Secrets to food and wine matching
It’s the last day of May and as we welcome in the first month of winter, let’s console ourselves with the knowledge that we can now, without guilt, indulge fireside with a good drop and the best comfort food winter can offer.
For those interested in making the most of this experience, we’d like to share our thoughts on the meeting of food and wine.
Before we get carried away, the basics must be addressed. It is important to understand the basic tastes of wines, being sweet, bitter or sour. Much else of what we make out to be tastes is actually scent, such as fruity and floral. Also worth considering when matching wine and food is the weight and texture of the wine, for example a heavy Shiraz as opposed to a light Pinot Noir.
Next are the rules. It used to be a given that whites are to be paired with white meat and reds with red meat, but this isn’t really the case anymore especially with the increasing array of variety available. We say drink what you like and experiment with the pairings you make!
But, if you need a little more guidance than that, consider applying these fundamental guidelines to steer you in your decision-making. Essentially there are two main approaches to food and wine matching, complimenting and contrasting.
Complimenting is all about matching the flavours and weight of the meal with that of the wine. For example, Stuffed Quail with Cranberry Compote matched with a smooth merlot. Contrasting on the other hand, is all about pitching food and wine at opposite ends and balancing their differences. Such as, matching our Quail Breast Fillets in Paprika Cream Sauce with Garlic and Mushrooms with a zesty young Riesling.
Planning a delicious feast of food and wine should be fun, so don’t limit yourself by starting with an elaborate meal and scouring the cellars for the perfect wine. Why not start with the wine and cook to match?
You might also like to read more about pairing food with game by checking out our previous post here.
Happy wining and dining, cheers!
Tags: cookoothama, food and wine tasting, game meat, game meat and wine, gamefarm, how to pair wine with game, nice wine with game meat, Quail for dinner, what to have for dinner, wine tasting, winter warmersCooking with... David Bitton
