Red wine is tastier if you drink it to the music of Jimi Hendrix or the Rolling Stones, and white wine also has its musical favourites, according to a study by Scottish scientists at the University of Edinburgh. Experts found that the taste of Cabernet Sauvignon is stronger when drunk with "loud and heavy music" and Chardonnay is better with "peppy and refreshing" tunes. On the topic of combining wine and music, diWine Bar decided to conduct research with the help of renowned Istrian winemaker Peter Poletti - the best DJ among winemakers and the best winemaker among DJs, who has been practicing combining wine and music for years.
The evening called Poletti Xmas consisted of a workshop on combining wine, food and music intended for media representatives and wine professionals, and a gathering intended for wine lovers who, along with Poletti malvasia, teran and delicious plates, enjoyed the sounds of selected vinyls played by Poletti during the evening.
Four wines were presented at the workshop, jointly by father Piero and son Matteo Poletti, the heirs of a distinguished winery that celebrated its 180th anniversary this year. Piero Poletti explained the basic principles of combining wine and music: "When I choose music to go with a wine, I imagine that wine as a person. I wonder if it is old or young, if it is male or female, what it looks like, if it is gentle and elegant or strong and robust. Then I spontaneously come up with ideas for songs that such a person would listen to, that is, that go well with a certain wine."
The first wine, Malvazija 2021, was paired with bites of mozzarella in a cream and yogurt sauce with lime zest, accompanied by Fresh by Cool And The Gang and the classic Tea For Two by Nat King Cole. Somewhat more serious, aged Malvazija Classica and brie are combined with the Bee Gees song How Deep Is your Love. "Merlot 1842", a blend of the same variety from two different years (2016 and 2018) paired with tuna pâté, is coupled with the song Misty by Aretha Franklin and Wild Horses by the Rolling Stones. The last wine, Cabernet Sauvignon, was paired with Barry White and the song Baby Blues.
In the rest of the evening, the guests of diWine Bar, which was filled to capacity, enjoyed selected songs from the 1920s to the 1980s, as well as Piero's humorous anecdotes from the time when he worked as a DJ.
Poletti Winery grows vines on nine hectares of its own vineyards and has seven wine labels. "If you want to make wine, make it the way you would like to drink it yourself." - Piero Poletti recalls the words of his father, who introduced him to the world of winemaking at an early age. These words were the main motivation for Peter Poletti during the times of socialism when Istrian winemaking suffered from the imposed syndrome of high yields and low quality. He is one of the first winemakers who dared to produce quality wine at a high price, which was initially met with derision by colleagues and buyers, and the family itself suffered a very challenging period financially. That is why Poletti winery can afford, for example, to age their Cabernet Sauvignon for five years in the cellar, and then be awarded at the world competition The Global Cabernet Sauvignon Masters 2020 as the fifth best Cabernet Sauvignon in the world. In addition to ecological winemaking, the family is increasingly turning to wine tourism. Together with their colleague Jasna Matić, a few years ago they renovated an old house in the center of Poreč and turned it into an eno-gastro temple called Wine & Food Casa Manzolin.
Photos: Irena Lučić