Mood:
spaceyTopic: Pseudoscientific Musings
So I was drinking a particularly objectionable Merlot tonight, and even while Merlot wine ain't my usual cup of tea (and yes, I've hated it since BEFORE "Sideways" came out, thank you very much...) I discovered something very interesting in the process...
Wine drinkin' is kinda an art: you can get a gem of a complex Cab that will treat you right as rain quite easily, but who can afford to shell out $25+ a pop for a casual bottle of drinkin' vino?
Shane can't...
I reserve the real goodies for fine meats and the like (I have a five-year-old bottle of Opus One squirrled away somewhere for the day I win the lottery, become a best-selling author, find Willy Wonka's golden ticket, get selected for Astronaut training, or some combination thereof...) and the rest of the time it's more modest fare.
Anyway, back to this crappy Merlot (pronounced MUR-LOT, in my book ;)...
I'm not a wine expert, not even close, but I am what I call a 'vinophile' (someone with limited expertise, but enthusiasm). Most reds, in my opinion, have a distinctly basic 'dirt' taste underneath the berries and tanins (I don't mean this in a bad way, but if it's uncontrolled... hoo-boy). And it was in this bottle: a Merlot without mellowness is like a Chauchat machine gun without bullets: sure, it's worthless even when loaded, but taking the rounds out just adds insult to injury...
...what I'm tryin' to say is that Merlot is crap, but it's claim to fame is that it is more 'mellow' and lighter than other varietals: this bottle was more tart than a rusty nail (if you're wondering whether I'm taking about the mixed drink or the literal nail itself, the answer is 'yes'...)
Alright, here's the point:
I was eating some peanut butter and celery earlier, and I still had the munchies, so I took a break from drinking and ate some more. When I came back to my glass I was surprised: the whole taste of the wine was altered (duh...), but it was decidedly for the better.
I can't find much research on how PB affects the taste of wine, but clearly it has something to do with the lip-smacking film it leaves in the mouth after ingestion. That overpowering 'dirt' taste in my Merlot was subdued (more like put in a chokehold) and the actual berry flavors were, as far as I could tell, quite satisfactorily revealed.
I guess that the moral of the story is that crappy red wine can be de-crapified depending on what else your mouth is currently swimming in. I've been told this before, but this is the first time I've witnessed it firsthand... or first-tongue, if you will.
Still: PB and Merlot?....
You won't find this tip in 'Food and Wine' anytime soon...
