A few weeks ago, Anne spoke at an alumni event for Northwestern University (she got her journalism degree at the university’s Medill School of Journalism). Afterward, we went out to dinner with some of the event organizers and fellow speakers. Since this blog was part of the panel discussion that Anne participated in, it’s pretty obvious we’re wine geeks.
So, naturally, we were asked to select a bottle of wine for the whole table. Figure ten different people, twelve different conversations going on at any given time and everyone is eating something different. And the idea is that you’re supposed to match individual wines with the specific food you’re eating. Even if we could pin the other folks down on what they were going to eat, how many different bottles would that entail? We went for the simple answer – and you can, too.
Bubbly. AKA sparkling wine, the stuff from Champagne, France. Most sparklers will go with just about anything. In our case, we picked a non-vintage brut Rosé “Rose d’Orfeuilles,” Domaine d’Orfeuilles, from Touraine, France. The nose had mild fruitiness – the French versions tend to be lighter smelling than our versions here in California. There was some watermelon in the taste and it was bone dry. It didn’t overpower the scallops, yet stood up to the beef short rib. Frankly, it was just yummy on so many levels. So the next time you’re in a group and they want to order a bottle – remember bubbly and you’ll have a hit on your hands.