Eating and drinking are the great loves of my life (as well as my wife and family, I hasten to add). I consider myself very fortunate that I have been able to combine these passions with my profession, starting my working life in the hospitality industry (hotel management), evolving over the years into my career in wine.

I confess that I sometimes spend far too much money when eating out, on special occasions perhaps to excess. I am also guilty of sometimes spending more on wines than I do on the meal itself (which in top restaurants is not too difficult to do). I consider myself  privileged that, during my lifetime, I have had the opportunity to eat in many of the world’s top restaurants, where on occasions I have been confronted with wine lists that look more like old-fashioned telephone directories, offering an overwhelming selection of very fine wines.

These days, when visiting unfamiliar restaurants, more often than not I will opt for the chef’s tasting menu. Usually this type of menu will showcase the specialities of the chef, highlighting local produce as well as the local cuisine. The only downside to these menus is that the dishes can be so diverse that it makes it quite impossible to make a wine selection that will harmonise with everything. (The only possible exception to this might be an old, biscuity champagne that I will drink happily with anything!). Quite naturally this is where wine pairing comes into its own – putting yourself in the hands of a (hopefully) very skilled sommelier, who will be able to offer a sample wine to match every course. Ceding this amount of power to a sommelier, I must confess, is something that I still find extraordinarily difficult to do!

On the occasions that I have opted for this it has worked well, perhaps once or twice, even too well. I remember once (through a slight haze) being poured into a taxi upon leaving one of Sydney’s top eateries. The problem was that knowing who we were they simply kept asking us to sample more wines, on top of the already extensive selection offered with the menu. The pleasure was just a little excessive I’m afraid!

In the case of these gastronomic menus I think it is equally as important to be inspired by the wines being suggested, as we rely on the knowledge and experience of the sommelier to guide us skillfully through his selections. However, on one recent occasion I’m afraid that I was left just a little disappointed by the wine service that we received…. As the flight of wines were poured we were given a rather rapid but clearly well rehearsed speech about each one. The problem was that the sommelier did not seem to be prepared for questions, or even less so for comments about the pairing. For example, a lobster dish with a rich sauce was served with a rather tight, flinty Pouilly Fumé – for me it needed a wine with a bit more weight and body. It was a very good wine, but just not the wine I would have selected myself, and when I mentioned this, my opinion appeared to be met with complete indifference.

Apart from this trivial incident I think that the concept of a wine pairing selection is really positive, giving the consumer a chance to make new wine discoveries, whilst at the same time enhancing the overall dining experience….. proving, as we already know, that wine and food are truly made for each other!

Eating and drinking are the great loves of my life (as well as my wife and family, I hasten to add). I consider myself very fortunate that I have been able to combine these passions with my profession, starting my working life in the hospitality industry (hotel management), evolving over the years into my career in wine.

I confess that I sometimes spend far too much money when eating out, on special occasions perhaps to excess. I am also guilty of sometimes spending more on wines than I do on the meal itself (which in top restaurants is not too difficult to do). I consider myself  privileged that, during my lifetime, I have had the opportunity to eat in many of the world’s top restaurants, where on occasions I have been confronted with wine lists that look more like old-fashioned telephone directories, offering an overwhelming selection of very fine wines.

These days, when visiting unfamiliar restaurants, more often than not I will opt for the chef’s tasting menu. Usually this type of menu will showcase the specialities of the chef, highlighting local produce as well as the local cuisine. The only downside to these menus is that the dishes can be so diverse that it makes it quite impossible to make a wine selection that will harmonise with everything. (The only possible exception to this might be an old, biscuity champagne that I will drink happily with anything!). Quite naturally this is where wine pairing comes into its own – putting yourself in the hands of a (hopefully) very skilled sommelier, who will be able to offer a sample wine to match every course. Ceding this amount of power to a sommelier, I must confess, is something that I still find extraordinarily difficult to do!

On the occasions that I have opted for this it has worked well, perhaps once or twice, even too well. I remember once (through a slight haze) being poured into a taxi upon leaving one of Sydney’s top eateries. The problem was that knowing who we were they simply kept asking us to sample more wines, on top of the already extensive selection offered with the menu. The pleasure was just a little excessive I’m afraid!

In the case of these gastronomic menus I think it is equally as important to be inspired by the wines being suggested, as we rely on the knowledge and experience of the sommelier to guide us skillfully through his selections. However, on one recent occasion I’m afraid that I was left just a little disappointed by the wine service that we received…. As the flight of wines were poured we were given a rather rapid but clearly well rehearsed speech about each one. The problem was that the sommelier did not seem to be prepared for questions, or even less so for comments about the pairing. For example, a lobster dish with a rich sauce was served with a rather tight, flinty Pouilly Fumé – for me it needed a wine with a bit more weight and body. It was a very good wine, but just not the wine I would have selected myself, and when I mentioned this, my opinion appeared to be met with complete indifference.

Apart from this trivial incident I think that the concept of a wine pairing selection is really positive, giving the consumer a chance to make new wine discoveries, whilst at the same time enhancing the overall dining experience….. proving, as we already know, that wine and food are truly made for each other!