Like you, I suspect, I receive a surprising number of jokes via email from friends. The medium simply lends itself to the rapid spread of such content. Often an annoyance, sometimes they turn into an unexpected little grin break. Or to an idea for deeper discussion, such as this one I received from friend and former co-worker, Bryan Bates.
WINE AND WATER EDUCATION
Science tells us that, if we drink 1 liter of tap water each day, in a year's time we've absorbed more than 1 kilo of Escherichia Coli - the bacteria found in feces.
However, we do not run that risk when drinking wine. Wine goes through a fermentation process and e.Coli can not survive amidst the resulting alcohol.
So drink wine not water. That way, when someone accuses you of being full of it, you can prove them wrong!
Funny. But I assure you there are waters that have no trace amounts of e. Coli. And I'm sold on two of them - Acqua Panna and San Pellegrino - as ideal for use when drinking wine. My own taste tests proved these two waters to be the best possible partner for sipping with wine.
First, I should let you know I am not compensated by these water companies and that they are not paying for this opinion. It is entirely likely they will never even be aware it exists. However, in the spirit of full disclosure, they are for sale at Tastes of the Valleys (of which I am a part owner), though I consider this nothing more than putting my money where my mouth is.
And despite the fact I'm an ardent advocate, they are owned by the giant Nestle SA, the Swiss-based food and beverage corporation, and require transportation half way round the globe before I can enjoy them. I generally support the sustainable "eat local" concept, but these heavenly waters provide a truly exceptional accompaniment to wine. So I make a happy exception for them in my "Locavore" guidelines.
Acqua Panna
The lighter Acqua Panna (flat, with no effervescence) requires ten years to work its way through the aquifer - from rain drop to catch basin. This water is my favorite, and reminds me of my first breath of fresh air after being inside all day - the air seems fine all day long but then that first breath of fresh air provides such a refreshing contrast that I wonder what I have been breathing all day!
Likewise, you know how the first taste of something delivers more intense and focused pleasure than does each subsequent taste? Inserting a sip of Acqua Panna between sips of wine is the best way I've found to extend that initial freshness of experience. There is some interesting information on the website The Water Connoisseur which I find more insightful than the useless (and slow!) brochure-ware at the site of Nestle Waters.
San Pellegrino
In contrast to the refreshing Acqua Panna, San Pellegrino is an effervescent water with a much higher mineral content gathered during its 30-year trek through the aquifer. As such, this is a mineral water I prefer to reserve as an accompaniment to deeper, bolder wines. Often described as the Champagne of mineral waters, wine connoisseurs expect to see this water at premier events such as VinItaly and the Masters of Food and Wine.
One last though for today - in addition to refreshing the palate between sips of wine, matching a sip of water for every sip of wine does wonders for hangover avoidance! So the idea of "Wine vs. Water" is a fun one for email missives, but in reality, they are better partners than adversaries.
Dave Chambers, Wine Merchant
SidewaysWineClub.com
Toll Free 866-746-7293
Today's Quote:
"I never drink water because of the disgusting things that fish do in it"
W.C. Fields
