I like to pair wine with foods. I also like simplicity. There are dozens of food types and styles that will go with most wines. I am however not a food critic. It would be very unfair of me to give my thoughts on someones hard work and creativity in the kitchen unless I am entitled to do so!<\/p>\n
The web (blogs especially), magazines and, I must admit, even the daily broadsheets, have endless examples of self made critics. There is nothing wrong with having a view and expressing it. There is a subtle difference between that and being a critic!<\/p>\n
Obviously we all have to start somewhere and it would be patently stupid to suggest we wait until someone has grey hair or a string of degrees or something before we can accept them into the critics inners circle! So, what to do?<\/p>\n
Maybe we need to start reviewing the critics? Don’t accept what they say unless that can at the very least support their views with some form of credibility. For instance if I attend the Chilean wine fair and then compare a restaurants house wines (from Chile) against the 150 or so I had just tasted you would have to say it’s a valid critique. If on the other hand I take a copy of the wine list home with me, look up the web and figure out a bit about the wine and then tack that onto the end of my restaurant review…..well you can see what I mean!<\/p>\n
Don’t just accept reviews. Question them. Don’t believe reviewers without questioning their credentials.
\nSometimes simplicity works. Viognier and roast chicken anyone? or would you prefer an obligingly comprehensive suggestion from the brilliant Natalie Maclean on NatDecants?<\/p>\n
Pair Viognier with mild curries, grilled fish, scallops, shrimp glazed ham, grilled chicken, oily nuts such as macadamias and cashews, Emmental cheese, chicken in a ginger or orange sauce, turkey tetrazzini, chicken korma or tika, fried food, sashimi, sushi, lamb tagine with raisins, almonds and honey, butternut squash risotto, pork chops, smoked ham, tarragon, lobster thermidore, carrot soup and roast vegetables. Chicken and Poultry: Honey-Roast Poultry,Turkey With Traditional Trimmings. Ethnic Dishes: Chicken Korma, Chicken Tika, Coconut Curry (Mild), Creamy Curries, Curries: Spicy. Deep Fried Food: Hummus, Indian Dishes, Lightly Spiced Curries \u2022 Sashimi \u2022 Spicy Food \u2022 Spring Rolls \u2022 Sushi \u2022 Thai Coconut Shrimp \u2022 Thai DishesLamb \u2022 Lamb Tagine With Raisins, Almonds & HoneyPasta \u2022 Butternut Squash Risotto \u2022 Lemon-Mint RisottoPizza \u2022 Pizza, PestoPork \u2022 Ham And Melon \u2022 Pork Chops & Maple Glaze \u2022 Pork Chops, Grilled \u2022 Smoked HamSauces, Spices, Herbs \u2022 Anise, Fennel \u2022 Butter Sauce, Beurre Blanc \u2022 Caraway \u2022 Dill \u2022 Seafood Sauce, Cream-Based \u2022 TarragonSeafood & Shellfish \u2022 Clam Chowder Cream Base \u2022 Coquilles ST. Jacques \u2022 Grilled Salmon \u2022 Halibut With Orange & Salsa Verde \u2022 Lobster \u2022 Lobster Thermidore \u2022 Poached Salmon \u2022 Shrimp Cocktail \u2022 Smoked FishSoups & Stews \u2022 Chicken Soup \u2022 French Onion SoupTurkey Holiday Dinner \u2022 Turducken \u2022 Turkey With Traditional TrimmingsVegetables & Salads \u2022 Baked Squash \u2022 Carrot Soup \u2022 Field Greens Salad \u2022 Marshmallow Sweet-Potatoes \u2022 Pumpkin Dishes \u2022 Roast Vegetables \u2022 Smoked Mushrooms \u2022 Spiced ParsnipsAppetizers \u2022 Oily Nuts (Macadamia, Cashews)Cheese \u2022 Emmental Grand CruChicken\/Poultry \u2022 Chicken In A Ginger, Orange Sauce \u2022 Chicken\/Turkey Tetrazzini, Cream Casserole \u2022 Chicken With Pancetta & Herbs<\/p>\n
Natalie MacLean is brilliant and I love her site. Believe it or not she sounds (never met her, heard her on the radio) as though she can deliver impartial advice in a simple and easy to understand manner. I will continue to question her. I don’t expect she would have it otherwise. Maybe that’s the secret to being a valid critic?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I like to pair wine with foods. I also like simplicity. There are dozens of food types and styles that will go with most wines. I am however not a food critic. It would be very unfair of me to give my thoughts on someones hard work and creativity in the kitchen unless I am entitled to do so! The web (blogs especially), magazines and, I must admit, even the daily broadsheets, have endless examples of self made critics. There is nothing wrong with having a view and expressing it. There is a subtle difference between that and being a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[77,123,10,131,125,128,129,127,105,121],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wine-cheese-pairing","category-wine-chicken","category-food-wine-pairing","category-wine-lamb","category-wine-pork","category-wine-seafood","category-wine-shellfish","category-wine-spicy","category-turkey-and-wine","category-wine-vegetables"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=691"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/691\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13492,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/691\/revisions\/13492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}