Column

I recently got a CD from the wine marketing board of Austria and it had quite the compilation, a selection of the most tasteful of arrangements of musical pieces from the Baroque, Classical and Romantic eras of music.

But that was not all for each piece had been paired with a grape based on what type of wines the grape gave forth and how, enjoying a wine from that grape along with the suggested symphony could create a resonance of
harmony and hedonistic well-being.

Great, except that few of us would know a pianoforte from a harpsichord backing . So, in an effort to update the idea of wine music (and without debasing the Austrian effort), some ideas of what would wine be like if it were contemporary music.

Think wines and the first image are the classics; wines which define the region they come from; that don’t try too hard or to be something that they aren’t. They don’t aim to please, they aim to be themselves. The Bordeaux and Burgundies are best serenaded alongside some equally immovable giants of thinking music — jazz as ordained by Charlie Parker, Stan Getz and Miles Davis. A little Ella Fitzgerald could be soothingly nice as also Norah Jones. Newer rock groups like Angels & Airwaves and Death Cab for Cutie also work.

The Italians too are iconic but with a little more edge. The wines have chew and bite; they are not mammas’ good boys but they know where the respect lies. The best tribute to them would perhaps then be iconic rebellious bands like the Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath, even some Ugly Kid Joe. I would also recommend Green Day from their
newer, more mature era of rockitude.

Australia and New Zealand wines have universal appeal much like the music of Madonna and Tina Turner.
Austria is not just Sound of Music and Edelweiss. Both they and the Germans have great whites and the lovely strings of Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma on the santoor could be an apt ode. The way the wines crisply slide through with a feeling of unmatched freshness, the music would definitely need to reflect this positive buoyancy of energies.

South America as also Spain is where the wines are spicy and the excitement hot. The music is definitely regional salsa, meringue and flamenco. However, stereotypes aside, they do have the potential to pair with some rich yet classic rock numbers from Guns n’ Roses, Metallica and even some older RareEarth and Lynnrd Skynnrds.

Champagne would team up well with some classic Mozart and Beethoven. Wait, that has been done to dust and made the drink boring. How about then, with all the bling it attracts, to do it with hip-hop and rap music? That too sadly has been done to death. I guess then some romantic stuff from BB King, Barry White, or Marvin Gaye.

Still clueless? Too impatient for symphonies, too tired of pop, but too young for alternative rock? Don’t despair, it just means you were young and alive in the glorious 70s — the only era that matters — when love was free, drugs unconditional, and the music divine. You don’t need all this malarkey. Wine for you should be a no-brainer.

But to generalise, remember this golden rule: when with vinos, discuss music, with musicians, discuss wine. That said, waste no haste in just opening up and swigging. Cheers!