Food and Wine Pairing Articles

Food and wine pairings are a hot topic these days, and also seem to generate the most interest of any of my posts. I recently read a couple of articles on the subject that I thought I’d share.Here is the first article on the subject, I found it to be very interesting.

Here are some excerpts and comments:

Esnault says the pairing he’s most pleased with involves the sautéed sweetbread appetizer. The delicate sweetbreads are sautéed in a Meuniere sauce and topped with a golden, molten poached egg with toasted brioche and wild mushrooms. They’re paired with a 2005 Rosemary’s Vineyard Chardonnay from Talley Vineyards in California, a wine whose “buttery nature really lifts the unctuous yellow of the egg.”

Now that we’ve become a nation of know-it-all foodies, food and wine pairings like these have become the next culinary obsession.

Somehow that leftover chicken breast and risotto I am having later just doesn’t sound quite as good now.

Paul Grieco, the maverick wine director at Hearth and Insieme restaurants in New York City, says there is a science to pairing, but it’s not very complicated. There are four basic components of taste: sweet, sour, salt and bitter. The trick is to find one component in the dish and then either find a wine that contrasts or emulates it.

“Most everything we learned about pairing food and wine started with mom’s traditional glass of milk and cookies,” he says.

Great advice! And, is there a more perfect than mom’s?

Here is another article where 10 chefs discuss perfect pairings.

View Comments to “Food and Wine Pairing Articles”

1. Papa Lou Says:
   March 13th, 2008 at 3:40 pm

   Just returned from a recent trip to Florida, where I spent several evenings dining out and making a dent in our generous host’s ample wine cellar.

   Some highly recommended pairings:

   White:
   2006 Gunderloch Kabinnett Riesling (Germany): Sweet hints of apricot and pineapple, nice clean, acidic finish. Went well with a shrimp entree. About $20 per bottle.

   Red:

   2004 Cosentino Zinfandel (Lodi, California): Big and bold enough to stand up to a hearty red meat dish, but subtle enough to not overpower fish or vegetables. Hints of blackberry drive this delicious vintage. $27.

   2006 3 Rings Shiraz (Australia): A slightly floral nose, but mild tannins help to bring a pleasant, woody finish. Excellent with shellfish and salmon. $20 per.

   2005 David Bruce Russian River Valley Pinot Noir (California): Notes of cherry, earth, spice and oak. Perfectly balanced and playful. Loved it with ahi tuna. Loved a second bottle even more all by itself the next day. $41.

2. Papa Lou Says:
   March 13th, 2008 at 4:40 pm

   Just returned from a recent trip to Florida, where I spent several evenings dining out and making a dent in our generous host’s ample wine cellar.

   Some highly recommended pairings:

   White:
   2006 Gunderloch Kabinnett Riesling (Germany): Sweet hints of apricot and pineapple, nice clean, acidic finish. Went well with a shrimp entree. About $20 per bottle.

   Red:

   2004 Cosentino Zinfandel (Lodi, California): Big and bold enough to stand up to a hearty red meat dish, but subtle enough to not overpower fish or vegetables. Hints of blackberry drive this delicious vintage. $27.

   2006 3 Rings Shiraz (Australia): A slightly floral nose, but mild tannins help to bring a pleasant, woody finish. Excellent with shellfish and salmon. $20 per.

   2005 David Bruce Russian River Valley Pinot Noir (California): Notes of cherry, earth, spice and oak. Perfectly balanced and playful. Loved it with ahi tuna. Loved a second bottle even more all by itself the next day. $41.

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