A Rule Just Waiting to Be Broken

By ERIC ASIMOV
“RED wine with oysters? Are you mad?”

Quite possibly. And yet, the thought excited me. Why would I want to muck with such routinely thrilling combinations as oysters with muscadet, Chablis or Champagne, not to mention the old Irish standby, Guinness stout?

Well, why not?

Nobody loves the tried-and-true oyster-and-wine pairings more than I do. But doesn’t there come a time when the certainties are no longer enough?

In a favorite restaurant do you order the same dish each time? Do you read a favorite book over and over? So it goes with wine and food. You’ll always have Paris, but sometimes you want Pago Pago.

It began when I read a post on Dorie Greenspan’s blog at doriegreenspan.com. Dorie is a writer and cookbook author who lives part-time in Paris. Last month she reported that in two days, at two bistros, servers recommended red wine with her oysters.

Mind you, this was in Paris, temple of the gastronomic verities. Dorie also wrote of a friend whose server at a seafood restaurant mentioned a preference for red wine with Belon oysters.

I know oysters and red wine sounds bizarre, but 20 years ago white wine with cheese sounded strange. Now, white wine is accepted as a delicious companion for many cheeses.

Of course, red wine with cheese can be a deadly match, while oysters go perfectly with a host of white wines. Still, I was intrigued. I had to try this.

Read the entire article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/27/dining/27pour.html?_r=1&oref=slogin