Food & Wine Harmony

Food & Wine Harmony is an art of matching food dishes with proper wines to enhance the dining experience. This is one of the most difficult jobs for sommeliers to match perfect wine with a particular food. Most of the wine critics believe that the most basic characteristic of pairing food and wine understands the balance between the weight, flavour, and texture of food and wine, rather than following set rules. The concept behind matching is that some elements of food and wine reacts opposite to each other and by balancing the elements will make the dining experience more enjoyable. For example, specific wine goes with particular cuisine or food and white wine with white meat and red wine with red meat.

Introduction

 It is said that, the culture of drinking wine with food is first found in Italy. They rarely dine without wine. Italians used to drink local wines with their cuisine, but the impact of this culture clearly seen on France. French peoples very much influenced by food and wine pairing, as France is been known for their best quality grapes and wines production. They categorized the wine according to their courses of French classical Menu, for example, white wine from Alsace region match with fish preparations and red wine from Bordeaux region pair with red meat. There are few set rules like traditional rule, scientific rule, and sensory experience, to pair wine with food to enhance the dining experience andat the same time to ease the complicacy of pairing food and wine. Traditional rule of pairing food and wine is very simple and had highly followed by most of the sommeliers in past few years. As the name says traditional rule, it is simple and old. For example, white wine served chilled

History

Match a simple wine with a simple dish and complex wines with more complex foods. Make sure that you start with lightest wine, and always serve a white before red, a dry wine before a sweet one, and a young wine before and old one. Consider the texture of both the wine and the dish and make sure that the wine matches the way the dish has been cooked as well as any sauce that is served with it. Pay careful consideration to the aromas and tastes of both the wine and the dish. A perfect harmony is not always found in good products. The most important thing is to be innovative and to try, test, experiment and discuss.

Food and Wine pairing Guidelines

Keep flavors in balance. Match mild foods with mild wines. Match big, flavorful foods with big, flavorful wines. (For example, pair a bold-flavored Pepper Steak with a spicy, bold red Zinfandel.) Similarly you generally want to match the richness of the food and the richness of the wine. (For example, pair a rich Chicken in Cream Sauce with a rich Chardonnay.) .Match Acids with Acids If you're eating a dish with a strong acidic content (such as Shrimp with Lemon or Pasta with Tomato Sauce) pair it with an acidic wine that can keep up with the acids in the food. Wine and Strong Spices Strong spices, such as hot chili peppers in some Chinese or Indian food, can clash and destroy the flavors in a wine. In most cases, wine is not the ideal thing to drink. However, if wine is what you must have, consider something spicy and sweet itself such as an off-dry Gewurtztraminer or Riesling. When In Doubt... Remember that foods generally go best with the wines they grew up with. So if you're eating Italian food, think about having an Italian wine. This isn't a requirement, but often helps simplify the decision.

Gewurztraminer: It literally means spicy grapes in German, is a preferred wine served with Indian cuisine, especially food rich in herbs, masalas or seasonings, ginger and cardamom. As noted above, the mildly sweet note in this German wine helps compliment the spicy food. Riesling: These are often fruity wines, flavored with apples, plums, peaches that have high acidic content, and are mildly sweet along with being tart. Hence, Riesling is the perfect pairing to heavy and rich Indian cuisine. Rose: These wines are pretty dry, compared to the ones described above, and has the complexity and weight of a red wine as well as the acidity of a lighter white wine. Hence it goes great with heavy meat dishes, like lamb or beef. Champagne: Sparkling wines, like Champagne can be paired with several types of Indian dishes, including vegetarian. If you have a rich & creamy curry, or something heavy like paneer and potatoes, Champagne goes well with it, as it offers a nice change-of-taste due to its bubbly acidic texture. Pinot Noir: One of the favorites among Red Wines, Pinot Noir is a safe and appealing choice of wine with Indian food. Mainly available in fruity flavors, this red wine is smoother and silkier in texture compared to other high-tannin wines. It is also a wine that goes well with all types of dishes, whether spicy or tangy, chicken, seafood or veggies or cheese, and is also a great wine to serve to someone whos new to the world of wines.

Pairing Wine with Indian Food

Cooking Methods
Poaching or Steaming

Wine Choices
Light white wine: Chenin Blanc or Pinot Grigio. Light fruity red: Beaujolaise or Grenache rose Chardonnay, Riesling or Pinot Noir

Notes
Use lighter weight wine, with non tannin, non acidic and less intense flavors Best is a wine with some acidity to contrast with the oils Adds flavor; works well with fruity oaky reds; Grilled beef needs tannic wines BBQ Sauce adds sweetness; less tannic reds Marinades usually have strong flavors and require wines with bold flavors Roasting can be complex. Herbs and spices will determine white or red. Rosemary and Thyme = reds If has powerful flavor need intense wine; Drink w/ wine sauce is made with Use the wine used in the stock Use the wine sauce is made of

Frying Grilling

Whites Chardonnay, Full bodied White Rhone. Reds Pinot, Zin, Merlot, Cab. W/ Beef Barolo or Syrah from Rhone Roses; Zinfandel, Merlots or New world Tempranillos New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, Chablis or Fruity Grenaches or Tempranillos Oaky Chardonnays, Rhone blends or Gerwurtztraminers. Mourvedre, Syrah, Grenache, Nebbiolos Chardonnays and Rieslings Cabernets and Syrahs Pinot Noir, Cabernets, Merlots Sangiovese, Cabernets, Pinot Noir

BBQ Marinades

Roasting

Reduction Sauces

Braising and Stews Red Wine Sauce Stews w/ beer or stout

Merlot, Beaujolaise, Red Burgundies

Use low tannin reds so not to overpower the beer flavor

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France-Bordeaux Red bordeaux and lamb Sauternes and foie Gras France-Burgundy Coq au vin and red Burgundy France-beaujolais Poached pork sausages with warm potatoes bathed in olive oil and shallots and beaujolais wine Southern france Lamb and the rhone wines made from syrah, grenache and Mouvedre France-loire Sancerre or pouilly-fume and crottin de Chavignol Tarte tartin and quarts de chaume France-Alsace Pork and game with hearty vegetables, potatoes, cabbages, and onion served with alsace riesling

Classic Regional wine and food matches

Italy-piedmont White truffle dishes with barbaresco and barolo Italy-tuscany Bistecca alla fiorentina and chianti Spain-Rioja Wild mushrooms in garlicky olive oil served with red Rioja Spain-jerez Garlic shrimp with manzanilla Spain-Penedes pan con tomate served with cava

Classic Regional wine and food matches

Portugal Pot and roasted nuts or cheese Germany High-acid riesling and every meat dish imaginable US-california Dungeness crab dipped in butter with chardonnay Zinfandel with grilled anything; Petite Sirah with grilled steak US-newyork Hudson valley foie gras and newyork ice wine Washington Pacafic Northwest oysters with riesling, semillon or sauvignon Blanc

Classic Regional wine and food matches

Oregon Pinot noir and wild Pacafic salmon Canada Ice wines and desserts Australia Grilled pepper steak and Shiraz New Zealand New Zealand fusion cuisine with sauvignon Blanc South africa Barbecued meat with pinotage and Shiraz Argentina Malbec and beef

Classic Regional wine and food matches