Food and Wine: What makes a good match?
Published Friday November 6th, 2009
You're planning that special meal and you want to choose a wine that will complement the food, but where do you start?
Red, white, light, full-bodied, intense, crisp -- all these words describe different types of wines.
It can be a daunting task to find a wine that you like, much less choose the perfect wines to accompany specific types of meals. And just why do some wines taste better with certain foods?
"Each wine grape and, therefore, each wine has its own personality," says Bill Vance, chairman of the 2009 World Wine & Food Expo.
"Some are subtle and subdued, others are iron-fisted powerhouses. In addition, some foods are gently flavoured and others take hours of simmering to concentrate the flavour. A good match occurs when the wine personality supports but doesn't dominate the food's personality."
Bill suggests that, in order to properly pair food and wine, focus on the food first.
"Are you preparing white fish in butter or a braised beef with a concentrated wine reduction sauce? The former implies a lightly-flavoured white wine, so as not to overpower the delicate fish flavour, with lots of acidity to help cut through the oily richness of the butter.
"The latter implies a full-bodied red wine with extracted flavours to match the rich heaviness of the beef and sauce. Reverse these two wines and the red wine will overpower the fish, while the white wine will be completely lost in the complexity and power of the beef dish."
Chris MacAdam, executive chef and sommelier of Tait House in Shediac says that whether he's in the restaurant or at home, he generally follows a few simple principles of wine and food pairing.
"First, I start by looking at the intensity of flavour and texture in a dish. Strong sauces and strongly flavoured dishes demand full-flavoured, full-bodied wines. It is important to match wines of equal strength to the food, delicate to delicate and robust to robust. By following this rule, true harmony can be achieved.
"Second, I decide whether I would like to mirror a given flavour or create a contrast -- Chardonnay with lobster and Hollandaise sauce would be an example of mirroring. Both the lobster and Chardonnay are buttery, rich and creamy.
"There is also an interesting approach to this by going the opposite direction and contrasting the dish flavours. That same lobster dish could be showcased with champagne, which is crisp, sleek and sharply tingling because of the bubbles.
"Of course, following the rule: white wine with white meat and red wine with red meat, with exceptions, can be a great experience in itself."
Many people still follow the time-honoured rule of white wine with chicken and fish and red wine with beef. Bill says that currently it's trendy to say that this is an outdated rule and that in today's relaxed social climate anything goes, but he doesn't like to go that far.
"For me, the wine has to support and even elevate the food flavours. And this old, time-tested general rule is still a good guideline.
"Another guideline is based on matching the food of a particular country with a wine from that country. For instance, Italian food often features tomatoes, but tomatoes are quite acidic and can erase some softer wines. However, the red wines of Italy are also generally quite acidic and are the perfect match for tomato-based dishes.
"It's Mother Nature's way of making it easier to match food and wine."
For those who want to keep things simple and find a few basic wines to pair with their meals, Bill says there are some white and red wines that can be served with a variety of dishes.
"For whites, try the very food friendly and versatile Sauvignon Blanc grape. It goes with cheeses, rich cream or butter sauces, white meat, and most seafood items.
"For reds, I love Pinot Noir for its overall food-friendliness, but Chianti, Valpolicella, and even Beaujolais are also generally good all-round food wines.
"Of course, there are some things like steak that will usually require a more specific choice such as a Cabernet Sauvignon."
If you've discovered a wine you really like, Bill offers a tip for figuring out what kind of food to pair with it. First, you need to determine whether the wine's personality is lighter in style -- think skim milk -- or heavier and fuller-bodied'" think homogenized milk. This will start to get you thinking about the lightness or heavier complexity of the food item. Pair lighter wines with lighter-styled food and fuller-bodied wines with heavier food."
If a customer asks what wine he would recommend with a specific dish, Chris says he thinks of all the steps he took in creating the particular dish.
"The cooking method, region and types of ingredients, flavour, and texture influence my suggestions, thus highlighting on their total sensorial dining experience," he says. "Sometimes if it's a special occasion, this may call for a special reserve listed wine. But it's always nice to have a few choices."
If you are serving a multi-course meal including appetizers and desserts and want to serve wine with each, Chris offers a good rule of thumb.
"When serving more than one wine at a meal, it is important to proceed in order. White wines before red, dry wines before sweet, light wines before heavy, and young wines before older.
"Sweet wines go well with rich patés and certain fresh fruit. Sparkling wines are the perfect aperitif. They also go well at the end of a meal, if they are sweet.
"When serving wine with salad that is dressed with a particular vinaigrette, it is important to serve a highly acidic wine to cancel or reduce the overall acidic effect.
"And, of course, for dessert there is the rule that puts sweet tasting wine with sweet food. When sweet wine is paired with dessert, the wine should always be sweeter than the food."
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