PAGE
42
PALATE
TheWhites of SPRING
by Eric Cook
42 ART CHOWDER MAGAZINE
mell often arrives ahead of itself by visual expectation .
Show me a picture of a rose and its perfume blooms in my mind . This shimmery experience works on everything that produces aromatics ( for me , old bookstores ). This attribute of memory to project flavor forward mimics the concept of virtual reality glasses to the mere sight of foods : salted almonds , fresh limes , butterscotch , black licorice , basil , apples , pears , mint and honeysuckle . The words alone present aromatic memories . This range of flavor also breathes in white ( and even pink ) wine .
Lighter-colored wines with their lighter textures and tints suffer a reputation that the flavors are also muted . Many wine tasters forego white wine while spending more money and attention on wine ’ s darker versions . Red wines have their own savory bandwidth of foods and occasions that they oversee — while flavorful white wine suits itself to usher in the food flavors of spring .
The diversity of flavor that begins to arrive on our plates with Aries and Taurus in the sky are at once delicate and kaleidoscopic , especially in comparison to the hearty fare of our recent months .
Halibut , the first asparagus and sometimes chervil , debut with the under-appreciated dandelion . Flaky-tender , yet so rich , black cod defies dark wine , despite its name . Strawberries are on the horizon — and then