perfect pairings: wine + food demystified

Wine is by far one of my favorite things ever. Food is definitely a close second! This means that I'm head over heels about trying wines and foods together to see what tastes good and what doesn't. Some pairings can be way off, but when you do find that perfect match it's sheer bliss. To try and alleviate some of the guess-work involved in wine and food pairing I did a bit of digging and asking around to get some ideas. Here's the best of the best.

Sauvignon Blanc and Chèvre
Starting your meal with a creamy goat cheese? A match made in heaven (read: France) is pouring a crisp, and citrusy Sauvignon Blanc with it. The saltiness and creaminess of the cheese is sliced with ease by the sharp acidity found in these wines that display characteristics of lemon and grapefruit. This refreshes the palate and leaves you yearning for that next bite.

Viognier and Citrus
Toss your salad with a zingy ginger and orange based dressing and it’ll be lend itself superbly to a glass of Viognier, with its pronounced floral aromas. The acidity in both the dressing and the wine will compliment one another and make eating your greens something you’ll look forward to.

Red Bordeaux and Pepper Rubbed Fillet

Everyone relies on “red with red, white with white” when pairing wines and meat. While I advocate concentrating more on body and flavors, a tried and true pairing is steak with red wine. In particular Bordeaux wines offering Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot driven blends are full bodied, tannic, and bold enough to compliment a juicy, well seasoned cut of beef.

Gewürztraminer and Spicy Food
Whether your take-out is Thai, Mexican, or Szechuan any dish that boasts spicy heat can be successfully paired with a fruity and floral Gewürz. With just a hint of residual sugar, this wine will soften and soothe any tongue-searing you get after accidentally chomping down on that fiery Serrano.

Zinfandel and Dark Chocolate
For dessert don’t automatically turn to sweet wines–especially if dark chocolate is involved. A full bodied, dry Zinfandel offers a fruity contrast to the richness of chocolate. Flourless chocolate cake–one of those ones with “Death by…” in the name–seems even more luscious when savored with the jammy, brambly fruit found in many of these California reds.

Brachetto d’Aqui and Cheesecake
Leaning towards a sweeter wine for your after-dinner treat? Try a New York style cheesecake with this fruity Italian sparkler. The wine will compliment the rich creamy component of this dessert, and will help to cleanse your palate between bites. Top with some fresh berries for an even better match.

Port and Bleu Cheese
Port is commonly served after dinner, and can have a range from nutty to lusciously sweet characteristics. Not commonly do people think to serve cheese with a little Port after a meal, not to mention a pungent one like bleu cheese. Surprisingly though the dried fruit flavors, higher concentration of alcohol, and varying sweetness of Port pairs well with the saltiness and tangy flavors of many smelly cheeses. Port is great with chocolate, but try something new with a Danish bleu.

Sparkling Wine and Potato Chips
My friend Maggie is on a mission to get everyone drinking sparkling wine every day for any occasion. This may be the perfect excuse. Salty foods, like potato chips, are well fit with sparkling wines, especially those with more fruity characteristics or even a slight sweetness. Try Spanish Cava, German Sekt, or Italian Moscato d’Asti with these crispy snacks.

With all these you could put together an entire meal of successful pairings, or try one or two out at your next party. Either way these are definitely enjoyable. Remember, regardless as to any rules it’s always important to drink what you prefer. If you love white wine and steak then have it, don’t limit yourself. With that said, here are some general tips to keep in mind when experimenting with your own pairings:

• Pair high acid wines with high acid foods
• Make sure the sweetness of your wine is higher than the sweetness of desserts
• Pair sweet wines with spicy foods
• High tannin is best matched with higher fat or high protein dishes or bitter foods
• Wines with high acid are refreshing with saltier foods
• Don’t pair spiciness with higher alcohol wines
• Consider the “weight” of the food and match a similar wine

Cheers!

Sparkling wines for more than just holidays & special occasions

Recently I attended "Counter Culture: Fizz-tivity," a wine and food pairing dinner at my local Whole Foods Market. Every month these dinners are held at the Osteria, a free standing cafe within the specialty foods department which serves fresh prepared foods to customers at a long, curved counter - thus the event name. December was all about sparkling wines getting everyone well prepared for the holidays.

Sparkling wine is an interesting segment of the wine world. Many of us think of sparkling wine as something only for special occasions - anniversaries and New Years Eve. Unfortunately that means that everyone only gets to enjoy it twice, maybe three times a year. Isn't that just utterly disappointing? Luckily there are many different styles and types of sparkling wines to suit any occasion and this dinner was a perfect opportunity to explore them.

