Wine and Music Pairing
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Why do music and wine go so well together?
Music and wine pair perfectly because music, like wine, can range between light, bubbly and refreshing all the way to earthy and intense, dark and mellow or just insanely huge and rich with deep textures.
The best part of pairing wine and music is that everybody is correct in their own beliefs. Your favorite song is special to you for reasons unique to you. This same thought applies to wine as well. Many people ask "What is a good wine?" and the best answer is "A wine you like!" The same applies to music.
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To get in “tune” with wine and music pairing, one of the “keys” to paring wine and music can involve comparing the structure of wine to the structure of music. A good example is that some wines have fruit ‘notes’ such granny smith apple, citrus and peach that are like a trio performing in harmony over a lively percussive rhythm.
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Sparkling wines, still whites and roses to deep, rich red wines with complex depth pair well with music such as jazz that ranges from deceptively simply to sophisticated rhythms and melodies. Rock ‘n roll that often has an alluring component can go well with a fruit driven white, rose or rich cabernet. The simple, often straight-forward, stories involved in country music can pair well with a red wine that starts out with great tannins that finish off with dark berry fruits and a touch of cassis or spice that tells a compelling story on its own.
What are some of the options?
Holding pairing parties are easy and the options are endless.
Blind Pairing Parties
Start with any size group and start having fun with ideas such as:
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Blind tastings of several wines that range from sparkling to dessert wines.
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Use instrumental songs and guests guess the names of the songs and pair them to the wine with their own description(s).
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A sample scoring sheet would look something like the following:
Happy Hours
Who doesn’t love a good happy music hour? It can be even more fun where guests bring their own surprise wine and food pairing with surprise music selections …
Vintage and Current Wine and Music Genre Parties
Great music from “vintage” to current day artists such as Billy Ocean, The Supremes, Ray Charles, Nat King Cole, Gloria Gaynor, Maroon V, Vince Gill, etc. need no further mention. You get Motown, R&B, Jazz, Rock, and so on with numerous options such as:
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Different wines are tried with different music genres,
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the same wine is tried with different genres, or
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different wines are tried with the same music genres.
Participants determine which wine and music genre fit together best.
Different Styles - Different Tastes
Why not pair up:
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French style Champagne with locally crafted sparking wine,
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an expensive brand compared to less expensive,
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Different grape varietals such as a Tempranillo (Spain) to Malbec (Argentina), Zinfandel (California, USA) or Pinotage (South Africa), or
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Canadian Meritage and Cabernet Merlot blends compared to Bordeaux blends.
Seasonal Pairing Parties
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Spring time could features newer vintage tunes and new releases.
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Summertime means breaking out a grill and all of the fresh foods that start to be harvested.
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Fall pairings include songs that will be preserved just like the bounty of fresh foods.
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Winter takes us deep into the white and red blends such as Fume Blanc (French style Savignon Blanc/Semillon), Meritage/Bordeaux Reds or Syrah/Shiraz/Viognier found in France and Australia.
Examples of Wine Varietal and Music Genre Pairings
Just a few of our wine and music pairings are as follows:
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