DECATUR - When it comes to recommendations of a wine selection for dinner - either to accompany the meal or to use in cooking - Kevin Graham said staying with the old rule is probably the safest: red wines with red meats and white wines with white meats.

Another good and safe suggestion for choices is to read experts' recommendations. But, he said, you should do your own testing.

Today at The Decanter, Graham, Mike Delaney and Jay Emrich are participating in downtown Decatur's World Showcase "Christmas in July," offering participants a chance to do just that, wine tasting. The Decanter co-owners will offer samples from 4 to 7 p.m. as the store participates with the other merchants in the event.

Close by The Decanter, there will be not only the tastes but also the smells of homemade krumkake coming from It's a Girl Thing, courtesy of owner Joy Kistenfeger, who plans to make the delicacies on-site.

"Hopefully, my grandmother would be proud," said Kistenfeger, who will use the recipe handed down through generations for her customers who should also notice her Norwegian theme.

Other downtown sites will represent the United States, Australia, Morocco, Italy and France, with food and sales specials throughout the day.

Though The Decanter plans to present Italian wines in the tasting, Graham passed along several other suggestions for sampling and cooking.

"The first and most important rule," said Graham, "(is) only cook with wines that you would drink."

A full-bodied, heavy wine might match certain menu items where the flavor of a lighter wine would just disappear. But the reverse is also possible: a lighter wine might be a better choice for the menu which would be overwhelmed by a full-bodied wine. Another possibility to take into consideration, he added, is that a sweet wine won't match a lot of foods.

The thing about wines is, Graham said, that the United States is relatively new on the horizon.

"The United States has a short history with the wine world," he explained, since European vineyards have been producing for centuries.

Americans also tend to serve wines, especially white wines, way too cold, he said. Often the bottle is refrigerated overnight, which makes the beverage so cold that it shuts down taste buds. Being cold also dampens the "nose" (aroma) of the wine, he said, an especially pertinent point since smell is an important part of the sense of taste.

So, as for serving temperature, here are Graham's suggestions. A chardonnay, for example, is more full bodied and will do best served around 48 to 50 degrees when the taste emerges. A dessert or sparkling wine is good at a cold temperature. Red wines are enhanced at room temperature.

Graham advised to observe the 20-minute rule. Chill white wine 20 minutes before serving. Take the red wine from the refrigerator 20 minutes before serving.

How much wine you serve with dinner depends on more than just the number of guests, though it would not be unusual to have a bottle per person to be available. Do all of your guests drink wine? Will it, for example, be served before and after dinner? During dinner? Will it be the only beverage served with dinner? And it depends, as well, on the size of the pour, how much you put in each glass.

As for his personal preferences, Graham said that has expanded though he still likes cabernets and French chardonnays.

"I can't say what my favorite is any more," he confessed.

Arlene Mannlein can be reached at amannlein@herald-review.com or 421-6976.

Krumkake

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 /2 cup butter of margarine, melted

5 tablespoons cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 /4 teaspoon cardamom

3/4 cup flour

2 teaspoons cornstarch

Beat eggs and sugar together. Add butter, cream, vanilla and cardamom. Mix flour and cornstarch. Add to egg mixture. Drop by tablespoon on ungreased iron. Close iron gently. Bake about 15 seconds on each side. Remove and roll immediately around wooden cone to shape.

Makes 6 to 7 dozen.

-Source: Jo Kistenfeger's family recipe

Suggested wine parings

Young, full bodied red wine - red meat, red meat dishes

Young, full bodied, robust red wine - red sauces

Earthy red, full bodied red wine - soups with root vegetables and/or beef stock

Dry white wine or dry fortified wine - fish/shellfish/seafood, poultry, pork, veal

Dry white wine or dry fortified wine - light/cream sauces

Crisp, dry white wine - seafood soups, bouillabaisse

Sweet white wine or sweet fortified wine - sweet desserts

Dry, fortified wine (i.e. sherry) - consomme, poultry, vegetable soups

Regional cuisine - regional wine

-Source: Kevin Graham

Cooking with wine

The first and most important rule is to only cook with wines you would drink. If you do not like the taste of a wine, you will not like the dish you use it in.

Once the wine is cooked down, most of the alcohol is gone and what is left is the flavor from the wine. Boiling down wine concentrates the flavor, including acidity and sweetness. If it is cheap wine or a wine that has been opened for too long, remember those flavors will be added to your dish as well.

Avoid grocery store "cooking wines." These "wines" are typically salty and include other additives. And Graham doesn't recommend their taste.

An expensive wine is not necessary, although a cheap wine will not bring out the best characteristics of your dish. A good quality wine that you enjoy will provide the same flavor to a dish as a premium wine. Save the premium wine to serve with the meal. Just use, for example, a Pinot Noir in each case.

The function of wine in cooking is to intensify, enhance and accent the flavor and aroma of food - not to mask the flavor of what you are cooking but rather to fortify it.

As with any seasoning used in cooking, care should be taken in the amount of wine used - too little is inconsequential, and too much will be overpowering. Neither extreme is desirable.

Here are some suggested amounts to add: soups - 2 tablespoons per cup; sauces - 1 tablespoon per cup; gravies - 2 tablespoons per cup; stews and meats - 1 /4 cup per pound; poaching liquid for fish - 1 /2 cup per quart.

For best results, wine should not be added to a dish just before serving. The wine should simmer with the food, or sauce, to enhance the flavor of the dish. If added late in the preparation, it could impart a harsh quality.

Wait 10 minutes or more to taste before adding more wine.

Remember that wine does not belong in every dish. More than one wine-based sauce in a single meal can be monotonous. Use wine in cooking only when it has something to contribute to the finished dish.

Use pots and pans with nonreactive linings, such as glass, stainless steel and nonstick coatings. Avoid aluminum, unlined copper and cast iron, which will turn food dark and give off a metallic taste when an acidic ingredient, such as wine, is added.

-Source: Kevin Graham