Wine & Music

One of the fun challenges of wine is what to pair with it and I truly believe that this is up to individual taste! I love pairing food with wine...each course of a meal can be complimented by pouring the wine that helps bring out all of the flavors, sometimes to balance sweetness or spices and sometimes to create a blended palate such as savoring a bite of chocolate with a sip of Cabernet! Your sense of taste is heightened by the thought of the food and the wine together. But here's another thought; I am a guitar player and lover of all kinds of music, Jazz, Folk, Rock, Classical and everything in between. I have often found myself on the vineyard with a glass of wine in hand taking in the view and enjoying the music in the background as my iPod shuffles through my play list. I love the surprise of not knowing what is coming up, except that it is familiar because I put it there! It might be a Mozart Sonata for Klavier and Violin or "Blue Rondo A La Turk" by Brubeck or even a bit of Southern Blues rock by the Allman Brothers...whatever it is for me it always seems to affect the way the wine tastes! Think about it, we put a lot of effort into pairing wine with food which makes for a bigger and hopefully more pleasant experience. Why not then make the effort to add the element of suiting the wine you serve with the music you are listening to!?! If we are passionate about the wine we are drinking, then I think the music we choose to play can only enhance the experience. There have been studies done (here) that go as far as to suggest Listening to
Jimi Hendrix can enhance the flavors of the Cabernet you are drinking or that Otis Redding's "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" while sipping a Chardonnay makes it go down smooth! When guests come over for dinner I try to carefully select the music to complement the mood which includes the food, wine and conversation!

Here are some recommendations of wine and music pairings:

Chardonnay:

Mantanzas Creek Chardonnay 2007 Sonoma Valley - $29.00 with
Shawn Colvin 'Cover Girl' - "One Cool Remove"

Rodney Strong 2007 Reserve Chardonnay Russian River Valley - $28.00 with
Willy Porter 'Dog Eared Dream' - "Boab Tree"

Pinot Noir:

Inman Family 2007 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir - $30.00 with
Beethoven Sonata No. 5, Op. 24 for Piano & Violin

Keller Estate 2007 La Cruz Vineyard Pinot Noir - $40.00 with
Shelly Berg Trio 'Blackbird' - "Blackbird"

Cabernet:

Jordan Vineyards 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon - $52.00 with
The Subdudes 'Primitive Streak' - "All The Time In The World"

A. Rafanelli 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon Dry Creek Valley - $48.00 with
The Steve Miller Band 'Bingo' - "Rock Me Baby"

Enjoy the view!!!