Does it bother you when other people pair wine and food 'wrong'?

Does it bother you when other people pair wine and food ‘wrong’?
I ask because at a recent dinner (not at our house, but a communal vacation house) we had a private chef do an all-seafood menu (in delicate sauces). Several people insisted drinking their big, completely undecanted 2014 syrahs with the entire dinner. Without thinking I blurted, “You may as well put ketchup on all the food!” It pained me to know the wine would obliterate most of the chef’s efforts.

Similarly, it pains me when I’ve opened a ‘good’ wine for company, let it breathe so it shows well, poured everyone a glass, and my wife comes out with hot, acidic salsa and nacho chips. Or pickled stuff. Makes me cringe. Wondering if this comes up for anyone?

Does it bother you when other people pair wine and food ‘wrong’?

Yes. I then kick over their table, as a rescue maneuver.

When my family was starving during the Japanese invasion, WWII, and the Communist takeover, they insisted on white wine to go with their…nothing.

Just keep blurting out what you feel. In time you’ll have no wife and friends and everything will be okay. :wink:

Let people enjoy what they want how they want or up the quality of your friends.
:slight_smile:

or
What Craig said.

LOL. It’s so true. I regretted saying that. And one person in particular was not thrilled. Several times during dinner she referred to ‘putting ketchup’ on her food as she drank her big beefy red with our black cod in consomme.

Okay… it STILL bothers me.

Will try this. Do you use one foot or both feet?

I expect I’ll be taken away in a straightjacket afterwards.

The cod worms pair well with big reds. :wink:

I wish I had never read that thread about worms in seafood.

Thanks for the reminder though.

Ha! It doesn’t even bother me when I pair the wrong wine with my food. I don’t sweat that stuff.

SWMBO wanted a rose champagne tonight and that’s what we had, even though we were having lamb chops on the grill (well, I was; she doesn’t eat meat).

Wine, right.
Food, right.
Pairing done.

As long as I am not forced to drink their big reds with delicately prepared seafood, I could care less what they drink. I might offer a glasss of what I am drinking and ask their opinion about the pairing. I’m use to a MIL that puts an ice cube in any glass of wine I give her.

A good reason not to do communal vacations.

Well I agree about needing to be a bit more sensitive to pairing food and wine. But did it ever occur to you to ask your wife what she planned to serve before dinner so the match works better? Or, god forbid, take it upon yourself to arrange an appetizer that complements the wine you want to serve?

I was in total agreement with you until you started complaining about what your wife served.

He should do the cooking AND the wine service. Oooops, that would be a bad pairing.

Maureen, everyone who knows me would describe me as an overly thorough planner and commuincator in that regard. I always find out what the menu will be , as much as possible, and consult on what would go with it. I will usually ask such things days ahead if possible, and I do check in as the date approaches. I am definitely an over-communitaor when collaborating on wine/food. Thus, Anna and I have discussed the salsa thing many times as a difficult pairing, and not one we’d need to open a subtle gem of a wine with. One of many things I love about Anna is that she is very ‘in the moment’. so when company comes, her Greek upbringing kicks in and she does not want them to sit without some sort of snacks. I think that’s a very nice gesture for a host. where it falls down a bit is when we have discussed the wine and food ahead of time, agreed on a loose plan, and yet the salsa appears yet again. The bind it puts me in is this… she is obviously free to do what she wants, but had I known we’d be serving the wine with something like that I may not have opened a $100 bottle of delicate burg. I could have gone for a nice NV sparkler that went well with the snacks.

I agree 1000% that it’s a communication thing, but I don’t expect that it will change. I just make the best of it when it occurs. Please don’t mistake my persnicketiness over wine for any lack of love for my wife. I love her very very much, just as she is. Of course, as with any marriage, we have our things. lol. :slight_smile:

Well this is why you should be serving german riesling before dinner!

Actually, I often do. Or we order in, and I pair. Or we go out. When we have guests over, Anna cooks maybe 1/3 or 1/4 of the time. She certainly isn’t expected to. Far from it. That’s not our dynamic at all. This is 2017!

Sound advice! And after dinner too (just a sweeter one)!

Unless dessert involves stone fruit, in which case I’d go with a sweet chenin like a QdC or vouvray moulleux 1er trie