We started with a cheese course consisting of Robiola, a sheep and cow's milk soft cheese, served with dried currants, fresh raspberries, and almonds. Paired to this was a special beverage called Deus Brut de Flandres Cuvée Prestige 2006. Surprisingly not a wine at all, this was a specialty Belgian Ale which is unique in that it follows the Traditional method for making Champagne. This barley ale was a light straw color with aromas of ripened pear and honey. The pairing with the cheese board was great, and I can understand why they market this as "the Dom Perignon of beer." Check out the brewer's lively website here: Brewery Bosteels

After our cheese and Belgian/French ale we transitioned to a more Mediterranean course with Presto Prosecco Brut ($10.99) served with a zippy roasted tomato fondue. Prosecco is an Italian white variety and is used to make really fun sparkling wines. The Presto was gold in color and had fresh aromas including citrus, yellow apple, and pear. A dry wine with similar flavors it offered nice crisp acidity which simultaneously paired very well with the acid from the tomatoes and cleansed the creaminess of the cheese from my palate. For the price this is a great wine to serve to friends. It's mild-mannered and easy to drink - definitely a great everyday bubbly to consider.

Next up on to French Champagne with Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Extrem' ($39.99) paired with pan seared pierogies with spinach, fontal, and roasted pear. Sadly the first two bottles we opened were corked but the third was in much better quality. Nothing you can do, right? I'd say create a synthetic Champagne cork but the French would never go for it. Golden in color with aromas of citrus, cooked apple, almond, and a soft yeastiness. The best match from our dish with this Chardonnay was the poached pear, making a perfect compliment to the lemon and citrus flavors. This makes for a great sparkling wine to pair with food.

An American-made rosé accompanied the next course, Gruet Brut Rosé ($17.99) made by Gruet Winery in New Mexico. Clear and with a soft salmony pink, this wine boasted mostly red fruit aromas like raspberry and cranberry with softer fragrances of apple and grapefruit. As expected from the nose I wasn't disappointed by the crisp acidity from this wine. More of the red fruits and a soft citrus made this Chardonnay and Pinot Noir blend very refreshing. The paired dish offered grilled swordfish, winter greens, root vegetables, and a blood orange reduction. Very, very cool! This was probably the best pairing of the entire dinner.

Our fifth wine was another French Champagne from Bouzy, Jean Vesselle Oeil de Perdrix ($42.99). This was paired with chicken and boursin roulade, proscuitto, ratatouille crepe and reduced cream. The Oeil de Perdrix is a blanc de noir (white from black) Champagne made entirely from Pinot Noir grapes, so it has a very pleasant peach color. Aromas were concentrated around tart stone fruit (peach, apricot), apple, citrus and raspberry. It also had a distinct minerality, offering a nice sense of terroir. The rich ratatouille crepe and reduced cream stood up well to the crisp acidity, full body, and refreshing citrus on the palate. This was my second favorite pairing of the evening.

The final course of walnut encrusted lamb chops with green lentils, beet, and feta salad was paired by the intriguing Australian Shingleback Black Bubbles Sparkling Shiraz ($24.99). Deep purple ruby with very small bubbles made for one of the more interesting sparkling wines I've seen. The aromas were reminiscent of any other big Aussie Shiraz - black cherry, plum, licorice, and spice. Plum also dominated the palate and was a great match to the lamb and lentils. More rich flavors of chocolate and coffee lingered on the finish. For being named after an animal also known as a skink I always enjoy the wines Shingleback makes.

Completing our dinner we were served a decadent double chocolate cake with espresso mousse and cherry compote. What kind of sparkling wine would you possibly pair with this to make it better than it already is? Cinzano Brachetto D'Aqui DOCG ($19.99), a sweet sparkling wine from northern Italy. Made from the Brachetto grape - known also as Braquet in France - this wine is a bright pomegranate red in color and displayed aromas of cherry and strawberry, as well as honeyed and floral notes. All these followed through to the palate and made a remarkably good pairing with the chocolate, espresso, and cherry dessert.

This Counter Culture was a truly delightful experience and I was so pleased to be able to try so many different types of sparkling wines. In an unabashed plug for Whole Foods, if you're local and interested in coming to one of the dinners just call the store and ask for someone in the specialty department. Cost is usually about $45 and is entirely worth the amazing food and wine that is served - and is a great reason to have dinner cooked and served to you! A huge thank you to wine specialist Maggie Harrison and chef Eric Colby for making a great evening for all of us attending.

So when you go out to grab your bottle of bubbles to celebrate the beginning of 2009 check out some of the others sitting there on the shelf. Nothing needs to be expensive - just ask for a recommendation and you should be able to find some great sparkling wines for everyday enjoyment.

Cheers!