Red Wine and Oysters: A Re-Match

Remember when I wrote about having red wine with oysters in Paris?  Well, Eric Asimov, chief wine critic of The New York Times, did and he decided to try the combo himself.  The results of his taste tests are described today in A Rule Just Waiting to be Broken. 

Eric, who loves oysters and really knows and loves wine, tells about pairing his oysters with four red wines (one of them the Marcel Lapierre Morgon I had with the pictured oysters and rillettes at Le Comptoir).  It's a great story - Eric is an unfailingly engaging writer - and it will give you a sense of why the pairing might work ... or might not. 

Click over, it's a good read.

Comments

[dorie]

Laura, I'm so sorry to be sooooooooooooo late getting to comments, but about having lunch at Le Comptoir: Now that the weather is getting nicer, there are more seats at Le Comptoir (because of the terrace), but, of course, there are more people looking to fill them. I find that the best thing to do is to go for a late lunch, say about 2:30pm. That works for me because I eat dinner late when I'm in Paris. The other alternative is to go early -- to get there at 12 and start the line.

Good question about Italians and bourbon -- I never thought of it, but I think that Lora Brody, who created the Boca Negra recipe, didn't take the recipe from anything traditional. Rather, my guess is that she dubbed it Boca Negra for its chocolatiness, not its Italianess.

[Laura]

Re: oysters and beer..Guinness and oyters are supposed to be out of this world together. And appropriate right now, given the time of year.

Dorie, is it impossible to get into Le Comptoir for lunch?

And...by the way...that bocca negra. So wonderful. It tasted like a giant, more luscious and more complex bourbon ball. It was the hit of a party I brought it to. But pray tell, what do the Italians use? They don't have bourbon. Perhaps no liquor at all?

[dorie]

Tim, I like Bandol wines, so it will be a pleasure to try one with oysters - -thank you.

Yves -- wow!! Soooooooooooo many suggestions -- merci mille fois. I can see that I have a lot of interesting pairings to try in the future.

[YvesNY]

I have tried almost every oyster on this planet, and paired them with all kinds of beverages. Red wine with oysters is nothing new. Actually it has been popular for 30 years in France.
There is no rule for pairing with oysters. I depends on the species and origin, and if you eat them raw, cooked or else. E.g. if you are having them cooked in a Champagne sabayon under broiled under a salamandre, you'd want the same Champagne to go with them. Or in a cucumber jelly, your might want something lighter, even vodka.

Species matters. Belons (Ostrea Edulis)taste so differently from Pacific (Crassostrea Gigas) in their various incarnation, or from East Coast (C.Virginicas).

I have found out after having gulped so many grosses (grosse = one dozen of dozens) over the years that the best way to treat an oyster is BEER. Try a Colchester or flat from Zeeland, and you'll have to admit there is no substitute.

Or stick with Gros Plant or a Savennieres.

[Tim]

Just letting people in on some secrets of this sort of, against the grain behavior, will help inspire people to be be more opened minded about what they eat and drink. I too love oysters with reds, and especially roses'. I don't know if you've tried a Bandol red, with oysters, but it is certainly worth it. Obviously, a rose' is better. Having spent time with my inlaws in Provence throughout the past twenty some years has touched a nerve. Bandol, should be considered with these other reds.
Thanks for the article. Always a pleasure to read Asimov.
Sincerely,
Tim