Many years ago, a friend told me about a tasting menu - wine pairing experience at the French Laundry. Unfortunately, she had one too many glasses and was not able to enjoy the last few courses. Another friend told me about a similar experience at Benu, where the wine also ended up diminishing the food experience.
Online, the sentiment around ordering a wine pairing with high-end tasting meals appears to be mixed. Some say “you made this far, go for the wine pairing!” And yet, others say “with high prices, frequently uninspired choices, tiny pours, and lectures before every course, wine pairings are more often vinous straitjackets than perfect matches.”
As an alternative to official food-wine pairings, some people suggest ordering a few bottles that are versatile, or talking with the sommelier to create a cheaper “wine pairing” option. With the latter option, I was again surprised to find some handy alternatives - talking about the wine budget with the sommelier, splitting the pairing with someone else, or simply stopping the pairings halfway through the meal. These are definitely some tricks that I will use next time.
At the same time, from a restaurant perspective, these wine pairings make a lot of financial sense. I had always naively thought that restaurants put in as much effort into the food-wine pairings as they did for each tiny, tasting course dish. I was surprised to discover that many sommeliers have freedom to choose wines for the pairings, which means that many frequently pick “inexpensive, but obscure wines so that customers won’t know the true cost.” Thank goodness for increasingly available wine bottle price estimates online!
Sources:
https://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/Napa-Guide-French-Laundryhttps://sf.eater.com/2015/2/12/8021839/benu-raises-prices-eliminates-need-to-tip
No comments:
Post a Comment