Wine Insights #3
A book instructing you how to pair food and wine, a blog post on wine's ability to fool us, and the best bottle of wine I've had this year.
Wine Insights is a quick read highlighting a book, blog, and bottle that create new paths for your wine learning.
Book: What To Drink With What You Eat
Far more than just a wine book, What To Drink With What You Eat would fit perfectly in the collection of great cookbooks.
What I love:
Start with food or drink and quickly create new paring connections
Easy to get inspiration without being stuck to formal paring rules
Insights from great minds of hospitality
Favorite takeaway:
When asked their desert island beverage lists, nearly everyone includes Champagne.
The most common house: Krug.
Blog: Is Wine Fake?
There’s so much research on our perception and ability to taste. Most of it serves as a reminder of how foolish we are.
Is Wine Fake? by Scott Alexander is the best compilation and level-headed opinion I’ve seen on the topic.
What I love:
Includes multiple wine studies on blind tasting
Creates a compelling narrative connecting results
Exposes biases, highlighting pitfalls and successes
Favorite takeaway:
Taste is subjective, but it can be trained.
Bottle: 2017 Ridge Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
We went to a party last week, and I brought this bottle alongside many others. And for me, it was the absolute standout.
What I love:
The finish lingered long after we went on to other bottles, and the memory of black fruit and spice still hangs on my tongue.
Favorite takeaway:
A great entry point into the understanding the fuss about Monte Bello, but beware it’s a slippery slope.
P.S. - My goal is to make this weekly email easy to digest and enjoy. It’s the aperitif to my longer weekly email, Wine Blueprint.
What do you think of the new format? Let me know in the comments.