Writing About Wine or What Do You Pair with Peanut Butter?

I know. It’s a red, obviously not grigio. But I thought my lipstick looked awesome on the glass right then.

I hate reading about wine. I love wine. I love reading. You’d think I’d love reading about wine, right? Wrong!

Wine reviews are just so damn stuffy. The acridness of the soil of this region in that year for this type of grape. Who the hell knows what that means? To the layman, it likely doesn’t mean anything. They want to know what the wine tastes like–is it good, or is it bad? And will I like it?

And that’s what matters to most people–will I like it? Wine’s gotten quite popular. It’s nothing to walk into a chain grocery store and see an aisle devoted to wine. Okay, not entirely. They usually face off with their beer cousins–who are equally awesome in different ways. But because there are whole aisles for wine shows that people are enjoying their wine, they want it and they like it regardless of whose opinion is out there about wine.

Now wine didn’t always used to be this way. Go back a couple of decades–near as I can figure–and wine wasn’t what it is today. As a child I don’t remember an aisle devoted to wine. Cereal? Yes. Cans of stuff? Yes. Boxes and bags of frozen stuff? Yes. But near as I can remember wine and their beer cousins had to share shelf space. Or maybe that’s just how it was in Florida.

People were nervous about ordering wine. I mean who would want to take a pretty lady out on a date and risk incurring the scornful look of a sommelier when you ordered a bottle that didn’t pair with your meal correctly? No one. Trés embarrassing. People became intimidated by wine, I think. It was an intellectual sort of thing. Booze for the smart folk.

But something happened in the last couple of decades. Wine loosened up. And people became less intimidated by it. They were going to drink wine, damn it! They decided they deserved the finer things in life. People just tried different vintages, labels, types, and more just to see what they liked. They’d sample house wines, go to wine fests, tool around Epcot during their International Food & Wine Festival–all the while trying different wines. Curiosity won out. It became about the people and what they liked. It didn’t matter if it was “the” wine that was meant to be paired with “the” dish. It was about what tasted good. It became less serious. And it wasn’t all about fine dining anymore. You can go to chain restaurants like Olive Garden and order what you will, and no one will raise an eyebrow.

Unfortunately wine writing hasn’t apparently caught up. I have no doubt there are wine-lovers out there–oenophiles if you want to be technical–that have lost the stuffy jargon. But it’s still mainstream, so to speak, to write about wine with a monocle on.

There you have it. A peanut butter sandwich with what’s left of a glass of pinot grigio.

I thought about that tonight while I had half a peanut butter sandwich and a glass of wine. What wine would I pair with peanut butter?

Who in the hell asks that? In truth, I think you’re going to pair it with whatever wine you like, traditional pairing be damned…if one exists.

Which I’ll own up to–I have no idea if there’s a particular wine that should be paired with peanut butter. Somehow I doubt there’s a pairing designation out there that lists ‘PB on sourdough goes with X wine.’ Wine goes with what we want it to go with, what we like. Sure there are pairing menus out there and fine dining that’s based on pairings, and if I were travelling or having a high-end night out I’d very likely go with the pairing. But what I’m saying is that wine is no longer limited by traditional stuffy standards anymore. It’s okay to have fun with it, to go with what you like. And the writing and reading should be that way too.

…By the way, if you were curious, pinot grigio goes with a peanut butter sandwich quite nicely. The PB doesn’t conflict with the grigio and vice versa. And the crispness takes the edge off the peanut butter making me thirsty. Take a sip or two and it’s all good. I don’t feel the need to guzzle my wine to deal with the salty PB. Now a red–that would make me down my wine faster because reds tend to make me thirstier–thank you, tannins. Tannins are the texture in wines that make you thirsty, by the way–hence why it wouldn’t go well with a peanut butter sandwich. But that’s just me and my thoughts. You should try it for yourself. Go on, I dare you. Have fun with it.