Hello my dear friends! The simple goal of wine pairing is to make food and wine taste better than they would on their own. This is a skill and a passion for many of our readers (who have requested to touch the subject). However, the intricacies of matchmaking can intimidate many enthusiasts and even industry professionals. So with today's post, let's go over some essentials together on how to pair food and wine wisely! We've all heard that white wine goes well with fish and red wine with meat, but we shouldn't get too attached to this concept, as wines offer many more alternatives!
The reality is that the explosion of new grape varieties, wineries and wines that we have experienced in recent years have made questions about food and wine pairing enormously variable. In any case, although there are certain rules, it is valid to clarify that the pairing in the end is a matter of taste. At the moment of truth, choosing one wine or another will depend on the type of food that we are going to prepare, the way in which we will prepare it and the personal taste of our diners. Will the meal be light, with a lot of protein, accompanied by a sauce that has a special flavor? These answers will allow you to have a clearer idea of what type of wine can work for you. Again, while the word 'matchmaking' can be intimidating at times, it doesn't have to be as complicated as you think.
Think about the menu as 'global'
This is a question on which most sommeliers agree. You have to think about the elements that make up a menu, understanding that they will all form part of a 'global experience'. One must come to understand the role that each dish will play in the experience. As a general rule, we can say that we will never serve a full-bodied wine preceding a lighter wine. To do otherwise, we would run the risk that the second wine would be tasteless even for the least trained palate. That is why the menus are ordered according to the intensity of the dishes and, similarly, we also order the wines that accompany them. That is why, in general, we accompany the starters and first courses with white or rosé wines, followed by young red wines, more mature reds and finally, we finish off the menu with generous and sweet wines.
Balance the weight!
In food, the weight will be defined by the raw materials used to prepare the dish, the amount of fat it contains, the intensity of the flavors of the different elements, and even the greater or lesser difficulty with which we digest them. It seems complex, but it is something very intuitive. For example, we all understand that a lasagna with bolognese sauce and béchamel is a heavier dish than a mixed salad. In the case of wines, the weight will be determined by the body and intensity of the flavor of the wine. And this, in turn, will be defined by the alcohol content of the wine, the concentration of tannins, the type of grapes used in its production, the maturation time or the region in which the wine has been produced. In general, we can say that the young whites are the lightest, followed by more structured whites and barrel-fermented whites. In that same group we could contemplate some rosés. Finally, the heaviest wines would be, in order, young reds, crianza, reserva and gran reserva.
When looking for the balance between the weight of the dish and that of the wine, we must try to make both have a similar weight. For example, we will serve certain light starters and salads with young white wines; white fish and shellfish with more structured white wines; soft cheeses, vegetables and white meats with barrel-aged white wines; blue fish with sauce can go well with young reds; crianza reds will go well, generally with grilled meats, roasts, cured cheese and red meat stews; and finally, reservas and gran reservas will pair perfectly with game and stews with longer cooking times.
Congruent or Contrasting?
We can link dishes with wines based on two fundamental principles: by association or by contrast. In the first case, we will try to make the dishes and the wine complement each other (congruence). To do this, we must pay attention to the sensations that wines and food produce in us. We can associate by color, by temperature, by texture, by flavors. According to this, we can marry white fish with white wines, desserts with sweet wines and such.
In the second case, that of contrast, we will do exactly the opposite, seek the balance between dishes and wine through the opposite sensations that they offer us. For example, pairing a very spicy food with a red wine with a high alcohol content would be a mistake, since both the dish and the wine produce a sensation of heat that can become uncomfortable. Instead of that red, it might be more appropriate to accompany it with a dry white, which provides a greater sensation of freshness. Another example could be serving very strong and salty cheeses with a sweet wine, to soften the powerful flavor of the cheese.
Trust yourself!
As we mentioned before, wine pairing is mainly a matter of taste. In the end, everything will depend on our own experience and experimentation combining flavors, colors, textures, and aromas. A golden rule: choose a wine that you like to drink neat. If the wine has enough personality to give you pleasure on its own, then all you have to do is discover how it can combine with your favorite dishes.
If you’re just getting started, you’ll find the following tips to produce consistently great pairings. As you get more familiar with the subject you’ll become as confident as for experiment breaking the rules!
The wine should be more acidic than the food.
The wine should be sweeter than the food.
The wine should have the same flavor intensity as the food.
Red wines pair best with bold flavored meats
White wines pair best with light-intensity meats such as fish or chicken.
Bitter wines are best balanced with fat.
It is better to match the wine with the sauce than with the meat.
Often, white, sparkling and rosé wines create contrasting pairings.
Often, red wines will create congruent pairings.
Always aim for balance!
And that's a wrap for today! Enjoy the rest of the week and let's meet again here next Wednesday! Until then... Santé!
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