DON MERLOT SPILLS FORTH

Notes & thoughts on food and wine

from Ron Alonzo aka Don Merlot¹….

3 April 2020 New Orleans.

My Perspective, I find it is a like a fly landing on fly paper and it sticks to it just as you want it to get trapped ; it is just like an idea that you want to get across. When you think you thought it up and captured the idea and then you find someone else has an idea and has trapped it fly on paper; You find your idea is not unique anymore. The idea has changed & your thinking has taken a different direction. Suddenly, the idea is accepted and accepted as their idea. That is the way I grew with wine over the years and my travels - always chasing new wine ideas like flies on the wall, elusive flies on the wall, ideas and wines.

So, now my daily task is to see what wines I should have with my main meal, given the conditions that I must consider now that I have reached the ripe old age of 77 and have diet and calorie restrictions, n’est pas? I know I cannot have more than two glasses of wine per day – 4 ounces each – sometimes I have one red and one white for me: Denise likes Carmenére (red) and I like Malbec (red) so I buy a liter and a half of Chilean Concha y Toro which lasts a week for each . And for the white we both like Sauvignon Blanc Concha y Toro, no argument there, so we get a liter and a half of that; start with a maybe two ounces of white and then have a red depending if we have Shrimp or fish as a starter or in a salad. Denise does weight watchers and I am doing a bariatric diet tied in to controlling my diabetes guidelines(under control the last two years – lost over 50 pounds the last 18 months.[ I miss my carbohydrates, corn products – tortillas, tacos, tamales, corn bread, pozole, pasta, linguini al pesto, baguette bread, etc. My daily calorie intake is 1200 calories which is controlled daily with “calorie counter”. I go to the gym daily – well almost and burn off 600 to 800 calories but the COVID 19 Scourge is killing me; no gym- its closed and no exercise –so we are locked in].


I honed in on Concha y Toro back when we were in Pennsylvania which controlled the retail sale of liquor & wine and we found in 1990’s great Chilean wines prices and quality tastes that compared to European and California Cabernet Sauvignons – that provoked my tastes and my wine friends. So why do I like Malbec’s now? And I prefer it because of my love for a weighty tannin when I eat beef since I traveled to Argentina and I tried them in the charrusquerrias in Buenos Aires and fell in love with that savory taste. I studied the origins of the grapes and found that Malbec’s came from France. And Denise’s choice, across the Andes in Santiago, Chile the Carmenére was the red wine that was matched to the beef offerings of their parilladas.

I studied these wines and these grapes that had come from France with the European settlers to Argentina and Chile and the Carmenére origins had been traced to the Cabernet Franc. Today, these two offerings are now Considered national varietal wines and are challengers to fine wines that are being produced in France, Australia and California. These are my house wines. My tastes, our tastes at Chez Nous. So, what happens if they do not have stock of our favorite wine? I will opt out for a Concha y Toro Shiraz or a Pinot Noir – and so will Denise. On the White side if out of Sauvignon Blanc Denise likes a Pinot Grigio so we go to the Italian section and or look for a Chardonnay from Chile. If Chile keeps its prices under $10 for a liter and a half which is a week of wine for each of us, we are ok with that. So, our Vins de table are simple and current with today’s offerings. Again, my perspective on everyday life.

So, what happens when we go out and have a good meal? are we willing to buy a good bottle wine, or do we buy by the glass? We have the opportunity of taking UBER Taxi so we both can have wine to match the food we order and or we can split a nice bottle of wine or order by the glass a white and/or red each off premium wines by the glass. Here in New Orleans our favorite places are Antoine’s, which is a New Orleans French Creole culinary tradition. Luke’s, Café Degas, a Parisian bistro motif, which have premium wines menus and wines. Occasionally we frequent restaurants that have Lobster or Stone Crab or have prime rib eye. So, depending on the restaurant like Luke’s I’ll look – for Moules – I like a Chenin Blanc or a Pinot Blanc or a light Riesling if possible. Luke’s to me is an Alsatian Bistro., so Luke’s pas Problem: other places light white selections are not easy to find at a reasonable price. For the Beef I lean or hope and search for a Petite Sirah from CA but if not possible, maybe a Beaujolais grand Cru, or a good southern Rhone, or I will settle for a good CA Merlot. Spanish Tapas can be very good and if I can find a good Jerez Manzanilla or Fino, or an Albariño & a Rioja Tinto I would be most happy – of course we would have to be with friends, and they may have their favorites also. Going to a white tablecloth Italian with a good wine list is fun for us too; I like veal -grilled or paneed veal; a first plate of Pasta if they offer of linguine pesto alla Genovese. A good Chianti Riserva.



