So you’ve read the three part series on wine tasting. When it comes to learning about wine, just like Aristotle said ‘you get out of what you put in.’ A couple of things you should be able to do, compare, describe and remember wines you have tasted. You should be able to see patterns occurring and make more sense of wines immense variety.
Giving it’s the holiday season I think its time to talk about food and wine pairing. When it comes to this subject people often find it overwhelming because of the plethora of wine varieties and tastes that come with it. Well guess what, it’s very simple and I’m going to show you how simple it can be. If there were rules there would be two that everyone should follow. Create balance and synergy with the food and wine. Now that wasn’t that hard was it? Well there is a little more to it. Lets look at some examples.
IS THE WEIGHT AND BODY IN BALANCE?
Wine and food should share similar characteristics like palate weight. Doing this while thinking about the textures of all the flavors can help. Light foods like a simple green salad with a vinaigrette can be paired with a light weighted wines like a dry Sauvignon Blanc which is often young and acidic. If you chose a low acid dry wine the combination will make the wine taste flat.
ARE THE INTENSITY LEVELS IN BALANCE?
A wine that has high intensity and flavor will taste a lot better if the food you have chosen is of the same intensity. Sauces and spices in some foods need to be taken into account, as their ability to increase intensity and flavors will make the matching process a lot harder. Buttery sauces can make a great pairing with Chardonnay’s. Rich earthy sauces are great with a softer style of red like Syrah, Grenache and Pinot Noirs. Spicy foods like Asian dishes are a great match for Gewürztraminer and Rieslings that have some residual sugars, try our 2008 Semi Sweet made from Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc.
ARE THE FLAVORS AND COMPLEXITIES IN BALANCE?
When combining food and wine it is also important to understand how the food is cooked. Whether the food is steamed, poached or grilled will add another dimension to the food. Foods that have been grilled and have a charcoal flavor will pair well with a young red with some high level of tannin like our 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon or Nebbiolo from Italy. Foods that are high in protein like rich sauces and red meat that is not overcooked are great with wines that have a little lively tannin. The tannin will bind with the protein. Any sharp cheeses are also good with young tannic wines. Any foods that have high levels of fat or are cooked in oils can be combined with a Viognier, which can cut through the fat to make a great combination try our 2005 Viognier or 2007 Viognier. Any salty foods are a good match with sweeter wines like a late harvest or sauternes.
Foods that have sweet dominant flavors will pair well with a sweeter wine such as our 2008 Late Harvest Viognier or 2005 Ice Wine. You want the flavors of the wine to be sweeter than the food so they are not dominated by the richness of the dish. If you choose a sweet dessert with a dry wine it will make the wine taste acidic.
There are hundreds of cheeses from all over the world that can be accompanied by a great wine to enhance your experience. Soft, hard and blue are the three major categories. Soft cheeses like Brie, Camembert, Goat and Feta with light textures are a great match with light-to-medium bodied wines with high acid like Rieslings, Sauvignon Blancs and Sparkling wines. The creamier styles of cheeses are great with oaked Chardonnay that has a lot of flavors, some other wines are sweeter styles like Muscat. Hard cheeses like Cheddar and Eden are a great match with medium-to-full flavored wines oaked Chardonnay and Semillon are great, some reds can work well old style reds with low tannin levels and even rose wines can match these cheeses well. Blue style cheeses strong, powerful and complex will require strong complex wines. Sweet wines like botrytis or Late Harvest Viognier and even fortified wines like port, Tokay and Muscat.
There are so many more combinations to consider but it’s all about going out there and trying it for yourself and finding what’s good for your taste buds. Matching food and wine is pleasurable, don’t make it too serious, just make it enjoyable.
Happy Sipping.
Sincerely,
Corey Norsworthy
Winemaker/Marketer
Grande River Vineyards