White on red, nothing moves ! The true meaning of the French saying !

Why do we say "White on red, nothing moves " ? This maxim has nothing to do with wine … So where does this french expression come from ?

You necessarily know this maxim : "White on red, nothing moves ; red on white, everything scampers off ". If we follow the principles of this expression, we should always drink white wine after red. Yet, tasters and other wine lovers almost always start with white and you never hear them say "Stop, stop I have already had two - ten ? - glasses of white, I will be messed up if I taste red now ". Why are they doing this ? Do they want to put their heads upside down ? Not so sure…

This expression has nothing to do with wine

It would be foolish to think that if you stick to this expression to the letter, there would be no consequences the next day. The amount consumed would not matter ? And what do we do with rosé or sparkling wine in all of this ?

This is where the story gets funny… This maxim has no connection with oenology, but over time we have associated the colors red and white with wine. So where does this french expression come from ? There are several interpretations to explain the origin of this statement.

My favorite and most poetic version is maritime in origin - it is Jack Sparrow who will be happy —. Sailors are great drinkers and Jacques Brel wouldn't contradict me. If the white flag is above the red, sailors stay on board, nothing moves. If the red is above, it's free time, and there, everything scampers off !

And the expression dedicated to wine ?

This is the most pragmatic version, but she is also somewhat different. The expression intended for the order of wine tasting is actually "White then red, nothing moves, red then white, everything scampers off ".

The reason for this order lies in the different composition between white and red wine.. White wine tends to be aromatically less exuberant than red which contains tannins.. The latter have a good chance of covering the taste of the white that would succeed it - and this is where the feelings go crazy —.

In the same way, a red wine as a preamble to a tasting is often too strong - especially if he comes from the south —. We therefore prefer the liveliness of a white wine, so nothing moves, all is well in the best of all possible worlds. But nothing is easy in the world of wine, which is far from being so binary. A mellow white wine should follow a light red, it is much better than the other way around !

There is, however, an occasion when - we are masterfully wrong - it is almost always necessary to serve a white wine after a red : this is the cheese board. The idea that the vast majority of cheeses go much better with a white than a red is commonly accepted.. Even after a powerful Bordeaux, it is preferable to pair your cheese with a white wine. Persisting to drink red when it's time to eat cheese is a true crime contrary to common sense. You want to understand why ? Just read this article " Wine and cheese: how to get the perfect match ? "

It is important to have a finish

The morality of this story ? Treat yourself when you taste wine and don't care about maxims that aren't. Only the quantity drunk will decide if "nothing is moving" or if "everything is off" !

Jean-Nicolas Mouretin