PAIRING FOOD & WINE
For many years, food and wine pairing philosophies were considered "rules" to be followed. Today, thankfully, a more enlightened approach offers guidelines that make it easier - and more interesting - to create great matches out of the food and wine you like.
The key to success is to achieve balance.
First, you should balance the weight and intensity of the food and wine.
Second, assess the primary taste sensations in food - sweet, salty, sour, bitter and savory - and adjust these slightly, if necessary, to complement the components in your wine - alcohol, acid, sugar and tannin. When used separately or together, these principles greatly expand the possibilities for successful food and wine pairing.
Balancing Weight
Choosing a wine and food with similar weight - or body - will help to ensure that one doesn't overwhelm the other. A light-bodied wine will be overwhelmed by a heavy dish, and likewise, a delicate food may be overwhelmed by a full-bodied wine.
Balancing Flavor Intensity
Again, a similarity is best here. A richly flavored wine will shine with a richly flavored dish, and a delicately flavored wine will be showcased by a delicately flavored dish.Balancing Food & Wine Components
Sometimes we find ourselves at someone else's dinner table or in a restaurant where the choice of food or wine is less than perfect. Here are some principles to help bring your food and wine into better balance.
There are five primary taste sensations present in every food: salty, sweet, sour, bitter and savory.
• Each affects how a wine - red or white - is perceived on the palate.
• You should consider the strongest flavor of each dish its primary component (e.g. chicken with a fruity sauce would be considered sweet, while roasted chicken might be salty or savory.)
Wine has four primary components: alcohol, acid, sugar and tannin.
• Alcohol adds aromas and a slightly sweet taste to the wine, as well as body, making the wine feel richer.
• Acid in wine provides tartness and structure, and complements and dissolves the salt, oil and fat in food.
• While sugar is present in grapes before fermentation, most wines are fermented to "dry," removing all perceptible sugar from the wine.
• Tannin is the puckery, astringent sensation found in red wines. Tannins act as palate cleansers when paired with foods high in protein or oil.
When food and wine are consumed together, these principles interact.
• Foods that have a prominent salty, sour or bitter taste will make a wine seem sweeter and less tannic.
• Foods with prominent sweet or savory tastes will make a wine seem more tannic, less sweet and more acidic.
If your food and wine seem off balance, slight adjustments to the food - through the addition of salt, acid or sweetness - can help bring your meal into balance.
Predominant food taste: May make wine seem: Add: Sweet or Savory More tannic, less sweet, more acidic and drier A touch or salt or lemon (acid) Salty, Sour or Bitter Sweeter, less tannic, more fruity A touch of sweetener (sugar or honey) This information is thanks to: Atlas Peak Winery