Food and Wine: A Sometimes Misunderstood Relationship

 Since man invented wine, producing a beverage which pleased him, thanks to the magic of fermenting grape juice, the association with food has certainly been the next invention and, so to speak, obvious and predictable. It is not, of course, the only case – that of wine – for which human beings showed a brilliant inventiveness with the aim of satisfying their own pleasure, no less, even more than one at the same time. This, in fact, has happened for many other beverages created by the ingenuity and creativity of human beings, thanks – no less important, indeed, essential – to natural phenomena that over time have been understood and therefore controlled to man's liking and favor. In this sense, there is no doubt that wine is one of the most complex and, perhaps, exciting results that human beings have been able to obtain throughout their history. A bond that has become practically intimate and identifying, to the point of supreme consecration in becoming a ritual beverage with a high celebratory meaning.

 The context in which wine has certainly played a fundamental role, on a social and cultural level, is certainly at the table. In the main wine-producing countries of Europe – Italy, France and Spain – even today, for the majority of the population, it is practically impossible to imagine a table set with food without the presence of wine. Yes, I know that, in recent times, with the new generations who seem to be a little less interested in wine than the previous ones, this bond seems to be less solid. This trend, according to the most recent surveys, seems to be occurring in all three of these countries, including Italy. While it is true that for the new generations, imagining a meal without the presence of wine at the table is becoming frequent, it is certainly not the case for the previous generations, including mine. Personally, imagining a table ready to welcome guests and therefore consuming the meal together, without the presence of a bottle of wine, is something that, in addition to being unthinkable, gives me, no less, a sense of sadness, as if something important were missing.

 The relationship between wine and food, however, is decidedly complex, not always happy, especially because, most of the time, it is a purely subjective matter. For this reason, any absolute rule becomes useless and even unpleasant. If, in fact, someone likes to eat – for example – plain boiled fennel and paired to a Barolo di Serralunga d'Alba, one can argue or object as much as one wants, but, as they say, if you like it, you like it. The same can be said for all those combinations considered traditional or historical, even though they frequently are questionable if scrupulously analyzed according to criteria, so to speak, purely technical and sensorial. These are consolidated habits and cultures that everyone accepts and, no less, considers absolutely obligatory and essential. This category very often includes a long list of combinations of expensive and elite foods paired with equally expensive wines and therefore usually consumed by people with a fair amount of financial resources, producing a marriage of dubious taste but nevertheless exclusive and elitist.

 In the course of time, even in times now distant from ours, rules have been formulated to allow the pairing of food with wine, in order to be agreeable and harmonious. Food and wine pairing could be defined as an art – and, in many respects, it truly is – however art is not always understood, shared and appreciated by everyone in the same way. With the result that, inevitably, there will always be someone who will find the pairing of food with wine questionable and not completely agreeable, regardless of the rigor and exact application of a technique or method. Exactly like when you contemplate a painting, a statue or listen to music. And art – as we know – is not for everyone. This also gives origin to certain excesses of creativity, with not always exciting results, evidently the result of approximation, superficiality and – allow me – of arrogant ignorance, not least, of bad taste.

 It is fair to reiterate that, when it comes to tastes, it is difficult to object to certain combinations, however, going against the consolidated rules of the physiology of taste, of the proven terrible result of the interaction and combination of certain elements, it is difficult to find an objective consensus. This – I am very sorry to have to note and say it – happens more and more often in restaurants, when you listen to the advice of the wine service person at the table who is frequently and clearly unprepared on the bottles on the list and how to pair them with what is being prepared in the kitchen. Most of the time, one has the impression that the advice is dictated more by the need to sell a certain wine rather than appropriately considering what customers have ordered from the kitchen. I can understand it from a purely commercial and profit point of view, totally incomprehensible in the perspective of satisfying the customer and, which is anything but trivial, making him or her to come back. This, of course, in case the customer is attentive and interested in the food and wine pairing and not when is content to drink and eat whatever he or she wants in a carefree manner – anything is equally good – especially because he or she does not pay the slightest attention to what is being puts in the mouth and without first subjecting it to the judgment of eyes and nose.

 That pairing wine with food is often a secondary aspect in restaurants can be seen when, as soon as you sit down at the table, the waiter, in handing you the menu, immediately asks what to bring to drink, without even waiting to take the order for the kitchen. Sometimes, things do not go better when you explicitly ask for advice on the wine to pair with the dish you ordered. The answers are sometimes bizarre, including personal ones like “I like it with such and such wine” or “wait a moment, I'll go ask”. In most cases, the owner arrives and, without offense, is not of any better help and perhaps suggests a certain wine because “everyone takes it”. Yet, at least for me, the pleasure of pairing a dish with wine is a primary condition for appreciating a meal. Perhaps this is also why the sight of a table set without the presence of wine gives me a sense of sadness, as if I were deprived of half the pleasure that good food promises. Of course, what I like, even in terms of food and wine pairing, does not necessarily mean that everyone will like it, knowing that – of course – it is something subjective and an art that inevitably passes through the subjectivity of one's own taste.

 However, I am convinced that there are objective principles, also in consideration of the physiology and perception of taste, since it is practically similar within the same society and culture, not only because they are determined and supported by technical and practical considerations. At least for me, when at the table you share a good wine well paired with what you are enjoying from your dish, the pleasure is undeniably greater and grateful. But it takes very little – very little – to compromise this magical masterpiece of art. To all those who, thinking they are “revolutionaries”, “innovators” and “against the rules” with their out-of-place creative food and wine excesses, thinking they have created the most sublime of magic, so extraordinary that it massacres the sense of smell and taste, I ask you not to ruin even this small and innocent pleasure. Let us enjoy and get the maximum pleasure both from the work of the kitchen and from the exciting whisper that rises from the glass. After all, we are simple people and we settle for little, just like a perfectly done food and wine pairing made with art.