Personalities

Michel Garnero: Wines and dishes must have the same weight category
"Vinnaya Karta" №8 (67) September 2005

Michel Garnero has prepared many a famous sommelier.

He teaches in Louis Martin Bre eno-gastronomic school in France and gives lectures in Enotria educational centre in Moscow. Michel also agreed to share his knowledge and experience with "VK" readers.

- Before we start talking about wine and food, please tell us about yourself.

- I am 56. I got involved with wine business when I was about twenty — after receiving a diploma in gastronomy. Even then I saw my future connected with wine. Teaching came later. I wanted to achieve a serious level and decided to work with final consumers first in order to learn their needs. This is why I worked as a sommelier between 1965 and 1970. At present I mainly teach gastronomy as well as prepare professional sommeliers.

- How did you come to Russia?

- I happened to work here back in 1991, but the visits became regular after 1998. It happened after my meeting with Anatoly Korneyev. It was dream-like, now he’s become my second son.

- What exactly do you do in Moscow?

- I work with Enotria school. I come to teach tasting techniques. Without false modesty I must admit that there are no specialists of my level in Russia yet.

- Possibly, as the market is still young. In your view, how has it developed in the past 7 years since 1998?

- If we talk about the market, there are more products available within appellations. Today the range of wines is much wider. Many premium restaurants feature well presented wine lists. Besides, there are now people who can see and understand the difference in quality between two wines of the same appellation from separate producers. I cannot comment consumption trends as my visits to Moscow are short and rare. The only thing that I can note is that you drink too much beer. I think it happens because beer producers have access to television screens. Their advertising is not forbidden. From the figures and facts available I can guess that wine in Russia is drunk by a certain, well-off part of the society. In France the wine culture is gradually declining. In Russia, on the contrary, it is being born. And that is good news.

- Do you see much difference between Russian and French sommeliers?

- Not really. One thing that is missing here, though, is proximity to vineyards. It is more convenient to be a sommelier in France, Italy or Spain, that in a non-wine-producing country. The reason is that it is a lot easier to understand any product when you can witness its production. In Russia I am impressed with technical knowledge of your sommeliers. It is as good as with French colleagues. Moreover, I see that your spirit is more mature. Unfortunately, this is not the case with France.

- When you started your career it was focused on gastronomy. When did you realize that wine and food are two interrelated subjects?

- In France wine consumption has direct relation with food. People have long discovered that certain wines go with certain dishes. Even at school future specialists in gastronomy study wine. In France notions of food and wine stand closely together.

- In our society wine and food exist parallel to each other, but not together. What should be done for people to understand this union as joint and harmonious?

- The main function of food is to make a person full. But there is another one — to unite people and to give them pleasure. If we pay some attention to what is on the table, we can get partial pleasure. If the meal is accompanied by wine, then it becomes a true enjoyment.

- During lectures you describe various parameters of wine and pay attention to wine evaluation and tasting. But what is the most important in wine for you?

- At school we are at the level when you can’t do without technical assessment of wine. The thing is that in future my students will become professionals in wine business and will be trusted by other people. In order to make the right choice one must deeply immerse in the subject and study all peculiarities. For example, I don’t like when people drink labels. Chateau Petrus on the label is not the reason to drink wine. It is the question of money, not of culture.

- Is wine a culture for a few select?

- It is accessible for everyone. It would be good if Russian journalists wrote more about wine culture. It is your job to explain to people that wine is affordable and why. Of course, consumption depends on one’s income, but not limited by it. If you compare wine with stronger alcoholic drinks, you should also talk about the aspect of health. Wine, in addition to everything else, is capable of creating an atmosphere of celebration. Please note, I am not selling anything, I only have knowledge.

- What lies at the core of wine? How does it vary within its category and in comparison with other alcoholic beverages?

- Wine shows differently at every stage of tasting. Firstly, through colour. Secondly, through aromas. Thirdly, through flavours. It is always necessary to explain that wine is connected with terroir. It is a difficult notion to understand at once. Terroir dictates the character of wine. There is a direct and close relation between them. And another thing. If I had drank the same amount of spirits like of wine, I would not be able to answer your questions now.

- Let’s talk about trends in pairings between food and wine. Have there been any changes lately?

- No, there are no changes. In wine and food matches everything depends on pleasure that we seek, in hedonistic meaning of the term. This pleasure shouldn’t be victim to fashion. Decisions shouldn’t depend on economic factors. In France there is fashion for wine and things connected with it. It constantly changes. At one stage producers of sauternes suffered economic difficulties. It happened because people who traditionally drank sweet wines for desserts switched to champagne. Then producers declared that sauternes should be drunk with certain dishes, that it will be nice. Wines got to be served with foie gras. To me this is awful as products have opposite qualities. Then one president, Giscard d’Estaing, said, ’Drink sauternes with Roquefort’. Well, he comes from a place near Roquefort and wanted to please his voters by increasing the sales of cheese. The match is so awful — no better than sauternes and foie gras. I believe that wines and dishes must always have similar weight, like in boxing. If we put a 50 kg boxer in front of a 120 kg boxer, the match would hardly be exciting. The same happens with food and wine. These components should not be opposed to each other. And one must never have taste at the expense of fashion, it is simply crazy.

- Which pairings do you find to be the most harmonious?

- Come to my seminar. I spend a few hours for the topic and cannot give advice in a space of a few seconds. There is one thing, though. Read materials about food and wine pairings — on the Internet, in the books or other sources, analyse what’s written there and get practical experience.