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Chapter XII
White Wines—How and When to
Serve Them
White wines, different from red wines, virtually suit
themselvesto mostfoods which are taboo to theirrubycolored
relatives.
The"dry"types may be served,for instance, with oysters,
clams, lobster, shell fish of all kiuds, fish (broiled, boiled or
fried),eggs, white meats,cold cuts,shrimps,pate de foie gras,
lobster, chicken, sweetbreads, and, sometimes, with the
hors d'oeuvres as appetizers before meals. Personally,I prefer
not to drink any wines with the hors d'oeuvres. Beer or ale,
plebeian though it may sound,is far preferable,and,in fact,
both are assmning a real social status.
Tastes differ as to the appetizer, or aperitif. Some folks
hke a cocktail, others a Sherry and others, Uke myown hum
ble self, beer or ale. The Sherry drinkers deem cocktail
drinking before meals horrible; the cocktail drinker scoffs at
the Sherry aperitif;the beer or ale drinker grins amiably and
finds his appetite and digestion keener and better. Of course,
to observe the niceties, I'U drink whatever the hostess pro
vides for the appetizer, but the wise hostess usually provides
cocktails. Sherry and beer and ale,letting each guest select as
he or she wiU.
But here I am, straying from my subject of the white
wines. It is one of the few rules you need to know,that white
wines should never be permitted to usurp the functions of the
red wines. Thisis quite contrary to the rules of the red wines,
asI have pointed out in the previous chapter,for wines of the
Claret type and red Burgundy and sparkling reds can invade
the white wine domains.
White wines may be served with turkey, because of its
white meat,just as red wine is adaptable,too, because of the
dark turkey meat. White wines also fit in with vegetables or
vegetable meals, cheese dishes, such as souffles, rarebits
(rabbits), stuffed celery, all kinds of sandwiches except those
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