The basics of food and wine pairing goes way beyond my previous opinion that wine goes well with anything- including wine gums.
Today we learned some basics like, wine refreshes the palate between bites, that the elements of food and wine can complement each other or detract, but really the best way to learn is to try stuff out- hence why I like a spoon dipped in blue cheese dressing with a stack of walnuts- ok ok that is just my fave little snack.
The theories behind pairing are: weight, mirroring, contrast, complexity and regional.
Weight
So one of the interesting things I learned today is that you want to match the weight of a dish with the weight of the wine. I think this might be why some people would think that reds go best with meat and whites go best with chicken. In fact, it is the tannins in red wine that help break down the protein in meat.
Mirroring
Another way to pair food and wine is based on flavour themes. The example from my course today was lamb in a mint-blackberry sauce paired with an Australian Shiraz.
Contrast
This was very interesting to me because I can see how contrast would lead to really exciting experiments in food and wine. A note to my ladies- get ready for dinner parties that will rock your scene. In using the citrus from a chardonnay, you can mimic the effect of a squeeze of lemon, which I think will give a layer of unexpected interest.
Complex vs. Simple
I think of this theory as the same idea behind getting dressed in a smashing outfit that experiments with patterns- don’t mix stripes and polka dots!! It is the same idea between pairing complex foods with complex wines- it can lead to sensory overload and a flavour clash.
Regional
As British Columbians we love our 100KM diet- eating local and organic. So when you have an amazing BC wine look for local ingredients that you can use to construct your fave recipes.
So have I fooled you into thinking I actually cook??
HA! HA! HA! Pairing wine gums and wine is way more my scene but I will work on my transition from dom to domestic!
Cheers!
Mmmm.
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