the Riesling and vice versa, but not so: The resulting outcome was actually a much less severe sweetness from both the wine and the honey.
When I later had the chance to speak with the author, Marnie, I asked her why I was eating the salt and honey to lessen the intensity of the two Rieslings when the whole purported purpose of wine is to enhance the flavor of foods. She insightfully told me that that is the case, that wine decreases the intensity of saltiness -- that many high end restaurants intentionally make dishes saltier, knowing that diners will order wines because it will not only lessen the saltiness, but also that it will bring out the flavors of the main dish. This got me thinking -- is this not dulling the taste of foods? And why don't restaurants simply not add more salt instead of adding excessive amounts, ordering a glass, drinking it, reducing the salty taste, and increasing our blood pressure? Any help here guys?
Expanding my horizons was fun and all, but this was hands down the highlight of the evening:
Cheeeeeeeese. From my beloved Murray's, no less. Available for sampling (or turning into a meal, in my case), was (clockwise): Spring Brook, Tarentaise Aged (cow's milk) Tomme Crayeuse (semi soft cow's milk -- very earthy, mushroomy, moldy tasting -- i-rre-sis-tible), La Serena (semi soft sheep's milk -- vegetal -- reminded me of manchego. Divine), and finally, Leonora (earthy, stinky, soft). There was also charcuterie provided by Murray's Cheese, but as a non pig-eater, I passed.
I was stoked to see my first, live sabering (a very dramatic, Napoleon-borne champagne-opening ceremony). He explains and demonstrates for the first bottle....
People volunteer themselves for the subsequent bottles (I would have volunteered, but I was too busy dissecting the author's brain about her love of wine)
The next section was about old world vs. new world wines. We were given one glass of old word wine (European region; more old school wine making, grapes from the same soil) and one glass of new world wine (the Americas, Australia, New Zealand; use new technology/techniques, grapes for one bottle can come from different locations) and were asked to compare the two. Pretty palatable difference -- the old world wine was far more subtle and discrete in flavor (which to me equals bad, but I don't have an appreciation for the subtleties and nuances of fine wine), while the new wine was much more bold and expressive. The old world wine was also more oaky-- but that likely has to do with its sitting in a barrel.
All in all it was a wine-tastic way to spend an otherwise average Monday night. I certainly expanded my cork-izons, ate some mouthwatering cheeses, and actually learned more about wine and food pairings than I thought. Who knows, I might actually flip through the wine bible at my next restaurant outing.....
Be happy and Carpe Diem!
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