Gastronomic combination

Before you can understand the details of selecting the ideal combinations of wine and food, let’s touch on the topic of recommendations on the choice of wine to the table. Because each dish has its own wine-ally requiring the filing at the correct temperature.

The most famous and most frequently used method of selection is the technique of Mercatini. It is based on the principles of similarity and contrast of flavors of food and wine.

The wine and food there are four basic tastes: sweet (tip of tongue), sour and salty (sides) and bitter (at the bottom). Let’s add the feeling of greasy and oily – both cover the language and inhibit our ability sensory in the mouth (in the first case part, and the second almost completely).

You should also consider the natural flavors of food that can be enhanced with aromatic herbs, spices and spices.

Finally, don’t forget about the taste and olfactory persistence, i.e. how long the taste of the food remains in the mouth after swallowing. It is important to unravel the components of the taste of food to understand what to emphasize and what to compensate with wine.

With wine – the same story: you need to unravel the components and main characteristics. By recognizing the dominant tastes, it is important to decide whether you want to emphasize gastronomic combination or soften these aspects.

In search of the best combinations

It is important to remember that the perfect combination is when both elements helping each other, not dominate one over the other. The consistency of the wine must be proportional to the structure meals. Red wine suitable for complex dishes. Strong wines with good aging perfectly complement the dishes complicated preparation (e.g., cooking). But the combination of rich wines with light delicate dishes negates the pleasure of both.

The combination of contrast and similarity

It is also noticed that the best combination is obtained when a wine expresses the characteristics of the opposite food. In this case, the wine should contrast or be dimmed dominant food.

In the case of a combination according to the similarity of the harmony is achieved through matching of tactile sensations. A vivid example – a combination of sweet dishes with sweet wines. The sky, getting used to sweet foods, begins to respond more acidic than distort the taste of dry wines.

Some combinations

• Asti-Spumante – puddings, fruit salads, soufflés, mousses.
• Barbaresco (Italian red) – roast game, beef, offal, mushrooms, truffles.
• Barolo (Italian red) is a game flavor, a fat, juicy beef, venison stew.
• Beaujolais – meats, cold roast meat of different kinds, fish in red wine sauce, mushrooms on toast.
• Bordeaux (red) – lamb, roast beef with blood.
• Bordeaux (white) – grilled fish, seafood, and poultry.
• Burgundy (red) – always game, duck breast, truffles.
• Burgundy (white) fish in a creamy sauce, cheese souffle, fried chicken.
• Brunello di Montalcino serves oxtail, venison in a pot, hard cheese.
• Cabernet Sauvignon – red meats, kidneys, sausages, lasagna, Turkey, meat on the coals (In Australia him love to serve kenguryatiny.)
• Cava (Spanish sparkling) aperitif, scrambled eggs, smoked salmon.
• Chablis – a white fish (e.g. sole), turbot (flounder), seafood, from a mixture of fish, rice, curry, eggs).
• Champagne – aperitif, oysters, smoked salmon, caviar, Chinese food.
• Chardonnay – asparagus, artichokes, shrimp, seafood, poultry, dishes with peanut sauce.
• Chateauneuf-du-Pape – dishes in pot (lamb, venison, poultry), roast goose.
• Chianti – spinach, cold meats, simple meat dishes, pizza, BBQ.
• Gewurztraminer (dry)– spicy cheese dishes, smoked salmon, pate, food with spicy taste, onion pie.
• Gewurztraminer (sweet) – foie Gras, puddings, pies.
• Merlot – beef and porter stew of beans, beef liver, grilled tuna.
• Nobile di Montepulciano – roast wild boar or pork, grilled dove or quail.
• Muscat (dry) – chicken with grapes, avocado salad.
• Muscat (sweet) – puddings, pies, ice cream.
• Pinagrazia (dry) – pork with juniper, ravioli with mushrooms.
• Rioja – roasted lamb, game, mushrooms, barbecue chicken.
• Sancerre (white) – trout, sashimi, avocado mousse, goat cheese.
• Sancerre (red) salmon, mullet (red).
• Riesling (dry) – Chinese style, avocado salad, duck goose, and wild boar.
• Riesling (sweet) – foie Gras, puddings.
• Sauternes – foie Gras, puddings, caramel, blue cheese.
• Sauvignon Blanc – Thai food, seafood salads, clams, tomato.
• Zinfandel (California) – game meat, spicy dishes, Turkey, Ratatouille, Italian snacks, anchovies, dark chocolate.

General rules for the combination of wine and cheese

Solid red, tannic wine. The South of France, Cabernet Sauvignon from the New world.

Soft, creamy cheeses (Camembert) – white, highly acidic wine. The more acidic the wine, the more acidic the cheese. A perfect mix of representatives of some regions.

Cheese souffle – aromatic white and red wines.

Blue cheese (Roquefort, Gorgonzola) is a Sauternes, Ricotta, Port wine, Tokay.

Goat cheese – Sauvignon Blanc, Prefume, Sancerre, Chardonnay from New Zealand, red Cabernet franc, Loire.

Smoked cheese – Gewurztraminer, any Australian sweet wine.