The real perfect pairing: wine and music

This Burgundy is rock like a Led Zeppelin record!

I drank a Brunello perfect like a Beethoven symphony!

 

Those just described may seem senseless juxtapositions between two apparently very distant worlds, but if you think about it very few things are aligned, and in some respects even overlapping, such as wine and music.

Both forms of art, the result of man's skill and intelligence, but at the same time closely linked to instinct and improvisation, with an “immaterial touch” that increases its magic, as if it were a mystery that we are not able to fully understand.

Subjects which brighten our days or who keep us company if we stop at their most superficial aspect, but who know how to give boundless emotions to those who get to grasp their essence.

So, what’s better (besides a nice Barolo, of course…) than combining these two different but equal universes, capable of touching the innermost chords of our being?

For this reason, and with all due respect to my sommelier friends – who believe that the only possible marriage is that between food and wine – I therefore took the liberty of proposing my "perfect pairings", those between some bottles for me important and the ideal musician (or group) to accompany them, and to whom, by assonance, we could superimpose the definitions.

Happy listening (so to speak)!

Flaccianello della Pieve - Fontodi / Janis Joplin

Restless, theatrical and dramatic, he doesn't necessarily want to please everyone. Dark and often difficult to understand, but capable, at the right time and in the best moments, of touching the soul strings, entering (and remaining) forever in their hearts. Eternal.

 

Montiano - Cotarella Falesco / R.E.M.

A sound (and a style) that I really like, a container that has always attracted me, even if, going beyond personal tastes, it’s impossible not to admit it’s quite monochord and in some respects predictable. But which - even if I wanted to - I just can't do without. Sly but irresistible.

 

Barbaresco – Produttori del Barbaresco / Simon & Garfunkel

Delicacy and pleasure, a relaxation of the nerves and a pleasure of the senses. My comfort zone, the “place” where I like to take refuge as soon as I feel the need and where everything appears so safe and familiar to me. My Sea of Tranquillity, where "being shipwrecked is sweet for me". Certainty.

 

Ribolla Gialla - Podversic / Fabrizio de Andrè

Intimate, deep, complex but tremendously real, tall and aristocratic but at the same time popular, earthly but also airy. Not easy to understand and focus on, it lends itself to countless interpretations, but is capable, like few others, of exposing the essence of things and people. Poetry into the bottle.

 

Viña Tondonia Reserva - Lopez de Heredia / Rolling Stones

Classic and timeless, protagonist for decades practically without missing a beat. An evergreen, a great representer of its world, which instead of bending to time and trends manages to influence them to the point of upsetting the canons. Longevity phenomenon.

 

Le Pergole Torte - Montevertine / Freddie Mercury

Magnetic and charismatic, in some respects transformist and chameleonic, he knows how to charm even before approaching it. It likes everyone but retains the ability - typical only of the greatest - to lend himself to different readings, depending on the level we want (or rather we can) understand. Snake hypnotist.

 

Taurasi Poliphemo - Tecce / Pink Floyd

Unpredictable, an endless roller coaster, a continuous oscillation between calm and restlessness, between reason and madness. A custom-built, a runaway horse, which at times can even disappoint but like few others - if not like no one - knows how to reach otherworldly heights of enjoyment. Crazy diamond.