Pairing wine and food is always a challenge, especially considering the wide range of foods that most folks enjoy these days, in terms of both ingredients and preparation styles. For example, what kind of wine is best with Korean barbecue, an Indian curry or sushi?
First of all, let's start with something a little more traditional. Everyone is aware that cheese and wine are are perfect for each other, they go together like peas and carrots, isn't that so? Well actually, that depends on which variety of cheese and what sort of wine you are serving.
Hard cheeses such as aged Gouda or Mimolette are wonderful with an aged Bordeaux or a superior Syrah. As for blue cheeses, Roquefort and Sauternes is a classic pairing, Stilton and tawny port compliment one another, and for blue cheese in general, Malmsey Madeira is usually a good wine to choose. If you're looking for a match for natural rind goat's cheese, Sancerre or Soave are both appropriate pairings. For white, immature Brie or Camembert, the best choices are either a high quality Chardonnay or white Rhone, and for mature versions of these popular cheeses, red wine is more appropriate , a young Syrah, Grenache, or St-Emilion. If you're serving a rindless fresh cheese, like cream cheese or mozzarella, then a simple Bordeaux blanc, white Rhone, or young Beaujolais are all excellent choices.
Cheese is complicated, but Christmas dinner--turkey, gravy and all the trimmings--is simple. IMHO, there are 2 wines which are perfect pairings for a traditional Christmas dinner: high-quality Burgundy or vintage Veuve Clicquot rose Champagne. Neither of them is cheap of course, but after all, Christmas is not a time to pinch pennies . That 2nd, quite specific recommendation is one I got from Ed McCarthy's excellent book, 'Champagne For Dummies.' I followed his advice and was amazed at just how nicely the pairing worked. And fortunately, as vintage rose Champagnes go, Veuve Clicquot is moderately priced.
All right then, let's focus for a moment on which wines go with less conventional foods. As I noted in the introduction, a variety of ethnic cuisines are very common nowadays. If you're having sushi, or something else Japanese, I suggest following the general rule of serving a wine from the same locale as the cuisine. Koshu, a white wine made from the Japanese grape of the same name (it is related to the Sauvignon Blanc grape), is the perfect compliment to sushi.
A wine that pairs really well with Korean barbecue is a potent Californian Petite Syrah. Korean barbecue is a favorite treat with my family, and we generally drink a bottle of Eos Estate Reserve Petite Syrah with it.
For Thai dishes, if the dominant flavors you're trying to match are lemon grass and ginger, then what you want is a pungent new world Sauvignon Blanc (preferably from New Zealand), or Riesling--either Australian or a German Spatlese. For dishes that contain coconut milk, Australian Chardonnay or Verdelho, Alsace Pinot Blanc or Gewurztraminer, or even non-vintage Champagne or Cava, Spain's sparkling wine, are all great options.
In the case of Indian curry, try a medium-sweet white served quite cold, for instance, South African Chenin Blanc, Alsace Pinot Blanc, Cava or non-vintage Champagne. It is also feasible to go the other route and emphasize the curry's spiciness with a very tannic red like Barolo or Barbaresco, or a full-bodied Chateauneuf-du-Pape or Amarone. But in general, white wines are a better pairing with hot and pungent dishes, and you particularly should avoid tannic reds.
Finally, I'd like to go over one more popular food, or rather cooking style: barbecue. As is generally the case with wine-food pairings, it's hard to offer a simple, definitive reply to the question, What bottle of wine is best to have at a barbecue? That is of course primarily dependent on what's on the grill; the reply is not identical for tri-tip, shrimp and hamburgers. One more thing to consider though is whether you're having a black tie or t-shirt barbecue. If you want to be fancy, you can serve a classic Bordeaux blend with your steak, Pinot Noir with your Alaskan king salmon, or Alsace Riesling with your king crab and shellfish. If it's a more dressed down affair, then Zinfandel or Beaujolais are better selections. One good thing regarding Beaujolais is that, even though it's a red wine, it's served chilled, which means that it's a refreshing tipple for a summertime barbecue.