That sounds like my tastes have moved since 1969 to the present. What happened to my lust for Classic French Wines: Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot? Sauvignon Blanc and or Chardonnay? Did my lust for Tannin and food matching wander? I recently reviewed all my magazines and tasting notes – Wine Spectator, FOOD & WINE, WINE ENTHUSIAST, Hugh Johnson wine Books, Oz Clarke Wine Books and perused the topics carefully and reviewed my wine CV. As for the last 30 years Asia Pacific and Latin America have been my focus in travel and business. My wine experience and food encounters have been adjusted to meet those events. When I compare what the pundits recommend for wines to match wines with foods in Asia – Chinese and Indian Spices I find that I learned and adapted a different way than what is recommended. It does not mean I am wrong and that pundits are wrong, it just is that at the time the rule did not exist and whoever ordered had a preference and if it were left to me I had a recommendation from a local host. When it came to Indian Curry there was always the feeling of the Brits that only a good Lager went with Curry. Yet, as I went to trade shows in Europe and Asia there were group meals at Indian Restaurants and Wine was ordered and there was so very selective matchings: Spanish Jerez Fino, Italian White Orvieto Abboccato, Valpolicella Amarone and my favorite was an Alsatian Gewürztraminer to match the ordered menu. As for as Chinese with Spice (Hunan or Szechwan) Alsace Pinot Blanc, mature Pinot Noir were ordered.


When it came to shellfish, I found the Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand had a Citrus hew that was wonderful with Shrimp and grilled fish. When available it replaced my wish for Sancerre. In South America the Chilean Sauvignon Blanc was on par with the NZ SB matching the Ceviche of Peru and grilled fish of Chile.

When it comes to Beef, the Argentine beef is king in South America. In it can be consumed three times a day. Wine and beef are a ritual and Malbec are part of the Argentine wine Culture. It was introduced by the French, known there as Cahors –varietals are the Auxerrois or Côt.

Moving back in 2002 to New England when I went to Cooper Atkins was a super treat for me because of my love for lobster rolls and When I took on a new role of sales Canada (& Latin America again) from the Atlantic to the Pacific which I covered for 10 years. It gave me an opportunity to meet oenophiles and gastronomes par excellence who were my colleagues. I was able to spend quite a lot of time in the Canada provinces and enjoyed the cornucopia of food selection and offerings that Canada offered. The distinct food of French Canada of Quebec and North Atlantic seafood and Western Pacific Salmon (fisheries) and Shellfish with Aus & NZ Wines or French wines. The Beef of Calgary – premium cuts with French Rhône’s were great offerings. There is no question that Canada is a great customer for great white and red wines and has vineyards of its own out west but imports its Whites & Reds from France, Australia and New Zealand. Most of my colleagues bought wines from Europe through Province controlled boards. I did not see a lot of California offerings even in the restaurants 10 years ago. Australia whites and reds dominated.

When I lived in Florida there was a Wine and Liquor outlet known as TOTAL WINES and they had a complete wine selection that competed with the Central Florida Liquor commission. We moved over in 2012 to Louisiana which did not have the wine control system as in Florida, but the prices are comparable.

The concept of having wine everyday with meals has always been important to us and we have always tried to match it with our meals. The concept of having meals with wine at home is easy but sometimes going out there are times that some people prefer beer of hard liquor or do not drink alcohol at all.

1 Ron Alonzo is a Chevalier of the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin ; A Professionnel de la Table of the Chaine des Rôtisseurs ; and a CFSP level I of the NAFEM (Certified Food Service Professional)

NB - (a fly on the ˈwall a person who watches others without being noticed: I’d love to be a fly on the wall when the committee is discussing the report I wrote! ♢ fly-on-the-wall documentaries) dictionary definition.

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