If the world were still the same as it was a year ago, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be writing about wine in January 2021. A year ago, I considered myself a beer drinker. I didn’t know diddly squat about wine, except that it was a lot more expensive than beer. And you needed a corkscrew. Who can ever find a corkscrew?
But everything is different now, thanks to all the fuss about public health. And, especially, the bars being closed. We all had to shelter at home, and come to terms with our ignorance about various unfamiliar beverages.
If it weren’t for COVID-19, I would still be an unsophisticated beer guzzler. Who knew… that one could so easily become ‘cosmopolitan’ during a lock-down?
My first encounters with high culture were focused on learning to tell white wines from red wines. Turns out, it’s really easy. They are different colors.
I also discovered that the taste of wine improves noticeably after the third or fourth glass.
A couple more glasses, and I realized (to my surprise) that I was on the road to becoming a ‘connoisseur’.
As I understood that particular designation, however, I knew I needed to become expert at “wine pairings”. “Wine pairings” involve, as everyone knows, choosing the correct wine to pair up with selected foods. Choosing the wrong wine can lead, eventually, to loss of the ‘connoisseur’ designation.
But you might find that other concerns (such as abject poverty) will also play a role in your pairing decisions.
Here’s one of my favorite wine-food pairings:
McDonald’s Happy Meal with Carlo Rossi Chianti
Some folks think the McDonald’s Happy Meals are just for kids. Not so! These complete meals are for “the young at heart”. Clocking in a 475 calories, the McDonald’s Happy Meal (6-piece Chicken McNuggets, Small Fries, side of Apple Slices, and a plastic toy) will get your motor running, no matter what your age. Affordable, portable nutrition for the connoisseur ‘on-the-go’.
Pairs perfectly with Carlo Rossi Chianti, a classic Italian table wine that’s rich in flavor and goes well with various chicken dishes. (Including Chicken McNuggets!) A medium body wine with a balanced, smooth finish, Carlo Rossi Chianti is satisfying and easy to enjoy, as well as being easy on the pocketbook during a global pandemic. (Lord knows we all need something satisfying and easy to enjoy, these days.)
Another of my favorite wine-food combinations:
Tony’s ‘Meat-Trio’ Pizza with Carlo Rossi Chianti
Tony’s Meat-Trio Pizza features a Pizzeria-style Crust, 100% Real Mozzarella Cheese and a sauce made with Real Tomatoes, and No Artificial Ingredients. The Sausage is made with Pork and Chicken (not necessarily in that order) and the Peperoni and Ham come with “Natural Juices”. Affordable, easy-to-bake nutrition for the connoisseur with a taste for “Real” ingredients.
Pairs perfectly with Carlo Rossi Chianti, a eminently versatile Italian table wine that’s rich in flavor and goes well with Pizza with Real Ingredients. Carlo Rossi Chinati is satisfying and easy to enjoy, as well as being easy on the pocketbook during a global pandemic. (I know we mentioned that part before, but it bears repeating!)
Here’s another pairing that’s sure to delight your taste buds, and might be the perfect choice, to start off your pandemic day on the right foot:
General Mills’ Trix Cereal with Carlo Rossi Chianti
Some of our readers might remember Trix cereal as little fruit-flavored balls of sweetened corn. If so, you will be delighted to learn that Trix now offers us “Six Fruity Shapes” (Naturally and Artifucially Fruit Flavored) that actually look like the fruits they are flavored to taste like — Lemon Slices, Bunches of Grapes, Raspberries, Watermelon Slices, Blueberry Clusters, and Orange Slices. Not only does the cereal taste something like fruit, it even looks something like fruit. And best of all, it now contains Trisodium Phosphate, which was recently touted in several YouTube videos as a cost-effective treatment for coronavirus infections. (Watch out, Clorox and Lysol!)
Pairs perfectly with Carlo Rossi Chianti, an easy-to-drink Italian table wine that’s rich in flavor and goes well with corn-based, sugar-sweetened Breakfast Cereals.
Since I’ve been buying Carlo Rossi Chianti by the gallon lately, I’ve naturally been especially interested in food pairings that go perfectly with a classic Italian table wine that’s rich in flavor. Here are a couple more delightful pairings that probably need no explanation at all:
Once you start successfully pairing your favorite wines with your favorite foods, you will never go back to guzzling beer… even if the world somehow becomes normal again.
Underrated writer Louis Cannon grew up in the vast American West, although his ex-wife, given the slightest opportunity, will deny that he ever grew up at all.