Wine + Music

The Frankly Wines & Friends Wine & Music Series #8 – James Hubbard

In these unusual times, we all need a lift from time to time. As a change to my usual wine reviews I’ve decided to start a fun and irreverent series on matching wine and music. The basic idea is that I give participants:

  • A piece of music –> they suggest a wine to go with it, with an explanation
  • A wine –> they suggest a piece of music to go with it

It’s all for fun, so please don’t slag off anybody’s taste music (or wine!) Thanks to Michelle Williams for the inspiration – she has been matching songs to wine for years on her Rockin Red Blog.

Part 8 of this series is in the capable hands of James Hubbard, a fellow wine tweeter who also wrote a guest piece for me in 2017.  The track I chose for him is a modern blues-rock classic from the onetime Thin Lizzy guitarist Gary Moore (who I saw “support” BB King in 2006).  Parisienne Walkways contains the lines:

I remember Paris in ’49
The Champs Elysee, Saint Michel
And old Beaujolais wine

which was a chance for James to run with a Beaujolais, but he resisted the easy score as you will see below. 

James posts up some cracking Australian wines on Twitter and Instagram so I though I’d go with a real big-hitter: Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon, one of their very top red wines and named after the Boeing 707.  The 1998 707 is still the best red wine I have ever tasted.

Gary Moore – Parisienne Walkways

So when Frankie contacted me to ask if I would like to take part in his Wine and music series, I jumped at the chance. What fun! I’ll get a piece of Italian opera, maybe. Easy, right?

Then Frankie sent me the song: Parisienne Walkways, by Gary Moore. Mind. Blown. What on earth can I pair with this?? A 9-minute opus (well, live anyway) full of ridiculously long guitar notes. I mean it’s iconic, it’s brilliant but at the same time rather self-indulgent (or at least that’s how I remembered it).

However, as I listened to it several times, it all fell into place. I could easily have gone with a Beaujolais – Paris, steak frites and some bojo, right? I mean he even mentions it in the song, for goodness’ sake! And my goodness I love Beaujolais. Gamay rocks, as apparently does Gary Moore. But that would be too easy. Come on, James. Work a bit harder than that. As I delved deeper, I realised that what I used to think of as self-indulgence is actually self-knowing. Yes it’s a serious piece of music but it’s actually not taking itself too seriously. Then the penny dropped.

Bonny Doon ‘Le Cigare Volant’, from the amazing Randall Grahm.

Bonny Doon Le Cigare Volant

Just like the song, there’s a bit of everything in there (usually about 5 different grapes, a real Rhône Ranger) but the blend is just spot-on. It opens up so early and so well and it hits all the right notes throughout (unlike Morecambe and Wise, in the right order as well). This is an incredible wine. It’s earthy, rich yet playful, full-bodied yet perfectly balanced. Above all, it’s a wine that demands your attention but ultimately doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon

Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon

For my music choice, I was invited to find an appropriate accompaniment to Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet Sauvignon. Wow. This is a wine that can live forever and is somewhat in the shadows of its more-famous sibling, but sorry Oasis you’re not coming in on this occasion. I need something more refined. Bin 707 is Tom Finney to Stanley Matthews’ Grange. Less lauded but the professionals always knew who was the greater.

Step forward the one, the only Bob Dylan. ‘One More Cup of Coffee’.

A song about unrequited love, taken from one of Dylan’s lesser-known albums. As with wine tastings, this is best enjoyed live and the version from Dylan’s Bootleg Series 5, The Rolling Thunder Revue is my personal favourite. Just like the 707, this has such a rich tapestry. It’s long and hauntingly beautiful. Once heard, never forgotten yet rarely spoken about in the same breath of some of Dylan’s other work.

Oh and whilst you’re at it, come for one more cup of coffee and stay for the entirety of the Bootleg live album. Just like delving into Penfolds’ catalogue and discovering other incredible wines you’d never realised were there, you’ll discover genius that truly will live forever.

James Hubbard

James Hubbard is a passionate wine amateur with an eclectic collection and a vastly inferior palate to that of his wife. A Europhile, he works for a major FMCG company as their EMEA Head of Talent Acquisition (a fancy way of saying ‘recruitment’). Lover of virtually all sports (particularly cricket, rugby union and American Football). You can follow him under @jameshubbard113 on both Twitter and Instagram.


The Frankly Wines & Friends Wine & Music Series
No. Guest Name Music to pair Wine to pair
14 Lee Isaacs The Rolling Stones – Gimme Shelter Domaine Jones Fitou
13 Sharon L Souls Of Mischief –  93 ‘Til Infinity Penfolds RWT
12 Tim Milford Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man Nyetimber Classic Cuvée
11 Mags McKee U2 with BB King –  When Love Comes to Town Pittnauer Zweigelt Heideboden
10 Cara Rutherford The Cure – Just Like Heaven Suertes del Marqués ‘7 Fuentes’
9 Melanie May The Cult –  She Sells Sanctuary Sipp Mack GC Rosacker Riesling
8 James Hubbard Gary Moore – Parisienne Walkways Penfolds Bin 707 Cab Sauv
7 Paul Moran Underworld – Rez Suertes del Marqués Trenzado
6 Nirina Plunkett Jamiroquai – Space Cowboy Club Remix Wolfberger Crémant d’Alsace
5 Penny Sadler Fleetwood Mac – Dreams Bollinger Special Cuvée
4 Jim Dunlop The Beatles – The Long And Winding Road Man O’ War Valhalla Chardonnay
3 Avril Kirrane McMorrough Norah Jones – Don’t Know Why Joseph Cattin Riesling Reserve
2 Tim of Soliciting Flavours Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings Viña Tondonia Blanco
1 Sinéad Smyth Stardust – Music Sounds Better With You Mullineux Syrah

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