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How to choose a wine for every occasion
“With wine it is the same as with couples: sometimes the members are completely different and you don’t understand how they can combine so well.” Fernando Gurucharri, chairs the Spanish Union of Tasters (UEC), believes that the secret of good harmony between dishes and wine is in the intuition and the palate.
Corsetar us in dogmas inherited such as the supposed alliance between reds and meat or fish and whites is a mistake, according to the expert, because there are no more rules than those aimed at seek pleasure: «Normally the red one kills the flavor of a fish, but if you enjoy that wine it will be the best option for you».
To achieve a appropriate pairing, the criterion should be limited to all the elements that make up the dish, since sometimes “it has much more in common, for example, a dish of tripe with a cod than with a entrecote, both due to its shape and its gelatinous texture” . That is why everything that surrounds the kitchen will determine the choice of wine.
Giving a broth is as risky as giving a perfume, it is very personal. That is why the only infallible rule if you choose to bring a wine as a detail to a dinner is ask first the host and find the most appropriate pairing. This solution, the most practical, is usually not viable because those who invite will refuse to give that information, a trick to succeed is to opt for a sparkling to combine with an aperitif or a desktop, good for a Sweet wine to accompany the desserts.
Choosing a red, white or sparkling wine should have a personal component, “Talk about one”, as it is a drink to share. It is the best seasoning to enhance special moments and, as deciding the type of wine is not easy, Fernando Gurucharri gives a series of recommendations to choose correctly a wine for every occasion.
The first wine
A very appropriate time to give wine for the first time is, for example, arrival at university, coming of age or the first job. It will accompany the first cycle change in a person’s life.
According to the expert, he must be a young, cheerful, lively, fresh and spontaneous wine. The aromas must be marked, fruity, floral or herbaceous and with a respectful aging with the wine. The recipient will identify a lot with it because it has aromatic characteristics that do not have much complexity, so they will identify them and that will encourage them to enjoy the bottle. If a young man takes a very powerful wine neither will you understand it, nor will you enjoy it.
A Rioja Baja or young reds with oak from the banks of the Duero or Bierzo are a good choice. Also some with carbonic maceration from the La Mancha area, a Catalan sparkling wine or a white from the Rias Baixas, a Ribeiro, a Godello from Valdeorras, a Rueda with a certain structure or some young reds made in a lighter way such as Requena. .
A retirement
In this case it would be convenient to give away something more complex, a type of wine in which he could search, find out, reflect. You must be able to get into the wine to appreciate its nuances. If you choose a wine with the qualities described for a very young person, it will be obvious to you and it will not interest you as much. A great option are whites with more structure or already move to red crianza and reserva.
Wine with nostalgia
For a reunion with friends from another time, for example, or with a person that we are going to see after a long time, nothing better than a sparkling wine, a good cava or champagne. The reasons: always we associate them with the celebration, and also we will satisfy those who do not like wine.
Your partner’s family
It is best to ask what they like and, if we do not get that information, it is best to opt for something that can easily identify, the wine must be a reference.
Ideally, it is a very good and very rare wine so that you have the opportunity to surprise. The choice would not be to try to impress them, but rather to adapt our knowledge that of the stranger in order to get closer to him. Share something that they like so that it reaches them, so they will feel happy, they will notice the intention to please, they will value it and they will be more predisposed to accept you.
For the hipsters
Without a doubt, a wine from an emerging area. The bottle must be new, nice. Attractive, though not necessarily star-phallic. We have to discover something for the “hipster” that he will not see every day and that it is difficult for him to have already known. We must be attentive to stay one step ahead and, at the same time, satisfy your desire for exclusivity.
To go to the snow
As it is very cold and the food will be very caloric, taking a red wine to the snow will be a good bet. We will also need something comforting after skiing, for that moment I recommend an introductory sparkling wine that invites you to a more relaxed evening.
In summer
To accompany the high temperatures and the hot summer heat, I will choose a sparkling wine or a white, a type of wine with good acidity.
Work dinner
A light, easy, refreshing wine that enlivens the evening. It has to be accessible because, either afterwards we have to continue working, or we want to cool off from the work environment. It should never be the protagonist of the meal but a tool that helps to relax and harmonize the different positions of the meeting.
Romantic Dinner
If it is a dinner with the person you have shared your life with, I recommend that the wine be a nod to a moment lived, to a special memory. On the contrary, if it is shared with a person who is intended to conquer, its qualities should give a message to the other person.