What interactions between wine and cuisine are essential for successful wine-cuisine pairings?
Answer From Expert Roger Bohmrich MW
Your interesting question calls for a wide-ranging response. We have to admit, first, that taste reactions vary significantly from one person to the next, and there is a triple subjectivity when it comes to wine and cuisine. What I mean is that each person has a perception of the wine by itself, of the food, and of the two combined. This makes it particularly difficult to devise wine and food pairings which will please all palates. All of us have no doubt experienced moments when the wine became one with the dish – but these are individual, not universal experiences. In my Wine and Food Guide (on my website), I suggest that it makes more sense to put the emphasis on the style of a wine rather than the grape variety or even the color (as most pairing guides do). To choose a successful option, focus on the wine’s fundamental components: body, alcohol, acidity, tannin and barrel aging (if any). Determine the taste profile of the dish: light and subtle, sharp and herbal, full-flavored and fatty, heavily seasoned, and so on. Then, consider which wine styles either share the same personality as the food or could provide an appealing contrast – either strategy can work. Let’s look at one example. With cream soups, Fettuccine Alfredo or cheese ravioli, mildly seasoned cannelloni beans, roasted or broiled rich fish such as salmon or Chilean Sea Bass, and white meats including pork, veal medallions or chicken breasts simply prepared, a variety of wine styles could be successful: light- to medium-bodied whites such as Soave, Chablis, or Mâcon-Villages; full-bodied whites including richer Chardonnay, Pouilly-Fuissé, Viognier, or Falanghina; light- to medium-bodied reds such as Barbera d’Asti, Beaujolais-Villages and basic Chianti; and more generous reds including California Pinot Noir, Burgundies such as Beaune, or Rioja Reserva. In sum, the guiding principle should be flexibility and tolerance and not rigid rules. To have fun at a dinner party, serve both a red and white wine of an appropriate style with the same dish, if you have the glassware. I guarantee there will be a lot of lively talk as guests go back and forth, deciding which wine works best with the food.
