SOME IDEAL PAIRINGS

GRILLED BEEF WITH CLARET 

Claret, or more formally, red wine from Bordeaux is often tough, tannic and highly earthy and complex. These elements pair wonderfully with the gamey, robust intensity of the grilled beef. This is especially true in the case of dry aged beef and older Claret. The rich complexity of the beef blends beautifully with the subtle, unfolding complexity in the wine. If you can't find Claret, per se, then look for similarly bodied wines based on Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot or Cabernet Franc. 

SOME IDEAL PAIRINGS

Oysters with Chablis

Chablis hails from Burgundy, France in a region where prehistoric, fossilized seashells make up most of the lower soil strata. Here the grapes are infused with the taste of chalk and the sea. What could be better to pair with the briny, chalky flavors found in fresh, raw oysters? Nothing, I think. If you can't find Chablis, then try to find a similarly weighted white wine that has seen little time in oak and comes from a region with plenty of mineral and limestone in the soil 

SOME IDEAL PAIRINGS

Foie Gras with Sauternes

Like a marriage made in Heaven, foie gras finds its perfect complement in the company of the famed white dessert wine from Bordeaux. What probably makes this pair work best is the sweet, honeyed character of the wine combined with its naturally high acidity that cuts through the rich, fattiness of the duck liver. The often-gamey quality of the liver finds a welcome cushion in the nectar like quality of the wine. If you can't find true Sauternes, then you can often substitute a similar botrytis-affected, dessert wine. 

TROUBLESOME PAIRINGS

There are a number of foods that always pose the greatest challenge when paired with wine. Here are a few:

Vinegar or vinegar-based sauces

Vinegar is wine that has been acted on by a bacteria called acetobacter, which turns the alcohol in the wine into acetic acid and water. Another term for the process is called "souring". Because of this, most wines tend to taste spoiled in the presence of vinegar. Look for clean, bright, high acid wines to pair the best, whites being most favorable.

Tomato or other similarly high acid foods

Especially high acid levels in food make it tough to maintain balance. For this reason, look for high acid wines, like those made with Barbera or Vernaccia grapes to provide the greatest balance. Less acidic wines will be overpowered by highly acidic foods.

Artichoke and asparagus

The complexity and often-weedy flavors in both these vegetables make for tough wine pairing. Look for high acid, grassy wines, like Old World Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire to blend most favorably.

Egg and egg-based dishes

The sulfurous quality of the egg has a similar as vinegar, imparting an unpleasant flavor to softer wines. Look for clean, bright high acid wines to pair best, almost always white.

Cranberry sauce and other similar relishes

The cacophony of flavors that abound in cranberry sauce and pickle relish make them near impossible to pair with wine. As with vinegar and eggs, look for clean, bright and high acid wines.

Chocolate

The variability of chocolate in sweetness and texture can be difficult to pair well with wine. For sweeter chocolate, look for sweeter wines to make an effective pair, making sure to maintain balance in the weight and body of each. For semi-sweet or even bittersweet chocolate, look for drier wines to make an effective pair, again making sure to maintain balance in the weight and body of each.

The Five Rules for Matching Wine with Food

Look for compatible weights and bodies. The essence of this rule embodies the age old 'red wine with red meat, white wine with fish and white meat". In its simplest form, make sure the weight and body of the dish is consistent with the weight and body of the wine.

Look for compatible acidity levels. When pairing food with wine make sure that the acidity level in both are about the same. A good example is a dish like lemon chicken paired with a high acid Vernaccia from Italy.

Look for complementary flavors and complexities. Food and wine shouldn't fight one another for your attention. Instead they should help one another achieve synergy, complimenting each other's best traits. NOTE - There is a corollary to this rule that suggests looking for contradictory, but balancing flavors and complexity. If done correctly, the wine and food match will work, but this approach is much more complex and demands that the chef really knows the dish and the wine very well. Approach the corollary with caution.

When matching wine to a food with a pronounced sauce, pair to the flavors in the sauce. When pairing wine with food, make sure you match according to the strongest traits of each. In a fruit glacé-type sauce one would look for a wine with forward and overt fruitiness to pair best.

When matching wine to a food without a pronounced sauce, pair to the flavors in the main ingredient. This is really a re-statement of rule four, except emphasizing that in the absence of a strong sauce, look to the flavor characteristics of the main ingredient instead

PRINCIPLES OF MATCHING FOOD & WINE

2nd Principle: The Five Basic Taste Sensations

Sweetness: Related to amount of residual sugar in both foods and wines; sensed by taste buds located towards at the tip of the tongue

Sour/tartness: Degree of acidity in both foods and wines (more so in whites than in reds); tasted at the center and sides of the tongue

Saltiness: Not a significant component in wine, but important in how a wine relates to it in foods; tasted somewhere in the center of the tongue

Bitterness: Tasted in many foods, and in the tannin content of red wines (to a lesser degree in whites); tasted towards the rear of the tongue

Umami: The flattering, amino acid related sense of "deliciousness" found in many foods, and to a limited extent in wines (location of "umami taste buds" on palate indeterminate)

3rd Principle: Key Tactile Sensations

Density, body or weight: The sense of light vs. heavy contributed by proteins, fats and/or carbs in foods, and primarily related to degree of alcohol content in wines (bolstered by tannin in reds)

Soft/crisp textures: Tactile contrasts in foods; and in wines, smooth or easy vs. hard, sharp or angular

Spicy/hot: Feel of heat when chiles, peppers or horseradishes are used in foods; not felt as a tactile sensation in wines, but suggested in aromas and flavors ("spice" notes)

4th Principle: Flavor Is Aroma Related

Without the sense of smell, neither foods nor wines have "flavor." Example: the taste and tactile sensations in an apple, a pineapple, and an onion are similar in that they are all sweet, crisp yet juicy, with some degree of acidity, but they all give a distinctly different flavor perceived through the sense of smell.

By the same token, both Cabernet Sauvignon and a Petite Sirah are two types of red wine that tend to be dark, full bodied, dry, and fairly hard in tannin; but the Cabernet gives aromas and flavors of herbal, minty, berry/cassis aromas and flavors, whereas the Petite Sirah gives ripe berry/blueberry and black peppercorn-like aromas and flavors.

5th Principle: The Two Ways Foods and Wines Are Successfully Matched

Similarities
When there are similar taste sensations in both a dish and a wine (example: the buttery sauce in a fish dish enhanced by the creamy or buttery texture of an oak barrel fermented white wine)

Contrasts
When sensations in a wine contrast with sensations in a dish to positive effect (example: the sweetness of a white wine balancing the saltiness of a dish like ham or cured sausage, and vice-versa)

6th Principle: Intrinsically Balanced Foods & Wines Make the Best Matches

No matter what your personal taste, invariably you discover this natural occurrence: the easiest foods and the easiest wines to find a match for are the ones with their own intrinsic sense of harmony and balance. This is because taste buds and sensations of tactile qualities work for you collectively.

 

PRINCIPLES OF MATCHING FOOD & WINE

1st Principle: Wine Is a Food

All food and wine matching is more easily understood when the taste components of wines are thought of in the same way as ingredients in a dish. Just like good cooking involves a balancing of ingredients and technique, good wine/food matching involves focusing on how specific components in wines interact and achieve a sense of balance and harmony with specific components in dishes.