Over years that I have worked in the wine and food industry, two questions have been at the forefront of many peoples minds. What is the perfect wine and food pairing? And how do you find it?
The former question is a very subjective one. It depends on the individuals likes and dislikes. My favourite food and wine match has to be while living in Melbourne, Australia. One early evening, after work some colleagues and I headed to the beach for BBQ'd Lobster with Chilli dressing. We consumed copious amounts of Clare Valley Riesling alongside the feast of seafood. The balance of delicate Lobster with the crispness of a good Australian Riesling was amazing. While the aromatic aromas and flavours worked extremely well with the Chilli kick of the dressing.
Food and Wine matching can also depend (in my late night beach antics experience) hugely on sense of place and company. When people travel to Italy, for example, and try the local wine while sitting at a small table outside a local restaurant, with a large Antipasti, everything seems to fall into place. This experience doesn't only have to happen while on holiday though. With these helpful tips you can try to find your favourite food and wine pairing:
Ben's Seven Wonders of Food and Wine Matching
1.Neither the wine nor the food should dominate.
2.Both the wine and food need to work alongside each other.
3.Match acidity with acidity, and sweetness with sweetness. Acidity, cuts through oily textures like fish and cured meats.
4.Tannins (the dry, fuzzy feeling while you drink Red wine) helps to break down proteins, meaning Red Wines can make Red Meats seem more tender.
5.Textures, eg Bubbles in Champagne, and a crispy, light batter work really well together.
6.When eating a complex dish, try to find the most dominate ingredient and match your wine with it.
7.The method is also an important area to look at. A roast chicken tastes quite a lot different to a poached chicken.
Once these basic steps have been adopted you will be ready to start attempting really complex matches, like a recent dish I had at Alain Ducasse's restaurant at the Dorchester. The Braised Ox Cheeks with Salsify au Gratin and Olive Jus was matched beautifully with a slightly aged Bordeaux. And even if all the above doesn't work, just remember, that thousand's of years ago, wine was made to consume with food. Meaning if you stick with foods from certain regions of a country and their correlating wines all will be well in you boozy, foodie worlds!
Wines of the moment:
Ra Mi Falanghina 2008 di maio norante, Italy from Harvey Nichols £10.50
Nicholas Potel Montagny Premier Cru 2008, France from Co-Op £9.99 until 04/01/11
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad