Murder on the Orient Express and Tokaji Aszú
Murder on the Orient Express
Agatha Christie, 1934
Tokaji Aszú
Tokaj, Hungary
A golden nightcap from the heart of the old Orient Express route.
Why it works
Tokaji Aszú was once the wine of emperors and tsars, served in the grandest dining cars and hotels of central Europe. Made from grapes shriveled by noble rot, it is luminous gold, with apricot, honey and orange marmalade balanced by electric acidity.
Christie’s snowbound mystery is an exercise in elegance under pressure, and a small glass of Tokaji has the same poise: rich, complex and never heavy. Sip slowly while Poirot assembles his suspects.
Also try
A late-harvest Riesling for a lighter, less expensive sweet wine.
In the same spirit
The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1925
Brut Champagne
Non-vintage · Champagne, France
Bubbles for a party that is never quite as happy as it looks.
Rebecca
Daphne du Maurier, 1938
Crozes-Hermitage
Northern Rhône, France
Dark, peppery and a little haunted — like Manderley after midnight.