Wine Enthusiast Magazine
Subscribe
I’m not talking about Beer Pong or Quarters, or any other collegiate drinking games. It’s football season again. Gridiron, for those of you outside North America, who might think I am referencing a sport played with a round ball.
Since I live outside my favorite team’s television coverage area, I have to subscribe to DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket so that I can watch every minute of the Buffalo Bills‘ efforts on Sunday afternoons. And since I coach my son’s travel soccer team, which also plays its games on Sunday afternoons, I also have to record the football games to watch them in the evening–and avoid hearing or reading the outcome in the meantime. The result is that during the season, Sunday evenings in our house turn into their own little ritual, complete with food and drink.
I make Buffalo-style chicken wings; my wife makes pizza. We break out the TV trays so we can eat in the living room while we watch the game. Because I’m eating wings and pizza and watching football, I gravitate toward beer as my beverage of choice–either something our beer guru Lauren Buzzeo has recommended, or my default selection of Chimay Red. While I adore the Chimay Triple and Chimay Blue, I find the Red is best for football, as the 7% alcohol is easier to take than the higher alcohol levels in its richer counterparts.
While beer is my choice for regular-season viewing, a friend of mine hosts an annual no-holds-barred football playoff wine tasting. Last year, the theme was Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and I think we had 20 or so wines that we blind-tasted before and during the two playoff games scheduled that day. Because of the typical foods involved and Buffalo’s blue-collar image, I favor the beer connection myself, but I wouldn’t miss one of Howard’s playoff wine soirées.
How about you? Do you have any favorite booze-y sports pairings outside Mint Juleps and the Kentucky Derby? If you are a fan of FC Barcelona, do you drink Cava Mimosas at 10 am EDT while you watch them beat up on Mallorca? Sip Central Otago Pinot Noir with your All-Blacks Rugby? Swig Molson or Labatt’s with Hockey Night in Canada, or maybe sip a delicate Riesling from the Niagara Peninsula? Whatever they might be, please share some of your favorites here.
Filed under: Beer, Food Pairing, Opinions and Commentary
1 Comment
October 13th, 2010 at 4:26:59 PM
LA ROUTE DU RHUM
What is it, you might ask? Well, it’s a transatlantic race between Saint-Malo, France and Pointe à Pitre, Guadeloupe. Held every 4 years, the 9th race to soon be upon us (festivities beginning October 22 and the departure of sailing vessels on October 31, 2010), the race attracts more than a million visitors over the 10-day period to a city whose population lingers around 50,000.
The 8th episode of the race was marked by the amazing sprint of Lionel Lemonchois, winner of the 60 foot multihull category aboard Gitana 11. He covered the distance between Saint Malo and Pointe à Pitre in 7 days 17 hours and 19 minutes, crushing the previous record set by Laurent Bourgnon by over 4 days and averaging a speed of 19.11 knots in solo configuration. What the 2010 edition holds is to be seen.
And while many may not consider sailing to be a booze-y sport, without having to translate the name of the race, I’m sure you can guess the beverage of choice. With various agricultural rums to sample, coming from Guadeloupe and the surrounding Caribbean Islands, as well as the pairing of traditional fare such as acra, a spicy fish beignet, or colombo, a spicy curry, not to mention blood puddings and a wide variety of exotic fruits and sea food, La Route du Rhum naturally solicits rum consumption both pure and in various concoctions.
As an ex-pat who often misses the fanfare surrounding Sunday (and Monday night) football, with the beer and wings motif a go-go, I have to say, the pairing of rum, Caribbean cuisine and sailing has found its place with me. Granted, the event is held only every 4 years, but the palate pleasure lingers long after the boats and tourists have set sail.