Wine Wired

I love this time of year.  There is an impending promise of cooler weather to come and along with it football.  In my opinion football is almost like a religion. Depending on who your team is, (and what religion you are) there may be cheering, shouting and, occasionally, some time spent on your knees. In all seriousness, football holds a special place in my heart. Through my tough teenage years, when my father and I had little common ground, we could always talk about football.

At this point you may be wondering what any of this has to do with wine.  Well, while watching this great sport I tend to snack and imbibe.  Granted, many people think of beer when watching football and, I admit, I’ve been known to tip a pint or three while watching a game.  I’m just asking you not to limit you potential. Trust me, wine is completely acceptable while watching football.

Let’s start the pregame snacks with a chilled citrus marinated shrimp salad.  This is when the guests start to arrive and the pre-game show is coming on. For an app like this, you need a wine that has a complimentary acidity to the citric acid in these dishes.  If the wine has a lower acid, it will feel flabby and taste dull.  For that reason, I love a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc in this situation.

New Zealand has become somewhat of a sensation over the last decade or two for a number of reasons. First and foremost, New Zealand makes very good wine at an easily marketable price.  From that standpoint it is easy to understand why they could sell a lot of wine but the success of New Zealand viticulture is a dichotomy of old and new world.

Vinifera vines (the ones we drink wines from) began being planted in New Zealand in the 1960’s, with areas like the famous Marlborough not seeing vines until the 1970s. This new venture was encouraged by the government and experimentation was rewarded and often subsidized. Along with this, many European and American winemakers travelled here to work in their “dormant” season (summer in the southern hemisphere is winter in the northern hemisphere).  With these “flying winemakers”, as they came to be known, came experience, knowledge, and foreign monies. This created the perfect storm for the emergence of a wine industry and New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is still enjoying the ride.

The next appetizer we like to serve, usually during the first game, is pork and vegetable summer rolls.  I know this may not sound like “game food” but remember, we are thinking outside the box. If you think Asian food is unusual then you may not recover from the pairing of rosé with it.  Yes, I’m suggesting you drink pink wine and watch football.

Although rosé can be made anywhere wine is produced, I particularly like those coming out of the south of France.  These are not the pink sweet tea like rosé that you may be used to drinking. The wines are dry (little residual sugar), elegant and food-worthy.

The wine growing area has many individual regulated areas (AOCs), and some that produce great rosé, but the larger Pays d’ Oc encompasses a huge section of the French Mediterranean coast. Many winemakers choose to delimit their wines to a broader area (Vin d’ Pays) rather than produce in the smaller area of their AOC.  The choice allows fewer restrictions on what grapes are grown, how the wine is made and even the percentages of different grapes that must be included in their wines.  This is also important in developing a consistent brand for marketing purposes. Although Vin d’ Pays wines were once thought to be the “seconds” of local AOCs, these wines are offering tremendous quality for the price.

Now the first game is ending, you survived the pink wine and it’s time to grab some real food. For us nothing says football like some meat on the grill, in this case sliders with caramelized onions and blue cheese.  For you red wine lovers, this is your time.  Although you could go the expected route of the big Cabernet, I’m going trendy with Malbec.

Although there are a few places that grow Malbec, none have seen success like Argentina.  Inexpensive labor, great growing conditions (especially varied altitudes), and foreign investment has seen Argentinean Malbec become a worldwide sensation.  Although there is still value to be found here, I fear that this trend is withering.  With inflation running rampant in Argentina, the price of wine will soon surely increase and we will be left paying much higher prices for this beloved variety. I guess I’m saying if you like it, drink it while the price is still reasonable.

Although many of you will still pour a pint while watching your games, and there is nothing wrong with that, I hope I have encouraged you to at least try some grapes on game day.  After all, I’m not asking you to root for a different team, just root for yours with a different beverage.

RECIPES TO PAIR WITH THE WINES LOCATED HERE