Matching Food with Wine

“Cuisine is when things taste like themselves,” wrote Curnonsky many years ago. In California’s wine country, this observation defines the essence of our cuisine. Clean, vivid flavors are artfully created by integrating superb fresh ingredients with classic yet simple cooking techniques. Not surprisingly, it is wine itself that seems to most enhance the food of the wine country. Over the years, considerable discussion has taken place about the marriage of food and wine. Almost scientifically, we in the wine industry have scrutinized the intricacies of which wine should go with which dish, partly because wine is not as deeply imbedded in America’s culture and table as it is in Europe. In treating wine intellectually, we’ve created unnecessary impediments for people to make wine more a part of their daily lives. This complication translates, unfortunately, into intimidation about wine for some people who might otherwise enjoy it more often.