Pairing With Food

A refresher course with Paul is always a great treat. And this month was no exception.

We brought old and new world varietals for a blind tasting but first Paul had us focus on food pairing.

He put together a plate of food that highlighted our sense of taste -- salty, sweet, bitter and sour. There were grapes (peeled with the skin reserved and unpeeled), lemon wedges, cayenne pepper, salami, sour cream, dried mango.

First we tasted Sauvignon Blanc. Typical characteristics are crisp, clean and citrus.
-we tasted a lemon wedge then sipped the wine - the taste was complimentary.
-had a little bit of the grape skin and sipped - tanins from the grape skin made the wine drier.
-tried a bit of cayenne pepper with the wine - the wine cut the spice.
-then had a potato chip to cleanse the palette.

Next was Pinot Noir. Typically a pinot goes with lighter foods -- poultry, game, fish. Herbaceous character.
-fat in the salami was a good pairing - it was buttery and creamy.
-with the sour cream the fruit in the wine went away - so cream sauce is not a good idea!
-salt from the chip with sour cream - brought some of the fruit back.
-chip, sour cream and salami- the fruit is totally back.
-with lemon - brought out the sugars of the grape and fruit.
-grape skin- totally dried out the wine. sucked all the moisture out of my mouth.
-salami brought us back to neutral.
to summarize: fats + pinot noir = good!!

Cabernet is the most tannic and full-bodied.
-grape skin made it taste like tea that's been steeping for hours.
-sour cream - no sweet, no sour, only bitter. means cream with a tannic red wine will accent the tannins.
-sour cream with cayenne pepper = bitterness went away.
-salami - paired wonderfully.

Some basic pairing ideas: Compare and contrast lite food with lite wine heavy food with lite wine lite food and heavy wine... And remember: white wine has typical apple notes and red wine has cherry -- you can start there but then be specific.
Also a reminder that New World wines tend to be fruit bombs, "in your face" kind of wines while Old World tend to be more earthy, mustier, terrior.

We tasted these wines blind but I'll list them so you know.
Sauvignon Blanc

1. Wild Rock $14.00
2008 Marlborough
Smells like body odor, higher acidity, grapefruit, lemon, minerally, grassy, lemony. Tastes like a sweaty gardener eating pineapple. More intense flavor, more acidity, typical characteristics of grassy.

2. UBY $10.49
Gascone
Nose: perfumy, almonds, creamy, honeysuckle, cumiin. citrus, subtle nose, floral. mimosa flower. tighter, shorter finish. more subtle, acidity, flooded mouth with saliva. crisp, parsley nose

Pinot Noir

1. Castle Rock $16.00
2007 Sonoma County
tire/rubber nose, bologna, dark fruit, jammy, earthy, jalapeno, green pepper taste - fajitas. we voted this one old world.

2. Rose Row $10.00
2007 France
tastes artificial, alcohol nose, raisin, port, fruit, "makes me want to hock a loogie" (we are such refined ladies) fruity kool-aid.

Merlot (only one to taste)

1. Revelry $15.00
2007 Washington State
smells like meaty bits and vitamins, smoke, black cherry. medium body, spicy plum, black cherry, medium finish

Cabernet

1. Chateau St. Michelle $16.00 2006
Washington State fruity, black licorice, earthy, suntan lotion, vanilla nose. oak.

2. Chateau Moulin de Tricot $30.00
2005 France green pepper, jalapeno, vegetal, clove and spice, mushrooms. spicy insane nose, not as enjoyable.