The Good Life
Matters to be chewed over
Pamela Vandyke Price
The beginning of the year has never been a ;particularly gastronomic time. Then, there was, literally, the wolf at the door, plus a war or plague looming. Now, we have the taxman and a complex detestation of solid flesh plus the necessity for keeping spirits up in those greyish cold days when extreme northerners leap off ice-floes and 'southerners hash up a new vendetta. If only our entry into Europe could have been accompanied by the inauguration of a service Radio Gastronomique, then we could exercise our minds on such matters as assailed me in the post-Christmas supermarket; what can be the difference between canned red salmon, canned medium red salmon and canned pink salmon? What is a ' feather steak' and a 'self-basting turkey'?
Aulunz, things to ponder I would also include why customers — who, after all, do the paying — insist on restaurants including such items as potted shrimps, prawn cocktail, avocado pears with a vinaigrette dressing, grapefruit in all its guises and smoked salmon, when every single one can be cheaper and more to one's exact taste at home? (One cannot always be travelling or have visitors from abroad.) Then there are the cookery columnists and writers of cookery books — Why do they give huge sections of text up to cakes and biscuits for morning coffee parties (as if we all existed in some suburban serial), sweeties and decorated cakes for the kiddiwinks, whose teeth, figures and eating habits are in quite enough danger from the munching, crunching and sucking ordinarily indulged in?
There is the mystery of those who think it's ' better ' to drink only dry drinks, so that, as a friend of mine in the wine trade reported, a whole dinner party will refuse a beautiful Sauternes at the end of a meal. Why — when in their own homes or on someone else's expense account they'll lap up a preprandial sherry that's either definitely in the milk or cream category or that bears a name implying something to do With dryness but 'is actually a fino so sweetened that its whole character is distorted?
But one of the biggest mysteries of all is why the British remain impervious to the charms, quality and economic advantages of 'the wines of Alsace. They will quaff the Balkan Rieslings and Sylvaners, priding themselves — rightly — on knowing a bargain when they sniff it. They will absorb 'indifferent hock and Mosel (Pret(tily labelled, of course) in 'increasing amounts. But the wines of Alsace, individuals in their own right and, comparing quality for quality with those of Germany, usually superior in the lower price ranges, have to be sold hard to them. Now the names aren't difficult to say (always a stumbling-block for the British), especially if one remembers that the first syllable of Riesling rhymes with ' geese ' or ' Nice '. The delicacy of the finer Mosels, the subtlety of the greater hocks are easily overwhelmed by food and definitely adversely affected by even a moderately polluted atmosphere, whereas you can drink even the spicy GewUrtztraminer as an aperitif (don't serve a bone-dry wine, such as Muscadet, with the first course), this, or a moderate to fine Riesling will partner even roast chicken, as well as the fatter fish dishes, and all of them, including Sylvaner, Tokay and the delectably grapy Muscat, are easy-to-enjoy anytime wines for pulling out of the bin 'to refresh those people who will 'just drop in' when you yourself 'need a decent drink that won't unbalance the budget.
Meanwhile I recommend all would-be wine lovers to buy a 50p paperback, admirably illustrated and arranged, which Gilbey Vintners have just issued in revised form. Off the Shelf was originally intended only for retailers of wine, but 'this edition is on sale to the public (through branches of Peter Dominic), and the accompanying notes as to 'Sales talk' contain much practical advice as well as revealinp the sort of strategy likely to be practised by the sapient salesman. The maps, the brief but clear explanations of technical terms, sections on measures, strengths, trade training and 'duty alone make it a ' must ' for any serious drinker, 'however extensive his or her existing library may 1-e. Like many of the wines available to the fortunate British drinker, Off the Shelf is fantastic value.
Previous page
