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Wine and Food Pairing

As a sommelier, I have to say that the one question I am asked more than anything else is, “What wine goes with…?” It’s an interesting question and one that I just love being asked. To me, what wine to serve is the missing piece of the puzzle for dinner and finding the right wine means joining all the ingredients together and creating a complete and memorable meal. Too often we look at wine as simply a drink and not an ingredient to the meal. The first rule that MUST be obeyed is NEVER cook with a wine that you would not drink. This means never using “cooking wine” to cook with as these wines are inferior and contain high levels of sodium.

To put it plainly, even the cheapest of wines at the LCBO taste better and save you money in the long run as you have only one wine to buy…one to cook with and the same one to drink.

That all having been said, it still does not give a clear answer to what wine to serve with what meal. The first rule of pairing food and wine is white wine with white meat and red wine with red meat. While this is a good start, it is just that…a start. If you look at wine as an ingredient it will make cooking and pairing much easier. In one of my previous blogs (Grape Varieties 101) I outlined the flavour profiles for the 6 most popular white and red grape varieties. These descriptions should help you to choose what wine to pair with what food. This is just the beginning though. We have to remember to consider all aspects of the meal, the primary flavours, aromas, and the texture as well, not just the meat. The main reason why red wines are suggested to be paired with red meat has to do with texture. The thick tannins in a rich red wine help to cut through the protien and fat of red meat thus complementing the
richness of something like a medium rare prime rib roast while the fat and protein will ease the strength of the tannins making a big bold red smoother and not so stringent.

We finally come back to my favourite saying, “Go out of your comfort zone.”

Wine and food pairing is an ideal time to experiment with wine. While I would generally recommend serving a white wine with chicken, there are times when a red wine works much better. A perfect example of serving red wine with chicken is when making Coq au Vin stew. This is a very hearty and rustic dish with many earthy flavours that lends itself beautifully to red wine. To pair a wine with this dish I always keep in mind the fact that the main flavours are earthy
and include mushrooms, bacon and thyme. I have found that French Cotes du Rhone reds pair perfectly with this and I always include the wine in the broth of my stew. By using the same wine to cook with and to drink with makes pairing a lot easier. Another example of an unusual pairing would be seafood with Pinot Noir.

The first time I ever had this pairing was at Beckta`s a number of years ago when I had just begun studying wine. They had a lobster risotto appetiser and I was feverishly trying to decide if I wanted to go with a Chardonnay or my favourite Riesling when the waiter suggested the Pinot Noir. I was very surprised and questioned him on his reasoning for this pairing and he informed me that the dish included mushroom and truffle oil and the earthyness of this dish would pair best with the pinot. I decided I would follow his suggestion and much to my delight discovered that discovered that it was a perfect pairing. It was the first time I had ever gone out of my fomfort zone with wine and it was fantastic!

So here are a few suggestions that fall into the standard and out of your comfort zones:

• Pepperoni Pizza – Chianti or any red Italian wine
• Hawaiian Pizza – Riesling – the pineapple and ham pair better with riesling and the sweetness
  of the wine balances a slightly spicy sauce
• Pasta with meat sauce – any red – don’t just stick with Italian reds here, this is a perfect
  opportunity to try something new!
• Chicken in a butter sauce – an oaked chardonnay
• Nuts - port, port’s earthiness pairs nicely with nuts and dried fruit – great not only
  with your dessert, but try macerating (marinating) dried fruit in port and pairing, yum!
• Light fish (sole, tilapia etc) – Sauvignon Blanc
• Thai – off dry Riesling – the residual sugar and acidity of riesling cuts through spice wonderfully
• Steak – Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Bourdeaux, Merlot…pick something with strong tannins

I would love to hear about your successess and failures with wine and food pairing. You can contact me by email at: sommeliers@rogers.com or tweet me @nancyztaste. Until then, drink well and drink responsibly!

Wine Notes:
F. Martini, $8.90, LCBO #00390187
Trentacinquesimo Parallelo 2008
Italy – Sicilia
Nero D’Avola/Shiraz
Appearance – cherry red
Aromas – red/sweet cherries, red berries/fruit and some spice
Palate – cherries and spice
Body – medium bodied
Finish - medium finish (approx 30 seconds on the palate) with lots of spice

This is a wonderful, economical wine that went well with the pizza we had for dinner. Pair it
with spaghetti, pizza, or any red meat dish.

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A New Year

Christmas has come and gone and now we are entering a whole new year. I probably don’t
need to remind you all, but it never hurts being repeated, if you are hosting a party,
make sure you have driving arrangements made for your guests…Don’t Drink and Drive!

This is the time when we are all making resolutions; be it to quit smoking, go on a
diet or improve our health, we look to the new year as a new start and a new opportunity
to try new things and this year is no different! So, here are my resolutions for this
new year and years to come.

1. Drink more wine. I know this sounds a little silly coming from a sommelier, but I
really don’t drink that much wine. So this resolution includes attending more wine
tastings in the Ottawa area and doing more tastings here at home.

2. Get out of my comfort zone. If there is one thing that I will constantly harp on
is getting people to move out of their comfort zones with wine and alcohol in general.
This entails buying more wine from regions other than Australia, Argentina and Chile as
well as buying different varietals that I’m normally not particularly fond of.

3. Write tasting notes! I know this sounds silly too, but I tend to get a little lax
in this department, especially when it’s a wine I’ve had before. If I’m asking you
to take notes, then I should take notes. ‘Nuff said.

4. Include a wine review with each of my articles. While I do recommend a great deal
of wine, ones I have tried and ones I would like to try, by including my tasting notes
each week it will help me and you to take better tasting notes.

5. Try more white wines. It used to be all I drank was white wine and no red and things
have definitely changed. In this vein I will also endeavor to include more chardonnay
in my wine cellar. I have, in the past, been a member of the ABC club, “Anything But
Chardonnay”. That having been said, this really comes down to moving out of my
comfort zone, but, because it is such a big part of it, I am giving it a place of
it’s own.

So, to finish this article, the last of 2009 and the first of 2010, let me tell you
the 5 wines I plan to buy from Vintages at the LCBO in their next release on
Saturday, January 9th, 2010.

1. Cabeco da Pedra 2007 This red from Portugal is a blend of Castelao and Tinto Roriz
(Tempranillo) is an inexpensive $11.95 and is recommended to go with pizza and spicy
foods.

2. D’Arenberg The Stump Jump Lightly Wooded Chardonnay 2008 Australia Again this is
another inexpensive wine and at just $14.95 I don’t mind taking this one for a spin.

3. La Fee Violine Malbec Cahors 2005 The Malbec grape originated in the Cahors region
of France and this should be an excellent example of how well the French treat this grape.
At just $12.95, here’s another reason not to pass on Vintages wines.

4. L.A. Cetto Petite Sirah 2007 Anytime that Vintages gets this wine in I always grab a
bottle or two! This $11.95 Mexican wine not only goes well with Mexican cuisine, but
also goes well with a nice rare steak.

5. Stoney Ridgte Dim Vineyard Riesling 2008 Canada This medium dry Riesling is only
$14.00 and while I tend to prefer a slightly sweeter Riesling, I suspect that this one
should be crisp and delicious.

Well, there you have it…good bye to 2009 and hello to 2010. May all your resolutions
be easy and all your wines perfect!

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