Fork and Gobble It: Managing Perceptions

Fridays on the BottleBlog will feature a food-related article, wine pairing, or travelogue. Today, Wine Manager Mark Ricca talk about perceptions and tasting wine.

An article last week in the New York Times by Eric Asimov in his column "The Pour" addressed the issue of the terms or descriptors we use to communicate verbally what we think wine tastes like. In a nutshell, he put forth the idea that wine could be most basically categorized as savory or sweet. While I absolutely agree that wine language can become overly lofty and flowery, especially as expressed by amateur critics, simplifying it down to two basic categories may not work for everyone. It leaves me wanting a little more. Just yesterday tasting through a flight of about twelve wines with colleagues here at the store, we discussed perceptions of what we really taste. So many factors are involved, a point Mr. Asimov touched on in his last column. One that I was able to isolate yesterday was the quality of stemware one uses to taste and how it affects your ability to perceive wine. It is amazing how the same wine out of two different glasses can smell and taste radically different. I have been known, much to the chagrin of my wife, to bring my own stemware to a BYO restaurant when I don't have faith in what they might have on the table and I'm really interested in tasting the wine we're bringing. Just label me Geek.

So how does one a) learn how to taste and b) learn to express those sensations? My first and rather obvious response would be to taste as much and as frequently as possible. Hopefully in the company of those with a little more experience than you. If you aren't aware, we taste four different wines every week here in the store, Friday evenings from 4pm to 6pm and Saturday afternoons from 1pm to 3pm. This is easy and free and those two things make it very worthwhile indeed. I encourage those inclined to do so, to taste with friends on a semi-regular basis also. It's fun, social, educational, and can be very inexpensive. Certainly cheaper than dinner and a movie these days. You will be amazed at the little epiphanies that can take place when you taste wine with a little thought involved.

This brings me to debunking one of my favorite food and wine rules: Red with meat, white with fish. Coming home after work one evening last week, I picked up some really nice salmon filets with the intention of grilling them since the weather had relented enough for me to now see and make my way out to my Weber. I quickly put together an idea for a dish that would support the grilled fish, but wasn't letting go of winter comfort food feel just yet. I decided to make a quick stew of canellini beans, tomatoes, peas, and... something was crying out for bacon, but bacon is not something my wife will eat. After a few quick seconds I chose to improvise with smoked trout.

Grilled Salmon Filet with a Bean, Tomato, and Smoked Trout Stew
-1 small shallot minced
-2 oz. Olive oil
-1 smoked trout filet, skinned, boned, and broken up into small pieces
-1 can diced tomatoes, drained
-1 pinch dried thyme leaves
-salt and black pepper to taste
-2 oz dry white wine
-1 can of canellini beans ~ rinsed well and drained
-½ cup frozen green peas

Saute the shallot in the olive oil until translucent, add the trout and saute two minutes more. Add in the tomatoes and the thyme and continue to cook for five minutes more. Season with salt and pepper and add in the wine. Let the wine come to a boil and simmer for two minutes. Add in the canellini beans and cook for five minutes. The stuff in the pan should be moist, but not soupy or wet so adjust the cooking time where necessary to evaporate liquid. Add in the peas and a little more olive oil. Keep warm and set aside.

Now grill the salmon.

2 Salmon filets ~ skin on, seasoned well with S&P

Grill the fish starting on the meat side and finish on the skin side to crisp that skin and render all the fat between the skin and meat. It is a technique that requires practice and a well seasoned grill.

Plate the stew and place the fish, skin side up in the middle of the stew. Drizzle with a little good quality olive oil.

The wine? Sylvain Cathiard Bourgogne Rouge 2005. Pinot Noir with fish. Pinot pairs very well with fish. My favorites pairings are grilled salmon or tuna, or sushi. We have done this in our food and wine classes demonstrating how well Pinot works with Umami. Umami is the fifth taste along with salty, sweet, sour, and bitter. Umami is a very savory, meaty taste best represented by thinking of the flavor of soy sauce, and Pinot loves it and is loved back.

The wine itself shows bright cherry/cassis fruit, earthy and herbaceous flavors with a nice mineral note trailing off on the finish. Don't quite get what I'm describing? Keep tasting, you will.