Dare to Pair

Something happened last weekend that I’ve wanted to happen for a very long time: I was a “phone-a-friend” for someone in a wine shop. If this starts to become “a thing” that happens to me, I certainly won’t mind. Why? Because I will take any excuse to talk with someone about wine and food. So, in this particular case, my friend was browsing the aisles at a local shop while planning to host a dinner for a group of friends. He had already set his menu, but he wanted some advice from his “wine friend” aka yours truly about what vino might pair best with the food being served. This is probably the one topic for which I will completely ignore the outside world. Pairing wine with food is both a challenge and an indulgence all at the same time, but if you know some basic guidelines (see activity below!) then you have an opportunity to create a memorable experience. So naturally, upon receiving his phone call, I stopped everything that I was doing and settled in to first drool over this menu: Bone-In Brasstown rib eyes from Atlanta's Spotted Trotter, mushrooms cooked in the rendered fat and residual seasoning of the steaks, and sautéed spinach with lemon and butter. I then proceeded to ask him “how adventurous” he and his guests were feeling in terms of a wine, and when I got the green light to go off the beaten path from the standard varietals, I let my imagination run free to all regions of the wine shop. I gave him a few options that would provide the key characteristics to compliment the menu: bold, fruity, and strong tannins to balance the buttery mouthfeel of the marbled steaks with enough acidity to counterbalance the lemony spinach. The winner? An Uruguayan Tannat, which actually may not have been the most interesting choice for enjoying as a solo glass of wine, but in conjunction with the food interactions would result in leveraging all of the flavors in the meal. He also pocketed a South African Pinotage as a plan B – smoky, earthy, with dark fruit and sometimes tropical acidity – which would have acted in a similar way to compliment the umami-centric feast:

The pre-dinner ingredients ready to mingle (phot cred: Franklin)

So how did I know what to suggest when it came to matching and contrasting flavor profiles? (…and no, I’ve never licked “wet stone”, chowed down on “lemongrass”, nor have I eaten every single fruit or smelled every flower.) In fact, as a child, I was the world’s pickiest eater (just ask my mom). But when it comes to distinguishing smells and flavors in wines, it takes practice (read: eat and drink) and a heightened sensory system. I’ve actually found out from many winemakers that they too were picky little eaters which later can translate to an ability to distinguish flavors and aromas, but at that young age creates a sense of overstimulation leading to an aversion to many foods, flavors, and smells. I have yet to read hardcore science about this, but unofficial survey research among my colleagues seems to indicate that there may be a correlation between picky toddlers and winos…

And if you haven’t had the opportunity to explore your taste buds to this extent but you want to learn some guidelines? Well, I’ve got the perfect at-home wine tasting seminar that you can conduct with a few friends, a few wines, and a few grocery items. It’s called “Five 1-Minute Projects That Will Change the Way You Taste Wine” (available on www.thekitchn.com) and here’s what you need (in addition to five minutes of your time):

- One bottle of light, bright white wine (like a cheap Sauv Blanc or Vino Verde)
- One bottle of heavy, tannic red wine (like a mid-price Cab Sauv or a Washington Merlot)
- Two wine glasses per person
- One lemon wedge per person
- ½ teaspoon of sugar per person
- ½ teaspoon of salt per person
- One slice of salami per person (not too spicy!)

The wine pairing tasting exploration ingredients (photo cred: thekitchn.com)

Pour each person about a half glass of each wine using the two glasses. Then, follow the steps to each “Project” found here (http://www.thekitchn.com/five-1minute-projects-that-will-change-the-way-you-taste-wine-tiny-projects-from-the-kitchn-202208) to explore the following aspects of pairing wine with food profiles:

1. Understand acidity in wine by how much your mouth waters after each sip

2. Taste wine with lemon to experience how acidity in food will soften your experience of acidity in a wine (it does not double the acidity but rather the opposite!)

3. Taste wine with sugar to experience how sweetness in food will heighten acidity in the wine (why dessert is best enjoyed with dessert wine…dry wine can make desserts taste sour)

4. Taste wine with salt to experience how saltiness in food will soften both acidity and tannins in the wine (so in this case, salt is NOT a flavor enhancer but rather a flavor softener)

5. Taste wine with salami to experience how fattiness in food (like in my friend’s giant steaks) will soften your experience with tannins in the wine (why marbled steak is great with bold, tannic vinos…aka Argentina wins)

My in-home tasting workshop also included cheese fondue

One of my favorite roles that I had while managing the winery back in Virginia was planning and hosting multi-course wine dinners with our restaurant vendors. The wine pairing world is certainly a bit overwhelming, but it can also become the most magical part of enjoying a bottle of wine because some crazy flavor combinations can be almost just as memorable as the occasion itself during which it was enjoyed. For instance…bacon with Cabernet Franc? Call it breakfast. Fajitas with a slightly off-dry rose? A fiesta on your palate (especially if those fajitas have any trace of jalapenos). I’m always asking my culinary-inclined friends and respected industry winos to open my eyes to new flavor combinations because it’s often the least expected ones that have the biggest impact – which, of course, is the most fun. Next time you go out for sushi, for example, order up a glass of off-dry Riesling (like the Eroica Riesling, Columbia Valley) and enjoy how every flavor you thought you tasted in the wasabi-drenched deliciousness becomes elevated by the bright acidity and sweetness of the wine.

But…the bottom line? You should always eat and drink whatever makes you happy. Because, my friends, that’s ultimately what it’s all about. Salud!