Wine & Food Pairing Tip: Aged & Red Wine

I am a firm believer that everybody should eat and drink what tastes good to them.  That simple.  Every person has a different palate.  Every person finds different tastes pleasurable.  Find what makes your tastebuds sing and go with it! That being said, there are many wine and food pairing tips that work beautifully for the majority of the population.

 

When the wine is aged and red:

* Serve rare preparations of meats to fill in the flavor gaps left by the drying out of the youthful fruit that occurs as the wine develops in the bottle.

* Remember that because tannins soften over time, an aged red gives you a broader range of food options than a tannic young wine.

* Remember that wines become more delicate as they age; choose simpler preparations to show them off rather than make them compete with complex recipes.

Wine & Food Pairing Tip: Oaky Wine

I am a firm believer that everybody should eat and drink what tastes good to them.  That simple.  Every person has a different palate.  Every person finds different tastes pleasurable.  Find what makes your tastebuds sing and go with it! That being said, there are many wine and food pairing tips that work beautifully for the majority of the population.

When the wine is oaky:

* Accompany them with bold recipes, because really oaky wines will always seem “bigger” with food.

* Play up the oak through the choice of ingredients (include nuts or sweet spices) or cooking methods (lightly grilling or smoking).

* Remember that oak aging adds rich texture that can be nice with rich and textured sauces and dishes.

Wine & Food Pairing Tip: Tannic Wines

I am a firm believer that everybody should eat and drink what tastes good to them.  That simple.  Every person has a different palate.  Every person finds different tastes pleasurable.  Find what makes your tastebuds sing and go with it! That being said, there are many wine and food pairing tips that work beautifully for the majority of the population.

When the wine is tannic:

* Counterbalance the tannins by serving foods that are high in protein, fat or both.

* Remember that an entrée relatively low in protein or fat may make the wine appear more tannic.

* Remember that tannin and spicy heat can clash!

* Use pepper (cracked black or white) to counterbalance the tannins, as it is somewhat bitter by nature.

* Serve foods that are bitter (eggplant, zucchini, chard, endive, broccoli rabe, etc.) or prepare ingredients in a way that accentuates bitterness (blackening, cooking over a wood fire, or grilling) to achieve taste symmetry.

Wine & Food Pairing Tip: High Alcohol Wine

I am a firm believer that everybody should eat and drink what tastes good to them.  That simple.  Every person has a different palate.  Every person finds different tastes pleasurable.  Find what makes your tastebuds sing and go with it! That being said, there are many wine and food pairing tips that work beautifully for the majority of the population.

When the wine has a high alcohol content:

* Make sure that the dish being served is ample in personality and weight, or it will be overwhelmed.

* Don’t serve very spicy-hot food!

* Remember that food will make the wine appear even hotter.

* Avoid excessive salt, which will exaggerate your perception of the wine’s heat/alcohol.

Wine & Food Pairing Tip: Sweet Wine

I am a firm believer that everybody should eat and drink what tastes good to them.  That simple.  Every person has a different palate.  Every person finds different tastes pleasurable.  Find what makes your tastebuds sing and go with it! That being said, there are many wine and food pairing tips that work beautifully for the majority of the population.

When the wine is sweet:

* If you’re serving the wine with dessert, choose a dessert that’s less sweet than the wine, or else the wine will taste sour.

* If the wine is not too sweet (closer to off-dry), try serving it with foods that are slightly sweet to complement it, or dishes that are mildly hot or spicy as a foil.

* Try playing the wine against dishes that are a little salty; you may find some fun combinations, especially with chesses and many Asian and Nuevo Latino, North African, Floridian/Caribbean or Hawaiian-influenced “tropical” preparations.

Chinese Chicken Salad

I enjoy salads year round, but there is something about the summer that screams salad for lunch.  This delicious salad graces the cover of my copy of Perfect Pairings by Evan Goldstein and makes me salivate every time I pick up the book.

This recipe would pair well with an apple and apricot flavored, dry or slightly off-dry Riesling.

Chinese Chicken Salad

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

salt and freshly ground black pepper

vegetable oil for frying (such as canola or olive oil)

Ginger-Soy Dressing

1 teaspoon finely minced garlic

3 tablespoons finely  minced peeled fresh ginger

2 tablespoons hot mustard

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons white or rice vinegar

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil (such as canola, peanut or grapeseed oil)

salt to taste

Salad

1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut on the diagonal into 1/4 inch slices

2 small heads romaine, coarsely shredded

1 cup bean sprouts

1/4 cup minced green onions (mostly green parts)

1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

For the chicken:

* Lightly pound the chicken breasts between sheets of plastic wrap to a uniform thickness.

* Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper.

* In a large sauté pan, pour the oil to a depth of 1/4 inch and warm over medium-high heat.

* Add the chicken breasts and fry until golden and cooked through, turning once, 4 to 5 minutes per side.

* Drain the chicken on a plate lined with paper towels.  When cool, shred into a large bowl.

For the dressing:

* Puree the garlic and ginger in a small food processor.

* Add the mustard, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil and pulse to combine.

* Gradually beat in the vegetable oil, a drop at a time, until the mixture emulsifies.

* Season the dressing to taste with salt.

To serve:

* Add the cucumber slices to the chicken in the bowl and toss with 1/2 cup or more of the dressing to moisten the mixture well.

* Combine the romaine, bean sprouts, green onions, and fresh cilantro in another bowl and toss with 1/2 cup of the dressing.

* Distribute the greens mixture evenly among salad plates.

* Place the chicken and cucumber mixture atop the greens.

* Drizzle with some of the remaining dressing if desired.

* Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and serve.

Variations:

* You can broil or grill or poach the chicken breasts instead of frying them.

* You can try sweet sliced jicama in place of the cucumber.

* You can use toasted pine nuts as a sweeter substitute for toasted sesame seeds.

Recommended Riesling Wine Producers:

Everyday:  Dr. Burklin-Wolf, St. Urbans-Hof, Navarro

Premium:  J.J. Prum, Zilliken, Grosset Wines

Splurge:  Robert Weil, Franz Kunstler, Gunderloch

Wine & Food Pairing Tip: Tart Wine

I am a firm believer that everybody should eat and drink what tastes good to them.  That simple.  Every person has a different palate.  Every person finds different tastes pleasurable.  Find what makes your tastebuds sing and go with it! That being said, there are many wine and food pairing tips that work beautifully for the majority of the population.

When the wine is tart:

* Select dishes that are rich, creamy, high in fat or salty to counterbalance the wine.

* Match the wine with tart food (sharp ingredients, vinaigrettes and other sharp sauces.)

* Use the wine to cut the heat in mildly spicy dishes.

* Try skipping the lemon wedge that you might otherwise serve with the dish (with fish, chicken, veal, pork, vegetables and grains.)

Wine & Food Pairing Tip: Legumes

I am a firm believer that everybody should eat and drink what tastes good to them.  That simple.  Every person has a different palate.  Every person finds different tastes pleasurable.  Find what makes your tastebuds sing and go with it! That being said, there are many wine and food pairing tips that work beautifully for the majority of the population.

 

* Lentils, beans and other legumes can pair beautifully with white wines.  If prepared with herbs, it can swing a dish toward white wine.

* If prepared with meat (bacon, ham, pancetta, sausage), can swing a dish toward red wine.

* Legumes can provide a clean backdrop for fuller-bodied white wines.  Waxy white beans are a good example.

* Legumes can enable fish to pair with red as well as white wines.  Try serving fish over a bed of green lentils with a red wine.

Wine & Food Pairing Tip: Mushrooms

I am a firm believer that everybody should eat and drink what tastes good to them.  That simple.  Every person has a different palate.  Every person finds different tastes pleasurable.  Find what makes your tastebuds sing and go with it! That being said, there are many wine and food pairing tips that work beautifully for the majority of the population.

* Mushrooms add earthiness to a dish and have a natural affinity for earthy wines.

* Mushrooms that are darker, especially reconstituted dried mushrooms, make almost all foods red wine friendly.

* Mushrooms that are light colored, creamy and textured (shiitake, chanterelles, oyster, button) help dishes go well with white wines, especially those with texture (Chardonnay, oak-aged Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris).

Wine Posters

I always enjoy a little internet shopping, so it was only a matter of time until my wine hobby crossed over with the shopping.  While perusing a few websites for some fun gift ideas, I stumbled across some entertaining wine posters at Wine Folly.

The first poster I found had a pairing wine and food chart.  There was also a poster with a web to help learn different types of wines, one with a flowchart about how to chose a wine, a poster containing the colors of wine and multiple maps of wine areas.

All of the posters were bold, colorful and would be a fun addition to a quaint or quirky little wine cellar.  Good thing I do not have a nice, finished basement bar or I could really spend a bundle on decorating it.