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This is Diane — Tom’s wine glass washer, toughest editor, and greatest fan. She writes a blog called “Another Year in Recipes,” in which she reports on her experience of preparing recipes each week from her large collection of cookbooks. Tom is her chief taster and critic of these dishes and, of course, he chooses wines to go with them.
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To visit Diane’s blog, click on the cookbooks photo.
Thank you for taking the time to reply. I gather now that those of us who are wine savvy can cross the Italian-French border for a wine, but the only border I can cross is the Spanish one. I live in the deep south of France now, and I haven’t found the connection to get the few Italian wines I seek for some of my dishes.
In any case “The Right Wine” was a godsend for me. Some sections I got on first reading; others took countless efforts. In any case I love the challenge of ordering the wines for a table of 6 or 8 in a modern eclectic restaurant.
Thank you again.
Andy Reis
Yes, it is fun trying to figure out a wine that will work well with a diversity of dishes, isn’t it? I’m glad The Right Wine has helped you, but remember: there are almost no absolute rules in wine, except to drink what you really like.
I have a question for Mr Maresca whose book “The Right Wine” has aided me over the years.
Does he still stand by his adage that one does not mix Italian wines and French cuisine and vice-versa?
Yes, No, or to a lesser extent?
I don’t remember setting that as a rule, but as a fail-safe: when in doubt, stick with wines that are native to the cuisine you’re dealing with. Certainly, over the years since The Right Wine was published, I’ve enjoyed many Italian wines with French dishes and vice-versa, and I would always think that the general compatibility of components — wine and food flavors, scale, fats and acidity most importantly — should be the real determiners of your choices. But when you’ve got some significant unknowns among those, then regional compatibility certainly can point you in the right direction. So it’s one guideline among many for me, though it can be the final, decisive guideline in tricky circumstances. I hope that doesn’t sound evasive: I’m trying to give as full an answer as I can.