When drinking wine to really drill down into its details - especially when comparing wines - it's best to leave food comletely out of it. There's a reason reviewers never eat while tasting (though they also spit everything, so what's in your stomach isn't as critical.) You can try spitting, which is a fascinating experience all its own - there is *always* a difference in how we taste a wwine when we spit vs. swallow. When I ws studying for my WSET I quickly realized I needed to spit to match what my professor was claiming to experience!
Worst case scenario, eat first, 30-60 minutes before. Then use a non-alcoholic mouthwash to reset your palate. THEN drink the wine. There are tricks. But wine with food will forever be a casual, muddled experience of the wine as it can stand on its own. Perfect for actually drinking it as a normal person, but never a good idea if you're trying to figure out the wine as its own thing.
When drinking wine to really drill down into its details - especially when comparing wines - it's best to leave food comletely out of it. There's a reason reviewers never eat while tasting (though they also spit everything, so what's in your stomach isn't as critical.) You can try spitting, which is a fascinating experience all its own - there is *always* a difference in how we taste a wwine when we spit vs. swallow. When I ws studying for my WSET I quickly realized I needed to spit to match what my professor was claiming to experience!
Worst case scenario, eat first, 30-60 minutes before. Then use a non-alcoholic mouthwash to reset your palate. THEN drink the wine. There are tricks. But wine with food will forever be a casual, muddled experience of the wine as it can stand on its own. Perfect for actually drinking it as a normal person, but never a good idea if you're trying to figure out the wine as its own thing.
This is good. I had no idea!
I will probably end up doing a little bit of this, and a little bit of good old fashioned wine with dinner drinking. there is hope yet!