Food and Wine Pairing! Stephanie Durocher Bobey!
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! Of the many things that inspire passion, wine is one of the greatest amongst them. Multiple people have very successful careers based on their passion for wine. They can work as sommeliers, wine representatives, wine makers, tasting associates, sales managers and the list goes on. It is a very well known and discussed field because who doesn’t like to sit back and enjoy a delicious meal paired with the perfect glass of wine. The food and wine pairing process is very detailed and can take a vast amount of studying before one can call oneself an expert or connoisseur. There are some essential guidelines to follow that can enhance your taste buds when deciding the best choice of wine to combine with your favourite meals or appetizers. From the classic cheese and vegetable platters, all the way to chicken and steak dinners, there is a wine that is perfect for every occasion. Enhancing your dining experience with the right pairing begins with learning the basics about winemaking, shopping for the perfect bottle, and familiarizing yourself with wine tasting.!
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! Let’s start with the winemaking basics!! ! As stated in the Oxford Dictionary, wine is defined as “an alcoholic drink made from fermented grape juice”. What is fermentation? It is the conversion process of sugar, which transforms into alcohol with a by-product of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas from the interaction of yeasts. The fermentation formula is: !
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C6H12O6 ====> 2(CH3CH2OH) + 2(CO2) + Energy! Sugar ====> Alcohol + Carbon dioxide gas + Energy! (Glucose) (Ethyl alcohol)!
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! There are different step-by-step procedures for all types of wine, including red, white and rosé. For each individual fermentation cycle, the winemaking process begins with the grape harvesting and finishes with the last step of filling and corking the bottles. A great suggested read for further comprehension on winemaking, wines, and wine appreciation, is “Modern Winemaking” written by Philip Jackisch. Jackisch is an expert, uniquely qualified by many years of experience in the field. !
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Time for some shopping tips.! The wine label will tell you everything you need to know about the wine. The typical wine label contains information that will indicate:!
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1- Alcohol Content! 2- Appellation or Growing Region! 3- Bottle Volume! 4- Name of Wine! 5- Producer! 6- Quality of Wine! 7- Type of Wine! 8- Grape Variety! 9- Vintage Date! !!
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! The Société des alcools du Québec has the 101 on food and wine pairing.! ! The SAQ website is a very convenient online tool when shopping for wines. Their tips and pairings tab is filled with helpful information, just like these red, white and rosé wine charts.!
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Red Wine!
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White Wine!
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Rosé Wines
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! ! ! Moving onto getting familiar with our senses, essential for wine tasting.! ! Sight, smell and taste are the three senses used to differentiate and appreciate wine. The following diagram represents the areas of the brain that process the senses.! ! ! ! Step 1. Taking the time to pay attention to the sight or “eye” of your wine will tell you more then you may expect, all before even taking a whiff or sip. By taking into consideration the qualities of a wines colour, hue, transparency, density, bubbles, and viscosity, you are able to determine some generic qualities. Each aspect offers hints on the grape variety, the winemaking process, the age of the wine and even its alcohol content.! ! ! ! Step 2. Smelling wine before you drink it helps you experience the wines flavours better. Taste and smell are separate senses, yet they are very much connected. There’s a technique that requires for you to taste the wine twice, first right after it’s poured and then after the wine is swirled in the glass. This is used to get the complete sense of the wine. With the first sniff, you will smell the the delicate and subtle fragrances. The second, after a good swirl that boosts the odours, will detect the heavier scents. Floral, citrus, white fruits, berry fruits, herbal, spicy and earthy are just some of the many examples to describe a wine’s bouquet and aroma. ! ! ! Step 3. The concluding step is tasting your glass of wine. Take a substantial sip but not too much because you will need to roll it around in your mouth. Too little, and the wine won’t come into contact with all your taste buds and possibly get diluted by your saliva. As you sip, take a little breathe in through your mouth. The same way the oxygen is swirled into the wine glass, oxygen brings out more aromas in your mouth.!
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! Tom Stevenson describes wine tasting perfectly, “The tongue discerns only sweetness, sourness, bitterness, and saltiness. Every other “taste” we smell. By drawing air through a mouthful of wine, the volatilized aromas are taken into the back of the throat where they are picked up by the olfactory bulb, which automatically analyses them and transmits the information to the brain as various so-called flavours.” From The New Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia.!
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! We’ve made it to the handy wine and food pairing chart.! ! This chart represents a guide for matching different types of wines with their recommended food pairings. You can find these popular grape varieties marked on the wine labels. There are many other grape varieties available to us but here are a few for starters:!
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Dry White
Sweet White
Rich White
Sparkling
Grape Variety
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Gewürztraminer! Müller-Thurgau! Malvasia! Moscato! Riesling
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Chardonnay! Roussanne! Marsanne! Viognier
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Sparkling Wine! Champagne! Prosecco! Cava
Food Pairing
- Vegetables! - Roasted
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Soft Cheese ! Hard Cheese! Cured Meat! Sweets
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Soft Cheese! Starches! Fish! Rich Fish !
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Vegetables! Soft Cheese! Hard Cheese! Fish! Starches
Sauvignon Blanc! Grüner Veltliner! Pinot Grigio ! Albarino
Vegetables!
- Starches! !
Grape Variety
Food Pairing
Light Red
Medium Red
Bold Red
Dessert
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- Cabernet
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Late Harvest! Ice Wine! Sherry! Port
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Soft Cheese! Starches! Sweets ! Cured Meat
St. Laurent! Pinot Noir! Zweigelt! Gamay
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Vegetables! Starches! Rich Fish! White Meat! Cured Meat
Tempranillo! Sanglovese! Zinfandel! Grenache! Merlot
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Vegetables! Hard Cheese! Starches! Red Meat ! Cured Meat
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Sauvignon! Monastrell! Aglianico! Malbec! Syra/Shiraz
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Soft Cheese! Hard Cheese! Red Meat! Cured Meat
! ! ! To sum it all up!! ! The winemaking process, shopping tools, wine tasting tips along with the food and wine pairing chart that are highlighted in this article are some helpful resources for the passionate wine drinkers. Regardless of how complex wine knowledge may seem, these basic analysis steps are essentials for the understanding and true enjoyment of your next glass of wine. “ When we drink wine, our taste buds are stimulated in a unique way and the alcohol has a calming effect on the brain.” an ideal description by Chef Lino, founder of the Knowfood. Combining those stimulated taste buds with savoury dishes will enhance your “wining and dining” experience. Eating and drinking is a basic survival necessity, so why not appreciate the experience to its fullest. Preferences may differ, therefore discovering and personalizing your favoured wines with your dishes inspires creativity and continuous learning.! Have fun. Enjoy. Cheers!!!
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