Charcuterie and Trader Joe’s wine: Practical Pairings

Episode Transcript

Hello! Welcome to the Wine Pair podcast. I’m Joe, your sommelier of reasonably priced wines, and this is my wife and wine-tasting partner in crime Carmela. And we are the Wine Pair. Say hello, Carmela.

And for this episode we have a very special guest, all the way from sunny California where she has been studying and working like a dog - our amazing daughter Marianna! Say hi, baby!

We are so excited to have you on the podcast, and while a big part of the reason is because you are our daughter and we love you, another part of the reason is because you are always game for something new and different. You’re fun! And, you do like to drink a little wine sometimes. But mostly I am happy because when all of the kids are around, your mom is happier. 

And, yes, for those out there in listening land, she is over 21, so don’t worry about us condoning underage drinking. Right Carmela?!?

But . . . I will say that as our kids got a little older, I would sometimes have them smell or let them have a taste of wine if we were having some with dinner. Do you remember that, Marianna? And do you remember how you usually reacted?

That’s a very Italian thing. It’s not like we were pouring big glasses of wine for our kids every night, but growing up, I remember an aunt or uncle asking if we wanted to try a little wine, and I think that was very true for my mom and her family growing up. Same with yours, Carmela.

And at a special occasion, or a Sunday night dinner where we usually have a really nice bottle of wine, it was not uncommon for me or your grandpa to ask as you got older if you wanted a glass of wine. 

Italian immigrant families just had wine around the table, and my grandparents made their own wine, and even made their own hard alcohol called grappa from the leftovers. In fact, my blessed Aunt Agata gave me my grandfather’s still. I have no idea what we are going to do with it, but I love having it. Not sure you love it, Carmela.

Ok, enough about us, let’s talk about you, Marianna. Now, you are a nutrition major, and you have your own Instagram called Munch with Mar - which I recommend everyone follow. [And you have become quite the cook - and I think you also like to pair some wine when you and your friends have dinners together. Tell us a bit about what these dinners are like with your friends.

• Who creates the menu?
• Who cooks?
• Who cleans?

Today you have created a charcuterie board for us. Let us know a little bit about why you chose the things you chose. 

Now, when it comes to wine, you selected some wines today - so how do you and your friends go about selecting wines?

• Is it by price?
• Do you generally buy from the same place?
• Do you always look for a certain varietal?
• Does the look of the bottle make a difference?
• Do you have some “go tos” that you generally like to choose?

Now, because I don’t want to alienate our listeners who I am sure love Trader Joe’s - I think everyone loves Trader Joe’s - but I will say that I am a little suspicious of Trader Joe’s. You know how when something seems too good to be true it probably isn’t? That’s why I am suspicious of Trader Joe’s. The people are too nice. The products are too cheap for the quality. And, even more, I worry that 2 buck chuck has eroded the American wine palette. However, for this episode, I think it makes sense to explore the world of Trader Joe’s. 

So, for this episode, we are going to talk a little about charcuterie boards, and then focus on the wines you selected to pair with it, which all fall under the category of easy to find and reasonably priced - and we will taste them and give them a rating. 

Wines

Name: Pike Road Pinot Gris

Region: Oregon Williamette Valley

Producer: Pike Road

Year: 2020

Price: $10.99

Retailer: Trader Joe’s

Alcohol: 13%

Grapes (if not clear): Pinot Gris

Rating: Joe 6 Carmela 7     Marianna 8

Name: Lazy Bones Cabernet Franc

Region: California, Paso Robles

Producer: Lazy Bones

Year: 2020

Price: $6.99

Retailer: Trader Joe’s

Alcohol: 

Grapes (if not clear): Cabernet Franc which is often blended with Bordeaux style reds (think Cabernet red blends), but sometimes on its own

Rating: Joe 5 Carmela 5 Marianna    6

Name: La Sonriente Granacha

Region: Spain - Calatayud (north central spain)

Producer: 

Year: 2019

Price: $6.99

Retailer: Trader Joe's

Alcohol: 14.5%

Rating: Joe  7 Carmela  5 Marianna 7

Taste profiles expected

• Pinot Gris: white peach, lemon zest, cantaloupe, raw almond, crushed gravel
• Cabernet Franc: Strawberry, raspberry, bell pepper, crushed gravel, chili pepper (California - dried strawberry, raspberry, tobacco leaf, cedar, vanilla)
• Grenache: Stewed strawberry, grilled plum, leather, dried herbs, blood orange (in northern Spain, raspberry, hibiscus pink grapefruit, dried herbs, clove - punchy red fruits and subtle notes of pink grapefruit)

Well, that was super fun! Thanks for being our extra special guest, Marianna. We’ll have your older brother in some future ones as well!

If you have ideas for wines you would like us to try and give you advice on for future podcasts, let us know. You can visit our website at thewinepairpodcast.com and leave a voice message or send us a note. You can comment or reach out on Instagram or Twitter - on Instagram you can find us at thewinepairpodcast, and on Twitter at winepairpodcast (no “the” on twitter ‘cause it don’t fit). You can reach out to us at joe@thewinepairpodcast.com and we just hope to hear you comments. And we hope you’ll subscribe and follow us

Thanks for listening to the Wine Pair podcast, and we will see you next time. And, as we say, life is short, so stop drinking shitty wine.