Of Wines and .........

I read recently that, generally speaking, food and the wine to go with it should come from the same region, compatibility and all that, which is like saying that red wines are only to be enjoyed with certain foods and white wines with others. I suspect the writer has an interest in promoting his native region's products.

All very well, however the truth is that wines are made to be enjoyed whenever, with whatever foods or alone. The choice of red, white or rose (not my favorite, not even on a hot summer day) is very personal and varies from person to person. There are days when a Malbec tastes a lot better than a Shiraz and several Beaujolais are most wonderful on the palate. It all depends on the time of day, the company, the ambience, and if you must insist, on the food.

There is an old saying that goes "water was created by God, and alcohol was made by man." Where alcohol originated no one is quite sure, legend and mythology tell us that in Egypt, Isis' husband Osiris taught the god of grain how to make beer. In Greek and German mythology the blame falls on Bachus or Dionysus, also known as the god of sex and intoxication (the god of mystery for the more prudish). In the Old Testament, Noah was the first to make alcohol and in ancient China, princess Weechok takes the credit for making the first alcohol, while in Korea historical records mention a king that used alcohol to seduce a woman and get her pregnant. Wine itself seems to have its origins sometime in the Neolithic period around 8500-4000 B.C., -I wonder what a chateau of that vintage would have tasted like.