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| 2006 Angelo Germano Langhe Nebbiolo Piemonte, Italy |
Chef Hena (my husband and soul mate, Derek) loves to cook. Like REALLY loves it. While I love to cook in theory, I actually don't like it that much in reality, because I don't like to do things like finely chop, strain with cheese cloth, use multiple bowls at the same time, and, well, make a mess in the kitchen. Derek, on the other hand, not only enjoys these tasks, but will go so far as to say that they are relaxing for him.
I encourage this.
When D gets really inspired, he'll usually want to take on something strong-flavored and incredibly labor-intensive (or at least, that requires a lot of time and care) like braised short ribs with celery root mashed potatoes (seriously, based on looks alone, I'd never go near a celery root), coque au vin, or, as in the case of last night, braised lamb with squash-infused risotto and brussel sprouts sauteed in bacon, in honor of Twelfth Night.
Call me old school, but the slow-cooked, reduced, gamey and/or strong-flavored dishes of the old world, the kind that require the stoppage of time and a lot of love, are the soul mates to the great wines of the world. Like man and woman, wine and food are meant to go together but often mismatched. We are just as easily distracted by the emotions wine can evoke in us - the critic's scores, the look of the bottle, the "buzz," our own nostalgia - when trying to make a wine pairing decision as we can be by the emotions life evokes in us that lead us to "fall" for the wrong guy, buy the cute but wrong shoes, suffer through the impressive but depressing job, and we mess up. I know - for every ten wine pairing efforts, I might get one "aha" moment. It doesn't happen as often as one would think.
Luckily, while the human race is doomed to continue to get it wrong in love and life, we are less doomed when it comes to food and wine pairing if we remember to choose Nebbiolo. From Italy. Specifically, Piedmont in Northern Italy. When it really matters - when D is slow-cooking and I can smell the lamb and rosemary and roasted peppercorns from across the street, I almost always do.
And Nebbiolo, from the humble wines of the Langhe to the regal Barolo, has never let me down. It may not always hit out of the park, but it always comes to play. And that's a pretty good record, all things considered.
