Taste And See!!!

Are you having friends over for wine tonight? How about in thirty minutes? What will you serve with your wine? Do you have something on hand, or will an impromptu get together require a trip to the local grocery store? Are there foods that pair well with both red and white wine? Don't. Stress. (Unless you are having a group of sommeliers over for dinner, then STRESS!!!)

First, pairing food with wine has guidelines, not had and fast rules. And, yes, there are dishes that work with both red and white wine. Further, as the Stay At Home Winos preach, enjoying wine is a subjective experience. If you enjoy wine with a certain dish or a certain cheese, I challenge you to find something or someone to tell you that you cannot drink that wine with that food. Having said that, you may be pleasantly surprised by going out of your comfort zone in pairing wines with food.

There are a few food items that are not recommended with wine. These include: artichokes, asparagus, and egg yolks. Some types of fish (haddock and mackerel) that are high in iodine and won’t work well with red wine. See suggestions for artichokes and asparagus later in this blog. Notice I said “not recommended” not “absolutely prohibited.” :) Never fear, there are still some suggestions!

First, what is the nature of your get together? Is it a few friends mainly coming over for a glass of wine? If so, a couple simple pairings will do, included cheese, crackers and chocolate.

Cheeses range from simple, grocery store cheeses to specialty cheeses that require a visit to a specialty cheese store.

Below are just a few suggestions:

Mild cheddar goes well with Champagne and Chardonnay, while sharp cheddar goes well with Cabernet Sauvignon, Rioja, and Sauvignon Blanc. Cheddar also goes well with Gamay, Pinot Noir, and Syrah/Shiraz.

Aged gouda goes well with Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling, Syrah/Shiraz and Zinfandel.

Brie goes well with Chardonnay, Gamay, Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc and sparkling wine.

Manchego goes well with Malbec and Tempranillo.

Gruyere pairs well with Merlot and Cotija.
(Info from gourmetsleuth.com, winemonger.com, marcellathecheesemonger.com)

This is just the tip of the iceberg for wine and cheese pairings. For more complete listings, visit the following sites:
gourmetsleuth.com
winemonger.com
marcellathecheesemonger.com

Also, What To Drink With What You Eat is highly recommended and discussed below.

If you plan to have guests over for a meal, and you want to go by the guidelines, plan your meal out in advance, including appetizers, sauces, side dishes and desserts. The more detailed of a plan you have, the better pairings you will be able to provide. Here are a few generic recommendations:

Beef (roasted or grilled): Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, red Bordeaux, Shiraz and Zinfandel.

Chicken (roasted): Chardonnay or white Burgandy.

Pork (simple): Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay. If you want a red wine, look to the Loire Valley.

Seafood:
Salmon:  Pinot Noir, Burgandy, or Pinot Gris.
Tuna:   Chardonnay
Sole/Snapper:  Sauvignon Blanc
Caviar:   dry Champagne
Mackeral:  While difficult to pair, What To Drink With What You Eat recommends, Muscadet and New World Sauvignon Blanc.
Haddock:  While difficult to pair, What To Drink With What You Eat recommends, Chardonnay and Riesling.

Vegetables: Chardonnay or Chablis. With tomatoes, pair with a mildly acidic wine such as Sauvignon Blanc.
(Info by foodandwinepairing.org)

Asparagus: It is recommended that you grill the asparagus, serve it with a creamy sauce or dressing and combine it with other wine friendly ingredients, such as cheese or mushrooms.
http://sommelierscribbler.com)
Wine suggestions include: Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris/Grigio, Reisling, Semillon and Chenin Blanc.
What To Drink With What You Eat suggests that asparagus with butter or hollandaise goes well with white Burgandy, Chablis and unoaked Chardonnay.

Artichokes: If grilled, artichokes may pair nicely with merlot or zinfandel. A tomato sauce can be paired with a fruity Italian red or dry rose. A cream based or white sauce may pair well with a  Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay. (http://www.oceanmist.com)
What To Drink With What You Eat suggests Chardonnay if you top the artichokes with hollandaise and Champagne with marinated artichokes.

Finally, with BBQ, easy-wine.net recommends chianti or zinfandel.
(info by easy-wine.net)

There are a few great iPhone apps I have found to help you pair wine with food. They are:
 Winestein
 HelloVino
 Selecting a Wine for Dummies

As indicated above, a great print resource is What To Drink With With You Eat by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. This book is incredibly comprehensive. It is a must if you do any entertaining at all!

Ultimately, if you feel like a red, drink a red. If you feel like a white, drink a white. It is all about your likes and dislikes. There will be no enjoyment in a meal paired with a wine according to some chart, if it isn’t what you want.

As Thomas Jefferson said, "Taste cannot be controlled by law."

Cheers!
Mary Jo

Wine Fact of the Week:  Rioja designates both a political region and a wine region. The political region is known as La Rioja. Rioja, the wine region, has three sub regions, Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa, and Rioja Baja. It extends outside La Rioja political region into Alava in the Northwest region of Spain, and to the Northeast, Navarre.