Just as you’ve gained enough confidence to comment on wine, armed with the knowledge that it’s cool to simply say, “I don’t know much about wine, but I love this“; along comes wine pairing.

I played the wine pairing game quite recently, during a particularly civilised afternoon at Anthonij Rupert Wines, in Franschhoek.

I call it the wine pairing game, with the greatest respect. I genuinely believe there is an underlying competition to see who can do the following steps the best.

The wine pairing game steps are very easy to follow:

1. Sip wine
2. Nibble food
3. Contemplate
4. Sip again
5. Think
6. Give the ‘aah, Mr. Bond’ raised-brow expression, as you look directly (and blankly) into a fellow wine-pairer’s eyes – let them think you’re calculating incredible volumes of data they could never comprehend.
7. Slowly start to smile and nod as you ‘come round’ from your moment
8. Stare at the glass and shout, “that is VERY good” with sincere excitement. Everyone will agree with you

The winner is the person that performs the above steps the most convincingly.

But don’t have too much fun. Notable wine expert and lecturer, Tim Hanni, reckons it’s all a load of bullsh*t (his words, not mine).

“A perfect wine pairing doesn’t exist. We’re doing a lot of damage the way we’re matching wine and categorising it. We need to start a campaign to stop wine and food pairing as we’ve created a lot of bullsh*t around the idea.”

Old Tim, giving it a full rev.

Local wine maestro, Evan Alexander, on the other hand, has managed to keep his knickers from knotting.

”I certainly don’t believe it should be a serious affair. Can pleasure be derived from it? Without question. It is undeniable that pan fried Fois Gras with d’Yquem ‘76 is something created by the Gods. Belon Oysters from Swakopmund with Swartland Chenin is a real thing and, given the chance, could lead to world peace. By the same token, the iconic photo of Julio Iglesias’ pairing Lafite ’82 with a bucket of KFC on a private jet is surely proof that pairing has merit?

Which of those three pairings would I choose?

It’s got to be Julio. Every time.”

Quite right, Evan Alexander!

Seems to us that Julio is subscribing to the 2oceansvibe motto, “Work is a sideline – live the holiday.”

In that case, this one’s for you then, old boy.

That there is, of course, the Anthonij Rupert OPTIMA, perfectly paired with a tin bubble bath in an overcast Klein Karoo at roughly 12 noon. At a satisfying R200, this pairing could turn into something of a habit around these parts 😉

We trust Julio would approve.

DISCLAIMER: I personally drink red wine with a block of ice in it. And so does Diane Keaton.

Highly recommended.

Evan Alexander is available if you like to contact him about anything wine related via TIMON, click here.

[source:drinkbiz]