What would Proust drink? A WLDG survey, part two

[David M. Bueker]

Thanks to everyone for participating in part one of the Proust Questionnaire thread. If you have not yet seen it, click here, and have a look at the introduction and the responses so far.

We are now onto Part 2. The process remains the same. Copy the questions into your post and write your answers. Don't think too hard. Just give your gut response.

Here's the questions for part 2:

The quality you most desire in a wine is…

Your favorite food to serve with wine is…

What wine region would you like to live in

What wine job would you like to have

What saying/motto sums up your life with wine

Thanks for participating!

I was on the last question when a finger error lost the page and all that I had written. My answers assume that money is no obstacle. So here goes again -

The quality you most desire in a wine is…
Harmony.


Your favorite food to serve with wine is…
Hard to give a single answer. Savoury classical European dishes (especially French and Italian) are best with most of my favourite wine types but that leaves Riesling with RS out in the cold.


What wine region would you like to live in
Another hard one because it would mean a trade-off between wine quality on the one hand and scenic beauty and cultural facilities on the other. My choice would narrow down to Chianti country towards Florence and the Aix-en-Provence area (AOPs Palette and Côtes de Provence under Montagne Ste.Victoire). I'd probably chose the latter because of my poor Italian language skills.

What wine job would you like to have
Active owner of one of the leading estates near Aix-en-Provence, say Ch.Simone or Richeaume.

What saying/motto sums up your life with wine
There are so many good sayings about wine from Horace and Virgil onwards that choice is difficult but I particularly like this one, with apologies to those who find that it is not very Politically correct nowadays (sexist and implicitly disregarding of gays ).

Wer nicht liebt Wein Weib und Gesang der bleibt ein Narr sein Leben lang
=
He who likes not wine, woman and song stays a fool all life long.
(Martin Luther)

The quality you most desire in a wine is…
Full, long, palate cleansing finish
Your favorite food to serve with wine is…
Whatever is on the table.
What wine region would you like to live in?
I’m happy right here in Niagara, but Oregon, perhaps, but I've never been to Europe.
What wine job would you like to have?
Wine Maker
What saying/motto sums up your life with wine?
Good grapes make good wines.

[Robin Garr]

The quality you most desire in a wine is…
Complex, earthy, lean, mineral, rational alcohol levels. Basically, the AFWE profile.

Your favorite food to serve with wine is…
As a carnivore, I would have said “rare steak.” In my current carniphobic state, I’d say robust dishes that focus on umami and the Maillard effect: Dishes comprising some combination of mushrooms, tomatoes, cheeses, cream, eggs, beans, browned onions, roast veggies ...

What wine region would you like to live in...
Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Veneto in Northeastern Italy. Although the world’s greatest wines aren’t made there, you can buy them. But the region overall incorporates a realm of wine, food, history and culture that grabs my affection. And I’ve traveled there enough that I can get around the main roads without a map, so there’s that.

What wine job would you like to have ...
Been there, done that as a writer who somehow managed to carve out a modest living from food and wine; but a career in wine doesn’t really call me at this point. I’d rather just enjoy the wines I like, with similar-minded family and friends, and jot down occasional thoughts about them.

What saying/motto sums up your life with wine ...
“It’s just grape juice. Really, really good grape juice, but you start down the wrong road when you take it too seriously.”

Quality I most desire in a wine....a taste and nose that demand that I drink more.

Favorite food with wine..... I pick a wine to go with the food not the other way around.

Wine region I'd like to live it.....I'm happy where I am...which happens by coincidence to be an up and coming wine region (NOVA).

Wine job I'd like to have... I am thrilled to be retired, thank you very much.

What saying sums up my life with wine.... Seemed like a good idea at the time.

Best wishes,
Glenn

The quality you most desire in a wine is…balance

Your favorite food to serve with wine is…Spicey Chinese with big bold dry Alsatian Gewurztraminer or Champagne

What wine region would you like to live in...Marlborough for the great wine and great fly fishing

What wine job would you like to have...Robert Parker's just for a few months

What saying/motto sums up your life with wine...diversity is the spice of life...or...any day is a good one to open Champagne

wine quality on the one hand and scenic beauty and cultural facilities on the other...

Finding a place with all three of those things may be impossible! Especially if you define cultural facilities as things usually found in urban areas. Then maybe Vienna is the closest? Lyon? San Francisco?

The quality you most desire in a wine is… ability to put me in a mood of pleasure and contentment and/or excitement

Your favorite food to serve with wine is… grilled lamb with some reds, or roast fowl or mushrooms with Pinot Noir


What wine region would you like to live in ... Sonoma County (for a long term) (Burgundy or Mosel for a temporary stay)

What wine job would you like to have... Sommelier? Wine Judge? Consultant to a private collector?

What saying/motto sums up your life with wine... The best wine is still awaiting me

The quality you most desire in a wine is…
Complexity, harmony, restraint.

Your favorite food to serve with wine is…
No single favorite food. It depends so much on the wine.

What wine region would you like to live in
Probably Tuscany, but I'd need to visit few more to make a proper decision.

What wine job would you like to have
Either winemaker or retail sales.

What saying/motto sums up your life with wine
A man's gotta have a hobby; mine might as well involve alcohol.

wine quality on the one hand and scenic beauty and cultural facilities on the other...

Finding a place with all three of those things may be impossible! Especially if you define cultural facilities as things usually found in urban areas. Then maybe Vienna is the closest? Lyon? San Francisco?

