Accords mets / vins

Question 1

What are the two factors in food that can make a wine taste more astringent, bitter, and acidic?

Answer 1

Umami and sweetness

Think shellfish with Nebbiolo or apple pie with Chablis. Nebbiolo will seem overly astringent and bitter with lobster, and Chablis will taste acrid and highly acidic with sweet desserts.

Question 2

What are the two factors in food that can make a wine taste generally more fruity and sweet, and less astringent and bitter?

Answer 2

Saltiness and acidity

Think bacon with Syrah or tomato sauce with Chianti. The saltiness of the bacon softens the tannins of Syrah, and the acid from the tomatoes will negate the nerve of Sangiovese.

Question 3

When consumed with a dry wine, sweet foods or sweetness in foods can increase the awareness of ________ in wine.

Answer 3

Bitterness, astringency, acidity, and alcohol

Think raspberry tart with Left Bank Bordeaux.

Question 4

When consumed with a dry wine, sweet foods or sweetness in foods can decrease the awareness of ________ in wine.

Answer 4

Body, weight, and fruitiness

Think chocolate cake with Zinfandel.

Question 5

Generally, sweet foods should be paired with _______ wines.

Answer 5

Sweet foods should be paired with sweet wines - or wines that are at least as sweet as the food (but preferably sweeter than the food) otherwise the wine can taste acrid.

Question 6

When consumed with a dry wine, umami in food can increase the awareness of what 4 things in wine.

Answer 6

Bitterness, tannins, acidity, and alcohol

Think raw oysters with Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

Question 7

When consumed with a dry wine, umami in food can decrease the awareness of ________ in wine.

Answer 7

Body, weight, residual sugar, and fruitiness

Think raw oysters with Albariño.

Question 8

When consumed with a dry wine, acidic foods can increase the awareness of ________ in wine.

Answer 8

Body, fruitiness or ripeness, and residual sugar

Think salad vinaigrette with Italian Pinot Grigio.

Question 9

When consumed with a dry wine, acidic foods can decrease the awareness of ________ in wine.

Answer 9

Acidity

Think sour cream with Chablis.

Question 10

Generally speaking, a low acid wine paired with higher acid foods will make the wine taste ________.

Answer 10

Dull, flabby, and unfocused.

Think Viognier with tomato sauce.

Question 11

When consumed with a dry wine, salty foods can increase the awareness of ________ in wine.

Answer 11

Body

Think smoked meats with Côtes du Rhône.

Question 12

When consumed with a dry wine, salty foods can decrease the awareness of ________ in wine.

Answer 12

Bitterness, acidity, and astringency

Think aged Parmigiano Reggiano with Barolo.

Question 13

When consumed with a dry wine, capsaicin (the heat in chili peppers) can increase the awareness of ________ in wine.

Answer 13

Alcohol, bitterness, tannins/astringency, and acidity

Think spicy Szechuan with an oaky, full-bodied Chilean Carmenère.

Question 14

When consumed with a dry wine, capsaicin (the heat in chili peppers) can decrease the awareness of ________ in wine.

Answer 14

Fruit and residual sugar, along with decreasing awareness of body, weight, and texture

Think spicy Szechuan with off-dry Riesling.

Question 15

What are the six components in wine that can make a wine challenging, or problematic, to pair with food?

Answer 15

lots of oak
high alcohol
high tannin
high bitterness
high in flavor/complexity/extraction
excessively high acidity

Question 16

What are the components in wine that will make a wine easier to pair with food?

Question 17

What are some problematic components in food to consider when pairing with wine?

Question 18

What are some components in food that make wine pairing easier?

Question 19

Name three food and wine pairing principles.