It's that time of year again. Break out the Kettle Brand Chips, pop open the brewski and get ready to watch the Super Bowl. Right?
Maybe not. There's a decent argument to be made for serving wine over beer at your football gathering. Sounds blasphemous, but there's a pretty credible voice in favor of the idea: Rick Mirer, the former NFL and Notre Dame quarterback, is the owner of Mirror Wine, and he's not the only former football star in the wine business. Dan Marino and Drew Bledsoe are just two of many other NFL alums in the wine business.
So why vino? Let Mirer help explain:
It elevates the house party
First and foremost, you get better food. "It's a different kind of meal," says Mirer, the former Seattle Seahawk. "Yeah, I have no problem with pretzels, Doritos and chicken wings, but you pull out a different type of food when you pull out a bottle of wine. You upgrade the h'ors d'oeuvres. It's a food friendly beverage." In other words: Wine goes with almost everything.
It's green
Ever look at the counter of a bar during a big game and think there's a whole lot of recycling that must be done after all those drinks are consumed? "We feel responsible for that," Mirer says. "You don't have so many empties with wine bottles." Also remember wine gets better with age. Beer? Not so much. If you tell people to come by and drink your 1975 Schlitz six-pack, you won't have many friends at your party.
Better for heart than beer
There are definitely arguments over this point, but we'll side with ScienceDaily, which reports "drinkers of wine benefit from [wine's] cardio-protective effects, more so than those who drink beer or other spirits, and may also live longer." And that's not the only scientific report with those results. "Wine kind of helps clean you out a little bit especially when people cut back on what they eat," Mirer says. "We're all trying to get healthy in some way."
No beer, no beer gut
Hard to argue this point. And that brings us to ...
The ladies
Maybe you can impress your date by shotgunning a beer if you're 19, but most women are more impressed by a guy who can read a wine list than a guy who can belch "The Star Spangled Banner." So if you think "sommelier" is a backup defenseman for the Montreal Canadiens, maybe you should introduce yourself to a nice Malbec. And while you drink beer all season with your buds, shouldn't the Super Bowl offer more of a special vibe? "Wine has a celebratory kind of feel as opposed to just a can of beer when you’re fishing or golfing," Mirer says. The Super Bowl comes once a year, so give your friends (and possible dates) a chance to say "Cheers."
And Mirer has one more important point in wine's favor: "A few bottles go farther," he says. "Less trips to the bathroom." Enough said.
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