Food, Wine and Holantrophy
Autumn is here and winter is just over the hills. Time, then, for eating hearty food and drinking good wine. Got to put on some "condition" before the frost and the 'flu arrive. So, here are some Rainy Day drinking and eating tips:
Big reds: For meat and spuds, a good claret is your best choice. Cabernets and Merlots from California and hearty Shiraz from Australia are far better options than over-priced Bordeaux. Quiltro Merlot from Chile drinks well and is affordable.
Big whites: The biscuity-rich South African Jordan 2001 Stellenbosch Chardonnay goes well with any decent meal and is a good alternative to fine white Burgandy, which might put a strain on some household accounts. The Wine Spectator has lots of tips in this area. It's also got the story "Women Who Drink Wine More Likely to Become Pregnant, Research Shows".
Riesling: The fruity Lingenfelder 2001 is very good value and is ideal with smoked salmon. On the other hand, the more expensive Burgreben 1999 Bott-Geyl is a typically taut, minerally Alasace Riesling and is perfect for food with a high fat content. If, for some reason, you are not a Riesling fan, but you'd like something pleasant to drink with your smoked salmon, reliable matches include a lightly oaked Chardonnay or a crisp Sauvignon Blanc. By the way, the salmon should be eaten with fresh brown bread that's been baked by the Rainy Day mother and spread with Irish butter.
Sherry: Look out for bargains from bodegas such as Hidalgo, Lustau and Valespino. With soup, try a tangy fino or nutty, dry amontillado. Overall, sherry is remarkably good value these days.
Port: Taylor's 10-Year-Old Tawny goes best with blue cheese. Cheddar is a trickier business, though. A New World red or white works best, but if you are a daring type, try an oloroso sherry. Oporto Wine has some enticing offers at the moment.
Good food and drink will go a long way to helping you stay healthy and happy this autumn and winter, but they need to be balanced with lots of physical and mental exercise. Rainy Day is a holanthropist and the holantrophy motto is "mens sana in corpore sano".
Diarist of the day: David Gascoyne, 27 September 1938"Listened this evening to Chamberlain's wireless address. He spoke slowly, in a sad and exhausted voice, and expressed a pathetically sincere horror of war. However much one may have disliked, even despised this man before, the crisis, and however true it may be that the futile policy of his government in the past is responsible for the present situation, one cannot deny that during the last few weeks he has done everything one could possibly expect him to do; and his attitude has been human and dignified, in stark contrast with the crude mock-heroic posturing of the Nazi villain."
