After I had my fill of pork chops, I moved on to pork tenderloin. I had been eyeing it for months at the farmers market, but having never eaten or cooked it before, it’s one intimidating piece of meat for a semi-vegetarian.

Anyhow, the initial meals were Tuscan-inspired consisting of sautée fresh fennel and apples accompanied by Chianti, specifically the Isole e Olena Chianti Classico, and Corzano e Paterno Chianti Terre di Corzano.

The meals were great. The Chiantis were great. But together they were slightly disappointing: the Chiantis seemed to overpower the lean, mild-flavored tenderloin. My instinct was telling me to try a white.

A few colleagues recommended German Riesling. At first I hesitated because in Germany, butter and cream are a big part of the cuisine. Although I love dairy I’m somewhat lactose intolerant (which is why I’ve collected an arsenal of olive oils over the past few years and prefer it for cooking). Generally, good pairings come from food and wine that “grow together” (see David’s Food and Wine post). And our tasting notes for German wines state “…olive oil preparations can combat the delicate aromas and texture of most German wines”.

I decided to try an experiment and prepare the same meal twice: once using olive oil (judiciously), the other using butter (generously). It was a German-inspired meal of braised pork tenderloin, sautée cabbage and roasted potatoes.

Both meals were washed down with Weingut Weegmuller Haardter Herrenletten Riesling Spatlese Trocken Alte Reben.

Although the Riesling made a very good match with both meals (It didn’t overpower the flavor of the pork tenderloin like I felt the Chiantis did), there was definitely a difference. The olive oil-based meal was kind of like…dancing with my brother – it was enjoyable but not as interesting or exciting as dancing with a hot date. The butter-based meal was the hot date; the rich, creaminess beautifully complemented the Riesling’s acidity. It was wonderful.

Wine and food pairings are often a topic of debate. Some people argue it’s a bunch of bs and all that really matters is that you “like the food and you like the wine,” individually. Ultimately I suppose this is true. I know people who enjoy some bizarre food combinations, who am I to say it’s not good, if it tastes good to them?

But as someone who is learning about wine (not to mention employed by a wine store), it beehoves me to put more thought and consideration into things like this. Based on experience there are times when a food can bring out bad qualities of a wine and vice versa; times when nothing bad nor good seems to happen on either end. And then, other times; when a special, synergistic phenomenon occurs. Of course, the challenging part is to be able to tell, and care about, the difference.

Some of my colleagues have warned me to not become one of those foodie-wino geeks who over-analyze pairings down to the minutia. I don’t think I’m anywhere near there, but sometimes I do worry and put too much thought into choosing a wine for fear of having a bad pairing instead of simply enjoying the experiment and discovery process. If I hadn’t overcome my apprehension for pork tenderloin I might have never discovered the tasty meals I described in this post. It’s good to take a chance sometimes and always keep an open mind.