Food and Wine Synergy

Experimentation can yield excellent pairings

Food and wine pairings are all the rage. After all, we’re always looking for a synergism in which both the wine and food taste better together than either one possibly could by itself.

Some of the old favorites are oysters and Vouvray from the Loire Valley in France; goat cheese and Sauvignon Blanc, including Pouilly-Fume and Sancerre from the Loire Valley; rack of lamb with Bordeaux; fowl with Pinot Noir, including Burgundy; and paté or caviar with champagne.

The saying that “white wine goes with fish and red wine goes with meat” is generally correct, in my opinion. However, there are lots of exceptions. For example, grilled salmon goes well with Pinot Noir, particularly from California or Oregon. A local trout cooked in red wine with a great red Burgundy was a smashing success at the Hotel de la Poste in Beaune, France. And if one wants to have a Bordeaux with fish, halibut and swordfish can work well.

Some people serve Chardonnay as a house wine to complement paté, caviar or smoked salmon. Unfortunately, Chardonnay really doesn’t complement these hors d’oeuvres as does champagne. If one wishes to serve a white wine instead of, or along with, champagne, Sauvignon Blanc is a much superior selection.

A few years ago, I matched some wines and foods for a school auction item. My only fee for such “difficult” work was that I be there to enjoy the fruits of my labor. The combination that created the most excitement was a chicken and sausage paella with a Bodegas Arzuaga, one of the excellent Tempranillo-based reds from the Ribero del Duero in Spain.

Another fabulous match, which I have utilized in numerous gourmet dinners for charitable fund-raisers, is the generally forgotten consumé along with Madeira. From driest to sweetest, Madeira is labeled (with several exceptions) Sercial, Verdelho, Bual or Malmsey. Even though Sercial works well, the perfect match is Verdelho, particularly with pheasant consumé. And for a dessert wine, try a Bual or Malmsey with crème brulee, bread pudding, etc.

Every once in a while, I discover a new combination. One year, after the Sonoma winegrowers’ big tasting event here, most of the vintners ended up at our house. I pulled out a couple of great vintage Ports. The only thing I could find to go with the Port was Vanilla Wafers and peanut butter. OK, laugh, but it was just wonderful!

Experiment. Try Bargetto’s Ollolieberry wine with cheesecake. Pour some Pedro Ximinez Sherry on vanilla ice cream. Have fun!