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The Side Bar
by Tony Arnold

Blowing your palate...Understanding that nerve covered muscle in your mouth.

Have you ever attempted to enjoy a bottle of wine only to find it was not only completely different from how you remembered, but it was simply awful.  I had exactly that experience a couple of weeks ago after enjoying an outstanding scorching hot and spicy dinner of Pad Thai at the Taste of Thailand.  The dinner was exceptional and the restaurant would be highly recommended. 

Ohh... the Carnage
Upon returning home, Aimee (my lovely wife who had not enjoyed a scorching hot dinner rather a more mild dish) decided she wanted to open a Shiraz with earth moving tannins - a bottle of Two Hands Bad Impersonator fit the bill.  Now, I know that wine is outstanding, Aimee sure was enjoying it, my father (Dennis) was enjoying it, but to me it tasted like colored water that smelled wonderful.  No tannins, no flavor, nothing, just that wonderful aroma teasing me and reminding me what I was missing.  Considering the near illegal hot sauce and Thai spice induced endorphin high I was currently experiencing, I was willing to try anything to seek the full enjoyment of this incredible wine. I tried everything, crackers, milk, raw sugar, vinegar, pickled ginger, and as a last resort, dark, then bittersweet chocolate (which was only mildly effective at rejuvenating my toasted tongue).  I was simply out of luck for the next 24 hours until my endorphin high expired.  Additionally every taste bud on my tongue was still writhing in pain from the food I had just consumed and even the worlds sweetest Riesling would not be able to come to my rescue.  Luckily, most normal taste bud damage is repaired/re-grown in less than 24 hours and even if I had done some very serious taste bud damage, such as shaving my tongue, in only about two weeks everything would re-grown back to normal.  Until then everything would taste a little bland,... waiter more hot sauce please.

The Tongue
Taste buds probably play the most important part in helping you enjoy the many flavors of food and are a truly amazing part of the nervous system. The tongue is so good at taking abuse and re-growing after severe nerve damage, that some smart people in white coats are attempting to apply that ability to other parts of our bodies' nervous system. Pretty neat stuff indeed. 

Everyone's tastes are different. In fact, your tastes will change as you get older.   The tongue, like wine, ages and slowly deteriorates. As a kid we loathed certain foods that we now love, why, because we actually had more taste buds (not more sensitive - just more) than we have today.

When you were a baby, you had lots of taste buds, not only on your tongue, but on the sides and roof of your mouth. This means you were very sensitive to different foods. Bitter tasted more bitter, salt was saltier, sour was as I remember really really sour, and sweet was pure euphoric heaven - guess that's why we all loved sugar so much as a kid. As you grew, the taste buds began to disappear from the sides and roof of your mouth, leaving taste buds mostly on your tongue. As you get older, your taste buds will become even less sensitive, so you will be more likely to eat foods that you thought were too strong as a child.  In fact by the age of 70 you will have lost 30% of your taste buds (get out the hot sauce, you are going to need it).

The salty/sweet taste buds are located near the front of your tongue; the sour taste buds line the sides of your tongue; and the bitter taste buds are found at the very back of your tongue.  George Riedel, mapped these areas of the tongue and designs his Riedel glasses so that a particular wine is poured onto the pallet to maximize the good tastes and minimize the bad.

The other sense of flavor that few  mention is "the sense of pain".  When something spicy (capsaicin) hits your mouth, regardless of the other senses, all the taste buds respond, as well as possibly the rest of your mouth's tissue and they generally all scream in unison - PAIN.  This triggers endorphins, which further increases your ability to endure pain and significantly decreases your overall sense of taste. This had indeed been my problem.

So what should I have done?
Really there was very little I could have done to save my pallet during my dinner out other than to not order "Thai Hot".  Other than pain causing spices, most other poor food and wine spice pairings can usually be counteracted by simply eating a couple dry salt free crackers.  

What foods should I avoid pairing together?
Due to the fact that we all like different things and taste everything uniquely in our own way, there really is no definitive book on what you should never do.   Some people hate Red Zinfandel with cheesecake, I personally like it, Cabernet with a cheese plate, sure go for it instead of the normal Riesling.  Just know that now and then you will hit a combination that is a mind blowing bad food and wine combination. 

How about the whole red wine with meat, and white wine with fish thing?
Twenty years ago the answer would have been yes, but the more we've come to learn about food and wine matching, the more the rule book has gone out of the window. I believe wine matching is a little bit about science and a lot about trial and error, and it should always come down to what you like. For example, some red wines work well with tuna and salmon, such as Pinot Noir, but there are always exceptions to the rule. The key is to be adventurous and keep trying something new.

Easy Food and Wine Paring 101
It's no coincidence that Italian wines work with Italian food, and likewise French with French cooking. The food and wine in these countries have evolved together over hundreds of years. I always try to drink and eat regionally but part of the fun is having a good selection of wine stocked in your cellar and/or basement.

Just remember, take special care of your tongue before enjoying wine.  Avoid extremely spicy and hot foods before opening a great bottle of wine to avoid wasting a good bottle on a blown pallet. 


There are few things in life that compare to good food, good wine, and great company.  Eat, drink, entertain, and enjoy! - Tony Arnold 2006

P.S. After finishing writing of this article I handed it to Aimee for review, as she proof read she started laughing hysterically.  I thought great, I like a little humor in my writing but I really didn't find it that funny.  She finishes reading my article and thoughtfully says "pretty good other than tongue is not spelled "thong".  After re-reading the article with that change, I realized what was so funny.

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