Scott Yoo and Alice Dade as part of Great Performances: Now Hear This “Amy Beach: American Romantic.” Photo by Arcos Film & Music.
Like her experience in Now Hear This – Amy Beach: American Romantic, flutist Alice Dade makes musical comparisons to what’s in her glass. Engage all your senses and enjoy!
When I’m not practicing, I enjoy cooking. I cook a lot of Japanese, French and some Italian food, especially a manicotti recipe with a red sauce, sausage, green peas and three kinds of cheese. Once I’ve gathered my ingredients at the grocery, I find myself lost in a sea of obscure wine labels. Which wine goes well with a pasta dish?
I’ve narrowed it down to a cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon or a merlot. I don’t necessarily know how to choose. It’s not that I don’t enjoy wine, but I have trouble tasting the difference between them. On the other hand, I have a knack for figuring out recipes by tasting food. Maybe I wasn’t giving my palate a chance to discern the difference?
Through a little trial and error, I have started to recognize which wine varietals will pair best with a manicotti or whatever is for dinner. Even better, and just for fun, which wines pair well with which music.
Cabernet Franc
The first wine I try comes as a pleasant surprise with notes of peppercorn. This wine is thought-provoking because of the complex flavor and like a good book; I don’t want it to end. I would pair this with something bold, like lamb or duck. It’s a little too much for my manicotti, but it would be perfect for another night.
As for music, this pairs perfectly with Benjamin Britten’s violin concerto. This piece begins in an unexpected way: A timpani solo with cymbal crashes. The short obbligato is passed on to the orchestra and continues throughout the first movement. The solo violin opens with a haunting melody, the harp plucking harmonies that take it to unexpected places. Even though the melody has dark qualities, there is an underlying feeling of happiness or hopefulness.
Benjamin Britten wrote his violin concerto in 1939, at the outbreak of World War II. He left his home country of England for the U.S. with friends, eventually falling in love with Peter Pears, a tenor who would inspire nearly 12 roles in his operas.
Cabernet Sauvignon
I was excited to taste the next wine. I had enjoyed the cabernet franc so much! But the cabernet sauvignon was completely different. There were no peppercorns and no complexities. Next to the cabernet franc, this wine lacked personality. Disappointed, I looked around in my pantry and refrigerator, deciding this would work well with anything I would make. This was a helpful wine: If I wasn’t sure which wine to bring for a dinner party, I could always bring a cab sauv. It wouldn’t necessarily add a personality like the cab franc, but it would enhance the meal. Perhaps the meal’s flavors would bring out something in the wine? I improvised fried rice with onion, ginger, edamame, pork belly, egg and soy sauce. The wine was nice with the meal: It didn’t overpower and it didn’t clash.
As a classical musician, I’ve been asked to perform at family and friend’s weddings. The most requested piece is a beautiful one, but maybe not one of my favorites, Pachelbel Cannon in D major. This music brings music and joy to a ceremony; however, the guests may not go home talking about it. Pachelbel supposedly wrote this for the wedding of Johann Christoph Bach, but it didn’t become the unofficial wedding song of the U.S. until a couple of projects made it popular, including the film “Ordinary People” (1980).
Merlot
I think I’ve avoided merlot since watching “Sideways” (2004) but I was curious to see what I thought of it now that I taste wine more intentionally. It has more of a personality than the cabernet sauvignon but not as discernible as the cabernet franc. And no wonder, as it is an offspring of the cabernet franc. I’m able to taste very faint notes of cherry and chocolate, but I grew closer to this wine through several sips. It’s more introverted than cabernet franc.
This wine is flexible, like the cabernet sauvignon, but it’s more interesting. When Scott and I were first dating, I made Julia Child’s beef bourguignon for dinner. The problem was, I started at 6 p.m.! We didn’t eat until 11 p.m. Merlot would have been perfect with our late dinner.
As for music, I would choose Ravel’s “Ma mère l’Oye” (“Mother Goose”) suite. Each movement of this piece is after a Mother Goose fairytale, including “Sleeping Beauty” and “Beauty and the Beast.” This wine isn’t as striking as the cabernet franc but it has a gentle character like Ravel’s music. If you listen to “Sleeping Beauty,” Ravel creates a soft world with imagery to match through beautiful melodies and harmonies.
Digestive: Moscatel
I have always enjoyed dessert wines like port but was recently introduced to moscatel by the director of Great Performances: Now Hear This, Harry Lynch. This wine has notes of raisins and honey and is perfectly paired with a dessert such as apple pan dowdy with vanilla ice cream. The sweetness of the cinnamon and sugar pastry and the tart apple is balanced with this dense wine.
As for music, Beethoven Trio in G major, op. 1 no. 2 is the perfect pairing. Imagine Beethoven at 25 years old, not having experienced hearing loss yet. His whole life is ahead of him as a virtuoso pianist. I listened to this piece a lot in high school, thinking about the beginning of a composer’s life and how their writing changed throughout their lives.
In Conclusion
I am grateful for the opportunity to try more wines. Wines can be intimidating just like classical music. Instead of listening to what others tell you, try things for yourself. I’ve missed out on a nice merlot because of a (great) movie but now that I’ve tried it, I will no longer avoid it. Remember that it’s the same with classical music. If you like it, that’s all that matters! Maybe a piece has a bad reputation, but if you like it, put it on repeat with no shame. What matters most is how you feel about it.
I still haven’t found a wine I like best with the manicotti dish. I suppose I’ll have to wander down the wine aisle again?
Now Hear This – Amy Beach: American Romantic is part of season three of Now Hear This, a documentary miniseries that uncovers the musical influences of some of America’s most prominent composers including Amy Beach, Florence Price, Aaron Copland and more.
