Red Wine and Fish

Deceptive title.  What we're really talking about is the great Sicilian red Nero d'Avola as an accompaniment to Mediterranean cuisine.  Our material comes from the Kermit Lynch newsletter.  KL is an exceptional importer of European wines and their newsletter, like all business newsletters, is a sales instrument.  They were pitching their particular Sicilian red by pairing it with a particular meal which they go on to delineate.

The KL newsletter is very professionally done with creative writing that makes our little humble blog appear quite primitive.  What is in the obvious interest of both Kermit Lynch and Vine & Cheese is that we present wines flatteringly to would-be purchasers to advance our business interests.  We want to sell wine.  So when KL says Nero d'Avola retains acidity despite baking in the Mediterranean climate vineyards, that says this wine is food-friendly.  When they say the wine "coats the palate with sumptuous notes of black cherry and blackberry,"  that gets Pavlov's dog salivating.  When they say the "radiant brightness" of the wine contrasts with "the succulence of the dark fruit," I want to call my old English literature teacher and say, "Did you hear that?"

Here's the recipe for the meal they're talking about:

Cook down some onions, garlic and tomatoes in olive oil.  Add some capers and pitted olives.  Then some dried herbs like oregano and thyme.  Hot chili flakes, if desired.  Spoon this sauce over grilled swordfish or tuna with pasta.

So after reading the KL sales pitch, what do I think?  I want to taste the wine.  And the meal.  I really want to taste them both.  Together. 

It's enjoyable for me to criticize over-the-top wine writers.  Especially if I think they either don't know what they're talking about or they're transparently on the take.  This time the writer got it right.

I r-e-a-l-l-y want to taste that wine!


Please join us this Thursday at the weekly wine tasting.  We go from 5 to 7pm here at the store.