Chapter 2 - Wine with Food

Question 1

What are the two components in food that tend to make wine taste “harder” (more astringent and bitter, more acidic, less sweet and less fruity)?

Answer 1

Sweetness and Umami

Question 2

What are the two components in food that tend to make wine taste “softer” (less astringent and bitter, less acidic,sweeter, and more fruity)?

Answer 2

Salt and Acid

Question 3

Sweetness in a dish can make a dry wine seem what?

Answer 3

Less fruity and taste unpleasantly acidic.

Question 4

What can happen to low-tannin red wines, or white wines made with oak or skin contact when consumed with umami-rich foods?

Answer 4

They can become surprisingly bitter and unbalanced.

Question 5

What will foods high in acidity do to wine?

Answer 5

It can bring a wine with very high acidity levels into balance and enhance its fruitiness. However if the acidity level of the wine is low, the high acidity in the food will make it seem flat, flabby and lacking focus.

Question 6

What can salty foods do to wine?

Answer 6

It can enhance a wine’s fruit character and soften astringency.

Question 7

What effect does chilli heat in food have on wine?

Answer 7

The effects caused by chilli heat are greater in wines with high alcohol levels. Alcohol increases the burning sensation of the chilli.