In this post, I will cover the food & wine pairing concept in a broader sense than I usually do. All of the information presented here comes from both my NWS notes and my 30+ years experience with wine. As I have mentioned before, wine should be paired with the “main protein”, either for the entire meal of for that course (depending on how you are doing it). This usually means some kind of meat or cheese. When in doubt, the general rule of “white meat/ white wine & red meat/ red wine” usually works (although, there are always exceptions). A good sommelier will also take sauces and other treatments into consideration when choosing a wine. Again, as I have said before, with cheese it’s light white wine with mild cheese to heavy red wine with strong cheese. Everything else is a sliding scale going from white to red. Don’t worry, I’ll give specific examples at the end.
Another good general rule is to use wines of that country when eating food from a specific country (e.g. French wine with French food, etc.). As with any other rule, there are plenty of exceptions. In sommelier training at the NWS, I learned the 4 pairing essentials: (1) low acid whites with acidic foods, (2) high acid whites with salty & bitter foods, (3) high acid reds with fatty foods, and (4) high bitter (tannic) reds with high protein foods. Basically, pair “opposites” when it comes to flavor & tastes. Again, if your head is “spinning”, I’m about to give lots of examples. Finally, when pairing wines with each course, you need to consider the basic rules of “progression“: white to red, light to dark, & dry to sweet. So to recap, remember the following: (1) main protein (sauces), (2) same country, (3) pair opposites (flavor & taste), (4) rules of progression.
Now, as promised, I will give you a bunch of examples. I hope they help, if not please drop me a line. Enjoy!
Sea food/ sushi – Spanish Albarino (Rias Baxias) or New Zealand Sauv. Blanc or French Pouilly Fuisse (especially simple salmon dishes).
Chicken – Chardonnay (but Mexican chicken, maybe a Spanish Godello )
Pork – Pinot Noir (Oregon or Burgundy)
BBQ meat – French Syrah/ Aussie Shiraz or maybe an Argentine Malbec
Steak – Napa Cab. Sauv. (My personal favorite!)
Pasta with meat in a tomato sauce – Italian Chianti Classico
Tapas meats (steak, chicken, etc.) – Spanish Tempranillo (Rioja, Resera or Gran Reserva)
Standard 3 course meal, by the course:
*Appetizer – Italian Prosecco (goes with most appetizers)
*Main Course – Meat with a starch & vege.s (See above, most likely Pinot Noir, Syrah, or Cab Sauv.)
*Dessert – Cake or ice cream (Canadian Ice wine or other sweet wine)
That should be enough for this post. Next week, I will return to Spanish wine regions with another Education blog. Be sure to check it out. Cheers!