Chicken v Egg?

Increasingly I notice that when I go to dinner, I first figure out what wine I want to drink and then choose food based on how well it will go with the wine. And when I’m planning the weeks menus at home, I’ll pull a few bottles and then plan meals around those bottles.

I just realized that this seems backwards from how I used to eat/drink

So what comes first for you… Wine or food?

It varies. In general, I treat the wine like a part of the meal as a whole. I don’t think of pairing as much as if the wine is a fit for most of the elements on the plate.

Less when I go out to dinner. But I travel during the week for work, and only get to cook on the weekends. I definitely build those meals around what bottles of wine I plan on serving.

Food first 99% of the time both at home or out.

Yeah, sorry. I’m using “pairing” in its most generic form.

For me, it often depends on which option is the most prized. If the food component of the meal is the star, then the complimentary wine plays supporting role, and vice versa. It’s not always that obvious, of course.

Planning the week’s menus?? [wow.gif]

You totally lost me there. That’s a level of organization I just can’t even aspire too, as I know I’ll never make it. I’m impressed by people who can do that kind of stuff.

Once in a while I might decide that I’ll do something special one day and purchase accordingly, but that’s maybe once a week tops and generally not even that. I’m more of a hunger-gatherer - I get hungry and gather up some stuff and cook it. Also an opportunist - if something’s on sale or looks good, I buy it and figure out what to do with it.

The pairings are just about as random. The dialogue in my head goes something like:

“Hey! I think I’ll open this Nebbiolo tonight!”

“Will that go with the lamb tagine?”

“Only one way to find out.”

Kind of the same with a restaurant. I bring a wine and then hunt for something on the menu that might work with it. But if there’s something that just looks good, I get that. Ends up with a lot of Rioja/fish pairings.

At home, always food first because I know I’ll find a wine to go with it. At a restaurant where I’m bringing my own, it’s probably 50/50 depending on how much I’ve looked at the menu online beforehand (and if it is still current). If not bringing my own, I start with the food, even if it means settling on a less than perfect paring or even going with beer. I go to the restaurant for the food, not for the wine list.

Food first. A long time ago, I realized that I was always short of Italian wines which resulted in the realization that my cellar needs to reflect how I eat and not a collection of wines that don’t work with daily meals.

Holidays with the family its more of a 50/50 thing as we all love wine and its the excuse to break out the treasures so we plan the meal to work accordingly.

Don’t matter. it all ends up in the same place

Wine first, but if there’s nothing good on the list I’ll turn to beer and eat whatever I’m in the mood for.

This, whether home or away.

I’m in this boat. I have a very diverse collection, and unless someone else is cooking, I go wine first.

I usually choose the food first as far as a given specific meal, though I have increasingly over the years gravitated towards cooking meals that will go well with wines that I like.

One advantage of a large and diverse cellar at home is that I can usually find something to go well with whatever we are eating.

The egg came before the chicken. At some point in time, a predecessor creature laid an egg that contained a mutant life-form that was a chicken. So, if you believe in evolution, the egg came before the chicken.

At home, always the meal. I have enough wine that I can be flexible. At a restarant, if I bring my own wine, it’s almost always the food. Look at the menu and bring a wine to suit. If I do not bring my own wine, it’s almost always the food because if I look at their wine list, I get depressed and order Diet Coke. Hence, the food.

Exception. Going to Berns. Study wine list first.

My wife plans dinner ahead and tells me what we are having and I pull the wine to match up with her meal plans. It works really well, she makes awesome food and I am the cork dork so we both get great enjoyment from both :slight_smile:

my diet has changed a lot, so I tend to eat lighter, naturally playing in to my tastes, crisp whites and Pinot, so ever so rarely an issue for me :wink:

Great answer.

To the OP’s question, wine first.

My more relevant question (and NdT’s), “which came first, chicken salad or egg salad?”