Yes, Rahsaan, you are right if major living cultural attractions are sought. I'm not sure that Lyon makes the grade there and it has rather ugly industrial outskirts, though Beaujolais and Côte Rôtie are definitely up to standard for wine. Vienna is unsurpassed for performance of Austro-German classical music 100+ years old and much of the city is beautiful but wine is mainly white in the Wachau and Neusiedlersee. San Francisco looks good for both culture and wine.

Incidentally Bordeaux should not be despised culturally. It is arguably much more beautiful than Lyon and likewise has opera, concert and theatre facilities; additionally its general facilities have been much improved by mayor, Alain Juppé, possible French presidential candidate in 2017. The countryside on the right bank is rolling and attractive but on the left bank up in Médoc quite flat, treeless and dull.

For me, exploring the endless artistic treasures of Florence would being very satisfying. Aix-en-Provence is a beautiful town, has a superb music festival every year and enjoys Cézanne associations. Both are much better than what we have here in Normandy whose historical heritage is, however, far from contemptible.

The quality you most desire in a wine is… character

Your favorite food to serve with wine is… oysters

What wine region would you like to live in Loire or Steiermark (Austria)

What wine job would you like to have - consumer

What saying/motto sums up your life with wine - one of the great pleasures

[David M. Bueker]

The quality you most desire in a wine is: complexity

Your favorite food to serve with wine is: shellfish with lemon/butter - very simple

What wine region would you like to live in: The Okanagan in British Columbia. That way I could be in a wine region, and very close to the Canadian Rockies.

What wine job would you like to have: wine writer - I have tried my hands at it many times. Just don't have the bandwidth to do it properly right now. Maybe after retirement.

What saying/motto sums up your life with wine: The wine will always have the last word.

The quality you most desire in a wine is…
Complexity.

Your favorite food to serve with wine is…
Anything that isn't processed food!

What wine region would you like to live in
Hmm, too many to choose from, Alsace, Tuscany, Marlborough, Hawkes Bay

What wine job would you like to have
Wine maker

What saying/motto sums up your life with wine
Life is too short to drink mediocre wines!

[Jenise]

The quality you most desire in a wine is… Sensuality. Sensuality ties elegance, complexity and balance together, though all three can exist to some degree and just taste technically sound, missing that final harmony. The difference is often, if not usually, age. And I don't mean old age, but depending on the wine 5 to 10 years in which to soften the primary fruit and develop the secondary aromatics that make a wine, to me, irresistable.

Your favorite food to serve with wine is…
I'm a very skilled cook but lean toward the complex herbaceous flavors of sunny Provence in the same way I lean toward the wines of France, so French/Mediterranean would categorically answer this question. However, if the question were more like favorite wine/food pairing? Then I don't even have to cook! White burgundy and stinky cheeses.

What wine region would you like to live in
Tough one. There are wine regions I haven't even been to. Of those I have, New Zealand I think. Of those I haven't, I have this sneaky feeling that the Loire or Piedmonte could trump everything.

What wine job would you like to have
Retail/owner of a small wine bar. I love helping people find wine they love.

What saying/motto sums up your life with wine
If I'm drinking a wine that's not making me happy, then what John S said.
If I'm looking wistfully at another purchase I don't need, then "There will always be more wine."

The quality you most desire in a wine is…
Like what others have said- Complexity (multidimensional and one I find interesting)

Your favorite food to serve with wine is…
Ditto to what Howie said- What ever is on the dinner table.

What wine region would you like to live in
Long Island, I like it where I was born and raised.

What wine job would you like to have
Winemaker.

What saying/motto sums up your life with wine?
“Fruit of the vine work of human hands”

Salute

The quality you most desire in a wine is…
Balance and typicity

Your favorite food to serve with wine is…
Whatever will pair best with it; generally pick the food first and wine second

What wine region would you like to live in
Of those I have visited, Willamette Valley; of those not yet visited, perhaps Jerez, Emilia-Romagna, or Vienna

What wine job would you like to have
Sales rep or own a wine store

What saying/motto sums up your life with wine
“Let us have wine and women, mirth and laughter, sermons and soda water the day after.” - Lord Byron

The quality you most desire in a wine is… Elegance and persitance

Your favorite food to serve with wine is… depends on the wine!

What wine region would you like to live in: Bolgheri

What wine job would you like to have: Enologist

What saying/motto sums up your life with wine: Life is too short to drink bad wine!

Bolgheri is new to me. What is the attraction for you?

The quality you most desire in a wine is…
Balance.
Or maybe

Your favorite food to serve with wine is…
Mostly I choose wine based on food, but sometimes food based on wine. So many choices, but classic roast chicken or capon is pretty hard to match for versatility- as a backdrop for mature Bordeaux, white Burgundy, dry Riesling, red Burgundy/PN, etc.

What wine region would you like to live in
Hudson Valley. Ok wines suck, but I like my friends. Other than that, Burgundy for places I've been, Piedmont for places I haven't.

What wine job would you like to have
Sidekick.
Wine is hard work, I'd prefer to stay on side.

What saying/motto sums up your life with wine
I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food.(WC Fields)

The quality you most desire in a wine is… Balance

Your favorite food to serve with wine is… Cheese

What wine region would you like to live in... Burgundy

What wine job would you like to have... Wine buyer for local restaurants

What saying/motto sums up your life with wine... "You must sell some of this stuff... no one can possibly drink all of the wine we deliver to your house." - UPS delivery man (who has no clue how much wine the FedEx man delivers)

The quality you most desire in a wine is…Balance

Your favorite food to serve with wine is…Shellfish and steak

What wine region would you like to live in...Finger Lakes (except it's in New York) or Rheinhessen

What wine job would you like to have...As a retiree to clerk in a wine store part time

What saying/motto sums up your life with wine...Cheaper by the dozen