CATCHING UP …

By Patricia Baldwin.

Andrea Immer, America’s go-to authority on the how’s and why’s of enjoying wine, is both a graduate and dean of wine studies at the French Culinary Institute in New York. The master sommelier also consults with Target, Darden Restaurants, and Marriott Hotels. As the former beverage director of Windows on the World in the World Trade Center, she has contributed articles to Private Clubs. During a recent tour to promote her latest book, Immer shared some ideas about food and wine pairing.

You first published Great Wine Made Simple and now your latest book is Great Tastes Made Simple. Talk about your theme of simplicity.
I think Great Tastes Made Simple has the most potential of getting people who wouldn’t normally pick up a wine book excited. Everyone eats and everyone has intense emotional connections to food — so it’s an easy entrée to almost everybody’s life. It’s not just about beef Wellington and lobster thermidor, but it’s carne asada and hot Thai and tuna noodle casserole. A lot of times, I think we look at drinking wine with dinner as an occasion rather than as just a simple pleasure that can punctuate everyday food too.

You talk about tools, not rules. Please explain.
I think the tools are really just some fundamental, easy things to remember that increase the odds of a great wine and food combination. Like European wines have a natural affinity to earthy foods. So when you’re looking at earthy foods like cheese, potatoes, mushrooms, whole grains, or dried beans, European wines are a natural choice.

You seem to suggest that people should undertake a lot of trial and error. Is that correct?
Less error, more about trial, because people don’t regularly try different wines with different foods. You can do that by just a roll of the dice, which is fun. But I’ve put many matches in the book for people to try — I have already done the experimenting.

And it basically comes down to what someone likes?
Totally. That’s the other thing: If you really like the dish, and you really like the wine, you’re probably going to really like the combination. The interesting thing about it is that the corollary is a little bit different. You could be not so smitten with the wine, and then you have it with food, and it totally changes. It’s really about food. The odds are that you will like a higher proportion of wines if you have them with food as opposed to tasting them in isolation.

You have a whole chapter on matching wine with cheese. You also have a chapter on matching wine with desserts. Are these two overlooked areas, in your opinion?
Yes, very much so. It’s easy to put wine and cheese together and have some knock-your-socks-off kinds of experiences. Then, with dessert … first of all, people just don’t typically have dessert wines. Dessert and cheese provide a great excuse to experiment.

You say that food evokes vivid memories. Do you have an example of your own?
Well, I have lived in different places. When I lived in North Texas, we would go to this fried catfish place out in the middle of nowhere on the highway. I have memories of going frog digging with my dad and making fried frog legs. Or when I was a little girl, we used to go to my grandmother’s house in the Smoky Mountains where there were about 10 acres of garden — it was full of tomatoes and strawberries. A lot of children don’t get that in their lives now. They don’t get a chance to see where food comes from. For me, those are the greatest memories.

I can see how you can make an effort to introduce your children to food. How do you develop an appropriate interest in wine with your children?
Every day, we have wine with dinner, regardless of whether or not it’s leftovers.

Your family?
Yes. Lucas, my son, is 8 and he doesn’t drink wine, but he listens to us talking about it and tasting it and smelling it. If one of us says, "Wow, that’s really got pepper to it," he wants to smell it. He’s definitely participating. I think it comes down to trying as best we can to preserve the meal experience. It doesn’t have to be every day with the table set — sometimes we do throw it together — but at least we’re still sitting down and making it an occasion rather than a fueling station standing next to the kitchen sink or something.

And he’s OK with the idea that wine is an adult experience?
That’s not really an issue. I try to explain to him that we’ve got to follow the rules, but we also have to have a sense of personal responsibility. And that means moderation in everything.

Private clubs give people a good chance to do that with their children.
Yes. Lucas and I used to go to the World Trade Center Club. I think that it’s important for parents to include kids. If they get treated as though they fit in at an adult experience, then they’re going to fit in. I think that sense of community is a great place to start with kids. I know they love it and they don’t want to be left out of those things.

What do you do when you want to splurge?
I remember champagne. Champagne goes with everything.

Do you have a favorite?
My favorite brand in the world is Krug champagne, but I love them all.