Pairing

Question 1

What are the 4 guiding principles to pairing wine and food?

Answer 1

Number one – evaluate the Wine.
Number two – evaluate the dish
Number three – match the intensity
Number for – understand important interactions

Question 2

What does it mean to evaluate the wine in pairing?

Answer 2

Look at the dominant elements in the pairing. The wine structural elements, the wine flavor elements, and the taste elements.
- Wine structural elements are sweetness, tan, acidity, alcohol and texture .
- Wine flavor elements are fruit and fruit condition, non-fruit, earthiness, oak influence, and service temperature.
- Taste elements are sweet, sour, bitter, salt, and Umami.

Question 3

What does evaluate the dish mean?

Answer 3

Main ingredients like steak, poultry, or fish.
Cooking method like raw, grilled, roasted, sautéed, etc.
Sauces like barbecue, curry, buttery, tomato, etc.
Condiments, such as butter, ketchup, soy sauce, mayonnaise, etc.
Sides, such as tart or sweet, earthy, creamy, fried, vinegar, etc.
Textures, such as fat, oils, butter, etc.

Question 4

What does match the intensity mean?

Answer 4

The food and beverage must roughly match one another in intensity, delicate foods pair well with light, delicate beverages and rich foods comparably robust beverages.

Question 5

What does match the intensity mean?

Answer 5

The food and beverage must roughly match one another in intensity, delicate foods pair well with light, delicate beverages and rich foods comparably robust beverages.

Question 6

What does it mean to understand important interactions in pairing?

Answer 6

Salt – reduces the pallets perception of acidity in wine. Intensely salty foods make tannins and Wine bitter.

Animal fats – fats love tannin. Tans in Wine make meats and cheeses, feel less rich and fatty on the pallet

Sugar – Sugar and food tends to work best with sweetness in the beverage. Sweet sauces can make dry wines seem even Dreyer.

Spicy heat – spice can heighten our perception of alcohol and should be paired with beverages that are off dry, slightly sweet or low in alcohol.

Question 7

What are three pairing series and approaches?

Answer 7

One – what grows together goes together
Two – complementing which relies on similar elements in the beverage, and creating a synergistic pairing in the food.
Contrasting – opposite elements in the structure, flavor or texture in the food and beverage can create harmony.