Gone now are the old, but simple, rules of red wine with red meat and white wine with fish and poultry. Today’s complexity of multi-ethnic and subtly flavored foods, in addition to a wide variety of wines from around the world that is easily available, are giving way to wine food paring tips and suggestions. These have become the hard and fast rules. It now allows for considerable room to experiment and express your personality with pairing food and wine. What are the new rules for wine food pairing? Here are a few guidelines to keep in mind.
The wine shouldn’t overpower the food, nor should the food overpower the wine. If wine were a condiment, then it should compliment the food. Wine by itself tastes different than wine with food, that’s because wine acts on food in similar ways like spices. It also can enhance the flavor of food, because the acids, tannins, and sugars in wine interact in food to give you different taste sensations. Most of all, don’t stress out over what is the perfect food and wine pairing. The best pairing of all is good food, good wine and good company.
With that said with about wine and food pairing overall, let’s break it down into specifics regarding red wine food pairings. For the most part, you want to drink light then to dark or heavy. You should plan a meal starting with delicate tastes and then work towards the heavier ones. It is this reason you don’t serve a red wine with appetizers or an opening course in a meal. However, red wines do go very nicely with heavier foods – beef, red pasta, and so on. We’ll start with the lighter red wines and the suggested food pairings and progress on to the medium and heavier reds to close it out.
1.) Beaujolais – We’ll begin with this well known lighter red wine that can also include Dolcetto and some Pinot Noir. Historically speaking, the French wine region of Burgundy was not allowed to use a grape known as “Gamay” back in 1395. However, its southern neighbor, Beaujolais, started using it and the rest is history as they say. Strong cheeses, appetizers, pasta with red sauce, poultry, pork, and some fish such as tuna, salmon, and a few other full-flavored fishes are splendid companions to light red wines like Pinot Noir. These are the perfect food pairings to start off with.
2.) Pinot Noir – Next we go on to the medium reds that also categorize Chianti, Barbera, Chinon, Rioja, Cabernet franc, and Malbec. This goes well with strong cheeses, red pasta, pork, and beef. This light-to-medium red wine was first planted by the Gauls before the Roman invasion. The pinot noir grape is the main grape used in much of the Burgundy wine region. Some wine experts feel that pinot noir makes the finest wine in the world. Pinot Noir was well noted in the film “Sideways”.
3.) Merlot – This red grape can trace its ancestry to the biturica variety, which was brought over to France in the first century. It is known as a Noble Bordeaux varietal that has been discovered as a delicious wine in its own right. Another one of the medium reds this wine pairs beautifully with strong cheeses, pasta-red sauce, beef, and chocolate.
4.) Zinfadel – The last featured medium red wine is considered an “American Classic” wine, which was thought to have originated in native Californian grapes. Based on research the zinfandel grape came from Croatia, then becoming famous in the early days of the Roman Empire. The grape is now grown in California for its cool coastal locations. However, the food pairings with zinfadels are strong cheeses, pasta with red sauces, and beef.
5.) Cabernet Sauvignon – Now progressing on to the heavier reds Cabernet is known as one of the world’s finest red wines, with its depth of complexity and richness of flavor. It also includes other heavy red wines such as Brunello di Montalcino, Barbaresco, and Barolo. Based on genetic testing Cabernet Sauvignon came into life in the 1600’s when nearby plants of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc happened to fertilize one another. Strong cheeses, red sauce pasta, and beef, including lamb and game, are great food parings with this popular red wine.
6.) Syrah – It has a long documented history in the Rhône region of Southeastern France, though its origins were not known until 1998. It is called Syrah, because of its country of origin, France. The grape is also known under many other synonyms including Schiras, Sirac, Syra, Syrac, Serine, and Sereine. Barbequed foods such as chicken, lamb, and steak are awesome combinations with Syrah. Spicy foods also pair well with a spicy Syrah too. Strong cheeses and chocolates go well too, since it is a heavier red that goes well with heavier foods.
7.) Ruby Port – Last, but certainly never least, is the heaviest red wine of all. Port originates in the Douro Valley in Portugal. Port first became popular when the English were at war with France, and couldn’t drink French wines. Its food pairings are strong cheeses and chocolates.
To round it all out my favorite red wine and food pairing has to be without a doubt, Merlot and Filet Mignon. Yes, I am aware of how Merlot was made infamous in the movie Sideways, which is a great film about wine and the California wine industry. In this film, the main character loves Pinot Noir with a passion and equally detests Merlot. In one famous scene the character stated he would leave a restaurant if someone ordered Merlot. Needless to say, Merlot wine sales dropped after the movie came out in late 2004, but have thankfully regained their usual sales levels. Red wine and food pairings does not need to be complicated or complex. It’s almost as easy as the old rule, but with a few more exceptions. Bon Appetit
SOURCES:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_and_food_matching
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine
- http://www.wineintro.com/food/charts/redwine.html
- http://www.inetours.com/PagesWT/Food_and_wine.html
- http://www.winemonthclub.com/foodpairings.htm
- http://www.sanluisobispo.com/explore/pasowine/story/11421.html
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sideways
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrah
