Wine and food should work together

How should you enjoy a bottle of wine? The short answer is any way you like. As long as you show it a little respect and serve it at a reasonable temperature, you will be hard pushed not to enjoy its myriad flavors and aromas. I have always found that wine is much more portable and robust than you think. Over the years, some of my favorite bottles have been enjoyed not in the presence of white tablecloths and crystal decanters but on picnics in fields, over a simple lunch of fried sardines or with a salad and a plate of cold meats.

But if "any way you like" suffices in today's world of the sound bite, the long answer involves a little more thought and an exploration of what I have just described. When I look back to my most enjoyable wine moments, they were always accompanied by food.

As a critic I spend a lot of my time assessing wine in drafty tasting rooms, as part of a large lineup. I stand there, sniffing, spitting and note-taking—but, in fact, tasting more than 50 wines in a day is not how I really like to enjoy wine. It's always the bolshie ones that stand out, those with more lush primary fruit flavors and fewer bitter-tasting tannins, wines that scream "taste me." Alone, they are pleasing and attractive, but when paired with food I find them overpowering.

It was over a plate of grilled sardines and a glass of white Bordeaux that I discussed this subject with one of London's most experienced chefs, Michel Roux Jr. The chef took over the running of his two-star Michelin restaurant, Le Gavroche, in 1991 and is still found in the kitchens most evenings. He points to France, where wine isn't something to be consumed on its own but is an integral part of any meal.

"If you want to get pleasure out of both the wine and the food, you don't want one to overpower the other," he says. "Think of the wine as a seasoning, almost, for the food. If you take oysters, for example, a lovely, lemony, crisp white wine is similar to that little squeeze of lemon juice or drop of vinegar you put on the oysters."

Balance and harmony are the two watchwords in wine appreciation. Sitting down with family and friends, around the table, is one of the human race's ancient rituals. Pouring wine with the meal is, as the philosopher Roger Scruton points out, a ritual that allows us to achieve harmony rather than slip into the temptations of excess. In "I Drink Therefore I Am," he notes: "Wine properly served slows everything down, establishing a rhythm of gentle sips rather than gluttonous swiggings."

In France, traditionally, local wine was served with the food of a region. As Mr. Roux explains, it is a natural synergy that has evolved over centuries.

"It's the way Mother Nature works," he says. One region he points to is Bordeaux—and he has just created a number of recipes to go with the wines of that region. These include roasted mackerel paired with white Bordeaux wine from the Graves, and hot pears and Roquefort cheese matched with luscious, sweet Sauternes. I am reminded of the advice of food writer Waverley Root, who said "good cooking is found in wine country." I'll drink to that.