Pairing Wine With Your Favorite Genre of Music

If you’ve been following this blog for more than a month, you know how much I love music — especially when it’s part of a great meal that includes some good wine.

Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to wine and food pairing, but have you ever thought about wine and music pairing? Could the “right” genre of music enhance the wining and dining experience?

I thought it would be fun to take the descriptions of specific types of wine that you can find on the Vinesse website, and suggest types of music to which I’d listen with them.

We’ll cover a few red varieties today, and a few whites tomorrow.

Ready? Here we go…

• Cabernet Sauvignon  — “Deep color and richness with the potential to age a long time, and better still if aged in oak before bottling. Classic flavors of blackcurrant, plum, cherry and spice. The most popular varietal of red wine in America.”

Cabernet is the red wine of celebration, and some would call it the most “serious” of all wines. A serious wine calls for serious music: classical. Mozart. Bach. Beethoven. Or, if you prefer a bit more contemporary, go with Gershwin.

• Merlot  — “Similar to Cabernet Sauvignon but with less tannin and fruit. Delivers earlier maturing wines. Often blended with Cabernet; on its own may soften with age, though fruit flavors may fade.”

Merlot often is described as “mellow,” and I love listening to mellow rock when drinking it. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Simon and Garfunkel. Air Supply. Even the “Saturday Night Live” era music of the Bee Gees.

• Pinot Noir  — “Very sensitive to climate and handling in the winery, this fickle grape of Burgundy yields classic berry, cherry and currant flavors, silky textures, typically balanced with spicy or floral tones.”

Pinot Noir has always been my go-to wine for the genre of music known as “smooth jazz.” Its silky texture just seems to seamlessly meld with the well-crafted instrumental music of artists like Peter White (see yesterday’s blog), Rick Braun, Mindi Abair and Fourplay.

Tomorrow: We’ll pair music with three white varieties.