Today, we will be pairing a literary classic, The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, with wines from the Naramata Bench.
I would normally recommend a good Rosé for Hemingway’s earlier works, such as The Sun Also Rises, written when he lived in Paris. At the time, Parisians wouldn’t be caught in their pajamas drinking Rosé for fear of social ostracization; indeed, it was a pastime of daring young Parisian fraternity students, as part of their hazing rituals at the Pere Lachaise Cemetery, to desecrate the graves of English poets by pouring common Rosé over them.
But today, Parisians are verily skipping down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées with glasses of Rosé in hand, their Provençal nectar splashing over their bundle of Louvre-ticket forgeries they hope to scalp to unsuspecting American tourists. It would only be fitting then to partake in the writings of Hemingway with a high-end Rosé.
However, The Old Man and the Sea is not of the same period; rather, it was written in 1951 when Hemingway was living in Cuba. The story itself takes place in the Gulf Stream off the coast of Cuba, where our protagonist, fisherman Santiago, finally catches a marlin after an eighty-four-day fishing drought. While an average Jamaican rum could carry you through the full story, we need to be more careful with a wine selection.
The story builds slowly as the sun rises in the Straits of Florida. The weather is perfect, reminding us of a cloudless summer day, sitting on the sand at Penticton’s Okanagan Beach. A Pinot Gris is the correct pairing for the start of the novel, preferably an organic wine, such as the 2021 Pinot Gris from Roche Wines. Its lively aromatics, with flavours of nectarine and lime skins, leaves one with the promised refreshing finish that likens to pom-poms, cheering Santiago on after he hooks his record-breaking fish.
I’ve been asked if a Reisling might make a good substitute for the start of the novel. I would say ‘yes’, but I would recommend a well-aged Reisling, so as not make a mockery of our protagonist, who is likely well into his seventies.
After Santiago has finally landed the marlin, the Pinot Gris will no longer suffice. Here, you will want to switch to a grape that is worthy of Santiago’s grit, tenacity, and stubbornness throughout his battle to protect his prize from marauding sharks.
We want a grape that will fight mightily, but may not always win. A grape that is so feisty, winemakers lose sleep from the required vigilant grape management and sommeliers swoon over a successful harvest. A grape that has infinite potential, but could very well disappoint you in the end. Yes, my friends, I’m talking about the Pinot Noir grape.
Try the 2020 Century Block or the 2020 Cronie Family Pinot Noir selections from Howling Bluff Estate Wines. The earthy balance of black cherry, currant, and raspberry with pepper, forest floor, and leather help maintain the suspense right until the final page of The Old Man and the Sea. Enjoy!
Shorts
- When reading Shakespeare, both whites and reds are equally-well paired. But you’ll need a more sophisticated wine, such as the 2020 Hourglass from Black Widow Winery, a blend of Merlot (75%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (25%), whose aroma of coffee and black currant combined with flavours of cherry and dark chocolate, will leave you suitably sympathetic, yet stoically dry-eyed, by the deaths of Romeo and Juliet.
- The great Canadian, Leonard Cohen, began his career as a street poet, and two of his poetry collections, The Flame and Book of Longing, match particularly well with Naramata wines. Try something sinful. The more sinful the wine, the better you’ll absorb the most wicked of his poems. For those who prefer white wine, Hillside Winery’s 2020 Muscat Ottonel will surprise and delight, and for the red-wine drinkers, the 2020 Cabernet Franc from Tightrope Winery will highlight the nuances of Cohen’s earlier verse. I highly recommend, however, the 2018 Super Ego from Therapy Vineyards for Cohen’s later poems, written when he served as a Buddhist monk at the Mount Baldy Zen Center in California. The wine’s dark ruby-red colour, combined with aromas and flavour of dark chocolate, will enhance your appreciation of Cohen’s sacrifice.
- With Kafka, any wine will do, but you’ll just need to drink an awful lot of it. No sober human has ever read Kafka and declared. “I understand this!” But many inebriated people have. Low-end wines are best for Kafka; save your expensive wines for Tolkien.