The benefits of preparation are pretty well-established by now, wouldn’t you say? It’s why you read all the directions before assembling your IKEA bookshelf, and why you do a mise en place (peel, chop, slice and measure all ingredients) before beginning to cook. Take a similarly thoughtful approach to buying wine and you’ll reap real benefits. Your wine life will feel more thought-out and organized — and you’ll drink better for less.
Here’s a fine place to start: put off the habit of buying individual bottles on an ad hoc basis and instead settle on a a single red and a single white that are seasonally-appropriate and adapted to the dishes you prepare routinely from night to night. Make these your “house pours.” It’s the old way.
Get a feel for the system by putting in a modest inventory (a half dozen bottles of each will do for a start) and go from there. You’ll be surprised at how satisfying it is when suppertime comes to have something at hand to pour without going to any more trouble about it than deciding whether you’d rather have white or red.
Push away the thought that every dish has a single, ideal match and that it’s your job to discover it. The Ideal Pairing Theory may hold in certain restaurant environments but it’s surely inappropriate at home tables on all but rare occasions.
Why? First, because your home is not a restaurant. On any night, your kitchen isn’t offering a menu of dishes served à la carte. Even assuming that your household includes one or more very capable and enthusiastic cooks, chances are the meals turned out on a regular weeknight basis comprise a very limited repertoire — the family faves — with substantive changes occurring only as the seasons transition.
Second, balanced wines of moderate scale with normative flavor profiles are more versatile things than you have been led to believe, quite capable of accompanying a range of dishes, even those involving ethnically distinctive ingredients and techniques.
Third, there’s a very long tradition in wine producing communities of people drinking nothing but the local product (whatever it may be) in their neighborhood bars and restos — and certainly in their homes — with very little variation year ’round. A small number of wines serve perfectly well in these conditions, have done so for generations, and will do the same for you if given the chance.
What you’re looking for are shapely, balanced wines of moderate body and alcohol and enough acidity to offer a pleasing counterpoint to what’s on the plate. Above all, find something you’re genuinely smitten with: Your house pours should be wines you can live with and love.
Shun wines with out-sized features that have initial charm but quickly become tiresome (no to the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc; yes to Macon-Villages). Run from national brands; pursue independent producers and quality-oriented co-ops. Of course, they should be priced to allow you and your matey to enjoy a couple of glasses a night without straining the budget, whatever it is. Once you’ve landed on a red and a white that fill the bill, stick with them until a new season shifts the direction of your cooking.
Once you’ve got this down, consider adopting another homey, old timey custom: the one known in France as faire chabrot, per photo above. For detailed instructions (and some fun) look here.