First of all, let's start with something a little more traditional. Everyone is aware that cheese and wine are are perfect for each other, they go together like peas and carrots, isn't that so? Well actually, that depends on which variety of cheese and what sort of wine you are serving.
Hard cheeses such as aged Gouda or Mimolette are wonderful with an aged Bordeaux or a superior Syrah. As for blue cheeses, Roquefort and Sauternes is a classic pairing, Stilton and tawny port compliment one another, and for blue cheese in general, Malmsey Madeira is usually a good wine to choose. If you're looking for a match for natural rind goat's cheese, Sancerre or Soave are both appropriate pairings. For white, immature Brie or Camembert, the best choices are either a high quality Chardonnay or white Rhone, and for mature versions of these popular cheeses, red wine is more appropriate , a young Syrah, Grenache, or St-Emilion. If you're serving a rindless fresh cheese, like cream cheese or mozzarella, then a simple Bordeaux blanc, white Rhone, or young Beaujolais are all excellent choices.
Cheese is complicated, but Christmas dinner--turkey, gravy and all the trimmings--is simple. IMHO, there are 2 wines which are perfect pairings for a traditional Christmas dinner: high-quality Burgundy or vintage Veuve Clicquot rose Champagne. Neither of them is cheap of course, but after all, Christmas is not a time to pinch pennies . That 2nd, quite specific recommendation is one I got from Ed McCarthy's excellent book, 'Champagne For Dummies.' I followed his advice and was amazed at just how nicely the pairing worked. And fortunately, as vintage rose Champagnes go, Veuve Clicquot is moderately priced.
All right then, let's focus for a moment on which wines go with less conventional foods. As I noted in the introduction, a variety of ethnic cuisines are very common nowadays. If you're having sushi, or something else Japanese, I suggest following the general rule of serving a wine from the same locale as the cuisine. Koshu, a white wine made from the Japanese grape of the same name (it is related to the Sauvignon Blanc grape), is the perfect compliment to sushi.
A wine that pairs really well with Korean barbecue is a potent Californian Petite Syrah. Korean barbecue is a favorite treat with my family, and we generally drink a bottle of Eos Estate Reserve Petite Syrah with it.
For Thai dishes, if the dominant flavors you're trying to match are lemon grass and ginger, then what you want is a pungent new world Sauvignon Blanc (preferably from New Zealand), or Riesling--either Australian or a German Spatlese. For dishes that contain coconut milk, Australian Chardonnay or Verdelho, Alsace Pinot Blanc or Gewurztraminer, or even non-vintage Champagne or Cava, Spain's sparkling wine, are all great options.
In the case of Indian curry, try a medium-sweet white served quite cold, for instance, South African Chenin Blanc, Alsace Pinot Blanc, Cava or non-vintage Champagne. It is also feasible to go the other route and emphasize the curry's spiciness with a very tannic red like Barolo or Barbaresco, or a full-bodied Chateauneuf-du-Pape or Amarone. But in general, white wines are a better pairing with hot and pungent dishes, and you particularly should avoid tannic reds.
Finally, I'd like to go over one more popular food, or rather cooking style: barbecue. As is generally the case with wine-food pairings, it's hard to offer a simple, definitive reply to the question, What bottle of wine is best to have at a barbecue? That is of course primarily dependent on what's on the grill; the reply is not identical for tri-tip, shrimp and hamburgers. One more thing to consider though is whether you're having a black tie or t-shirt barbecue. If you want to be fancy, you can serve a classic Bordeaux blend with your steak, Pinot Noir with your Alaskan king salmon, or Alsace Riesling with your king crab and shellfish. If it's a more dressed down affair, then Zinfandel or Beaujolais are better selections. One good thing regarding Beaujolais is that, even though it's a red wine, it's served chilled, which means that it's a refreshing tipple for a summertime barbecue.
About the Author:
If you would like to get more useful wine tasting advice, particularly regarding wine tasting in Santa Barbara County, then check out Eric Hilton's site, http://santabarbarawinetasting.net.
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