My Father in law, Guy Everett Noble, was a Commander in the Navy during WWII and a 33 yr veteran of the service. His squadron was in the Pacific and specifically in Darwin, Australia during the attack of Pearl Harbor. His ship was attacked that same day by the Japanese. We tend to remember him as sort a Gary Cooper type with a Gloucester, MA accent. Six foot two, straight shooter, get it done or get out of the way type of man. No nonsense, few words said, heart of solid gold. Hopefully, you get a feel for a man that is pretty sure of who he is, what he wants, and how to get it done. You need the background to understand the story below.
At a family and friends gathering at the house one day, we went in to our wine cellar to grab a few bottles of wine to open up for our friends. My buddies grabbed a couple of Rhone GSMs (Grenache, Syrah Mouvedre blend) and a few bottles of Napa Sauvignon Blanc. One of them then noticed there was a few cases of White Zinfandel on the white wine side of the cellar. 'So that's for people that don't yet have developed a palate for fine wine', he quipped.
I told him 'No that is for my Father in Law, Commander Noble. He always enjoys a glass of White Zinfandel with his dinner whenever he is over. It's the only wine he really likes. And by the way, he is almost 80 years old, so I don't think his palate is going to develop too much further. He just drinks what he likes'. If you look next to the White Zin, you'll see a few cases of Gewürztraminer from Sonoma. It's for my wife who really only likes that particular style. I keep both of those wines in stock so they always have something that THEY like...not what I think they should drink. That's why you guys are picking the wine for us to open. You picked what you liked...and by the way, so do I, since it's in my cellar.
We went back to the grill and smoker in the back yard to finish our food...grilled flank steak, slow smoked chicken and some grilled vegetables. We also made a balsamic and olive oil salad. Meats and vegetables were well seasoned with salt, pepper and liberal amounts of Spanish olive oil.
Was the chicken paired with the Sauvignon Blanc and the Steak paired with the GSMs? Not at all. No matter the wine we wanted to drink, the food and wine would taste great together, including my wife's glass of Gewurztraminer and the Commanders White Zinfandel. Why? The food was prepared in balance: It all had bitter flavors from the grill and smoke, had some salt added to the spice rub. The salad had balsamic vinegar and olive oil with would also soften tannins and enhance the flavors in the Sauvignon Blanc. The vegetables had gone through a pyrolytic reaction where they were caramelized to convert their sugar to a more nutty flavor and the meats had gone through a Maillard reaction while cooking...the meats had been seared to a degree which reduces sugars and results in a more delicious flavor.
If you like the food you are eating and you like your wine you are drinking, and the food is balanced, you should enjoy any combination together...which is why White Zinfandel or Gewurztraminer or Sauvignon Blanc or GSM can go with any of the foods we serve, not by someone's red wine - red meat /white wine - light meat or fish standard. This is why at my house we don't cook food based on what wine we want to drink...we cook what we want to eat and drink the wines we most individually enjoy....allowing 30 plus years of watching the Commander, my wife and my friends never worry about anything more about food and wine than enjoying the company and times we were enjoying together.
