food and wine pairing

Food and Wine Pairing

Julia Sevenich DWS

© 2010 Julia Sevenich

Wine is just Food

• Wine offers a complete range of the five taste elements: sweetness, acidity, saltiness, umami, and bitterness.

• It supplies aroma, flavours and textures that accent those of food either through harmony or contrast.

• Wine is the sauce that you drink.

© 2010 Julia Sevenich

Consumer Angst

• Intimidating wine “pros”– Over analyzing– unfamiliar and esoteric jargon

• Would-be wine drinkers– Fear making a “mistake”– Embarrassed by lack of knowledge

© 2010 Julia Sevenich

Old Rulesdid not consider how food was seasoned,

flavoured and prepared

• Red wine with red meat• White wine with fish, poultry and white meat• Never serve wine with salad

© 2010 Julia Sevenich

Opportunities

• Make it fun!• Make it hedonistic!• Be creative!

© 2010 Julia Sevenich

Olfactory Aromas

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The Tongue Map Debunked

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6 Basic Flavours

• Sweet• Sour• Salty• Bitter

• Peppery (spicy-hot)• Umami

© 2010 Julia Sevenich

Basic Food & Wine Pairing Strategy I

Similarity• Similar flavour notes in food and wine– Simply grilled or broiled chicken or fish drizzled

with a little olive oil, a squeeze of lemon and some chopped frehs herbs with a clean, fresh, crisp, acidic wine with lemony and herbal aromas

– A rich deep red wine and mushroom braised beef with a rich, earthy, meaty wine.

© 2010 Julia Sevenich

Basic Food & Wine Pairing Strategy II

Contrast• Opposites can attract– A rich, salty, fungusy cheese matched to a sweet,

viscous wine– A buttery, unctious, rich foie gras with a sweet,

fragrant wine– High acid, dry, sparkling wine with smoky, salty

and oily food like smoked salmon or deep-fried tempura

© 2010 Julia Sevenich

Basic Food & Wine Pairing Strategy III

Adjusting food to go with wine• Add salt to soften tannin• A squeeze of lemon to balance with an acidic

wine• Bridge ingredients with umami– Shaved Reggiano Parmigiano– Mushrooms– Dried tomatoes

© 2010 Julia Sevenich

Body or Texture

• Hearty rich, mouth-filling foods are best matched with full-bodied wines

• Subtle, delicated foods with light-bodied wines

© 2010 Julia Sevenich

Acidity

• High acid foods like high acid wines

© 2010 Julia Sevenich

Sweetness

• Foods with some sweetness are best paired with wines that have a similar level of sweetness.

© 2010 Julia Sevenich

Salt

• Salty foods or dishes with soy sauce pair with wines with good acidity and a touch of sweetness.

© 2010 Julia Sevenich

Bitterness• The bitterness of some vegetables pairs well

with smooth wines that are either off-dry or full-bodied.

© 2010 Julia Sevenich

Pepper and Chilli Spice

• Pepper or chilli heat benefit from an off-dry, refreshing, fruity wine with little or no oak and low alcohol.

© 2010 Julia Sevenich

Fat

• Fatty foods like acid and or tannin.

© 2010 Julia Sevenich

Balance