Whine-ing about beer

A reader asked me where he could find the wines I had suggested in the June 24 Gazette-Mail "Main Ingredient" piece. Good question. The majority of wines I recommend for your sipping pleasure can be found either in local wine shops or grocery store wine areas. When I'm reasonably sure the wines are not available in the area, I will let you know that fact. In that case, you have a couple of choices to get the particular wine.

First, you can ask your local wine merchant to order the wine for you. State wine distributors (wholesalers who sell the wine to your retail outlet) have access to thousands of labels and can probably get the wine to your wine shop. If you don't want to wait the weeks (or possibly months) it will usually take to get the wine, you have the option of ordering it - via phone or Internet - from a wine shop or winery out of state.

Yes, West Virginia is one of the more progressive states when it comes to wine laws. Thanks to some wine-bibbing legislators several years back who passed a good consumer-oriented law, you are legally permitted to order up to two cases of wine per month from out of state retailers or wineries. Simply "Google" the wine in question and voila! (that's pronounced 'Vi-ole- lah!' where I come from), a dad-gum passel of opportunities to purchase the stuff will be presented to you.

In defense of a beverage which truly needs no defense ( when it comes to tastefully matching just about every known edible food), I feel compelled to respond to my good friend and fellow blogger, Rich Ireland, who has once again made less than flattering (dare I say disparaging?) statements regarding the fruit of the vine.

I've let the snide comments slide in the past, but no more. See if you agree that I must defend the honor of Bacchus after what Rich had to say in a recent "Beers To You" blog regarding people who don't seem to like beer - and don't want to give "craft" beer a try:

"Maybe the person who fits the profile of this article doesn't fit the macro brewery profile. Maybe they really want beer with flavor? Maybe something better than Bud? Beer offers a much broader range of flavor than the default epicurean favorite, wine. Yes, I throw down the gauntlet, I said it! Beer is better than wine at delivering varying intensities of flavor; ranging from sweet to bitter, roasted and toasted to fruity and fizzy. You just have to find the right beer for you..."

Dude, what have you been smoking?? It's easy to understand Rich's frustration, though, regarding beer's less than universal acceptance. But don't beat up on wine because it seems to enjoy a broader appeal than that foamy stuff. That's like expressing frustration over the fact that chess is more intellectually challenging than checkers - even though both of them are board games, require two players and are fun to play.

Beer is good. I like it and drink it on occasion. I particularly enjoy beer with pronounced flavors, such as craft beer, and I cannot abide "near beer" (generally referred to as light beer). I also think beer can be a good accompaniment to food. The problem is the lack of available supplies of the stuff. There simply is not enough variety of quality beer available in this marketplace. There is also a limited number of beer critics, like Rich, who actually taste different types of beer with complimenting food.

As far as suggesting that beer is better than wine at delivering intensity of flavor, I would have to disagree simply on the basis of the sheer number of grape varieties in the world, the diversity of flavors which the resulting wines produce and my own not insignificant experience with both products.

No question, wine is enjoying unprecedented popularity now in the US. However, it has taken three decades to get us to this point and we still drink only a fraction of what other civilized nations consume. What it gets down to is building a broader market for beer, and that takes time, marketing, persistence and an industry willing to invest in growth.

I'm confident, Rich and beer lovers like him will get it done. But in the meantime, they're not going to recruit many open-minded people to their cause (particularly wine drinkers) by constantly complaining about wine's popularity and its success as an accompaniment to food.

My advice? Chill out with a nice glass of "intense" Zin.