Why Wine Pairings Matter!!

Peter Creasey

Peter Creasey

Peter Creasey
Excerpt from an interesting article by Grant Achatz...

I garnered an appreciation for how critical a role the olfactory plays in our perception of taste. Wine lovers speak of a wine's "nose," and compare the aroma to the eventual flavor on the palate. The "finish" is often tasted when you breathe in again. These are all part of the language of wine, and yet we do not typically speak of food in the same manner. I wonder why that is?

Luckily, I was drawn back to cooking and returned to finish my education with Chef Keller. As a sous chef at the French Laundry I began to focus more and more on how dishes could be flavored through aroma. As I developed my own style in Chicago at Trio and at Alinea, aroma techniques became one of the defining characteristics of my cuisine. And it started with my experience in the vineyard.

While building Alinea we decided to continue the pairing work we had begun at Trio with Joe Catterson. We believed that pairing was so critical to the dining experience that we made Joe not only our wine director but also our general manager. With a menu of 12 to 26 courses, it is impossible, and not terribly desirable, to have just one or two wines bridge the courses. Instead, we believe that each course can be enhanced by the wine--and visa versa: that the food can enhance the wine as well. That is the essence of a great pairing.

There are no hard and fast rules on pairing wine with food.
[END QUOTE]

Why Wine Pairings Matter

. . . . Pete
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originally posted by Peter Creasey:
Why Wine Pairings Matter!!
Excerpt from an interesting article by Grant Achatz...
Why Wine Pairings Matter
. . . . Pete
Click to expand...

Count me among the skeptics, not that I wouldn't enjoy being contradicted by a French Laundy dinner. Given that sensitivities to various odors and tastes vary widely among people, and interpretations of them also vary considerably based on experience and associations; add on top of that varying social influences and it seems very unlikely to me "best" pairings exist for the even a majority of a restaurant's patrons. Not that there's any real harm done - most of them will undoubtedly enjoy the pairings very much. They're expecting them to be good (expectations have a strong influence on quality assessment). They aren't tasting alternative matches in a controlled setting, just trying to enjoy a great meal. And IMHO there are few matches that actually make the food or wine taste worse.
 
originally posted by Christian Miller (CMM):
And IMHO there are few matches that actually make the food or wine taste worse.
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Can I pour you some more Beringer Cab with your Sole Meuniere, CMM?

Mark Lipton
 
I can still lasciviate about one of my all-time favorite food/wine courses...large scallop into which had been inserted a black truffle, cooked, and served with a brown sauce, perfectly accompanied by a well-evolved Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon '76.

. . . . . . Pete
 
originally posted by Thor:
Pure of Constellation Brands Oak Product?
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That could work.

On a more serious note, due to my dietary restrictions I've had perfectly acceptable meals of thin white fish with tannic Barolo. Of course I didn't consume both at the same time. Careful pausing inbetween was all I needed.

Although who knows how much better it would have been with the meat everyone else was eating, etc. etc.
 
originally posted by MLipton:
originally posted by Christian Miller (CMM):
And IMHO there are few matches that actually make the food or wine taste worse.
Click to expand...

Can I pour you some more Beringer Cab with your Sole Meuniere, CMM?

Mark Lipton
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Very funny and no thanks, but I did say "few", not "none". But even in this case, I'm not sure one would make the other taste worse. Best case, they would be totally irrelevant to each other. Probable worst case - the Beringer Cab obliterates the sole's flavor each time it's sipped. And take a look around the next time you're at a seafood restaurant, and see how many red glasses of wine are on the table. And no one seems to be gagging.

The only cases of wine making the food taste worse for me that come immediately to my mind are: (1) spicy hot capsicum dishes making some notably high alcohol wines even more biting and harsh; (2) smoked fish (salmon, oysters) giving some wines an unpleasant cloying but fishy finish. And these cases might be only particular to some people. On the other hand, I very rarely get that metallic finish that so many people claim pops up with artichokes and wine.
 
originally posted by Christian Miller (CMM):
On the other hand, I very rarely get that metallic finish that so many people claim pops up with artichokes and wine.
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How about tannic cabernet with smoked salmon? It's been 20 years, but it still lives in my memory. Like chewing on aluminum foil.
 
On a more serious note, due to my dietary restrictions I've had perfectly acceptable meals of thin white fish with tannic Barolo.
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Why can't you freaky vegetarian types just drink your Barolo with overflowing piles of white truffles, like the rest of us?

OK, maybe that's just Yaniger. But still.
 
originally posted by Christian Miller (CMM):
originally posted by MLipton:
originally posted by Christian Miller (CMM):
And IMHO there are few matches that actually make the food or wine taste worse.
Click to expand...

Can I pour you some more Beringer Cab with your Sole Meuniere, CMM?

Mark Lipton
Click to expand...

Very funny and no thanks, but I did say "few", not "none". But even in this case, I'm not sure one would make the other taste worse. Best case, they would be totally irrelevant to each other. Probable worst case - the Beringer Cab obliterates the sole's flavor each time it's sipped. And take a look around the next time you're at a seafood restaurant, and see how many red glasses of wine are on the table. And no one seems to be gagging.

The only cases of wine making the food taste worse for me that come immediately to my mind are: (1) spicy hot capsicum dishes making some notably high alcohol wines even more biting and harsh; (2) smoked fish (salmon, oysters) giving some wines an unpleasant cloying but fishy finish. And these cases might be only particular to some people. On the other hand, I very rarely get that metallic finish that so many people claim pops up with artichokes and wine.
Click to expand...

In all seriousness, I am very sensitive to fish oils and I find that wines lacking good acidity intensify the taste/smell of fish oils to me. I've had occasion to sample Zinfandel with grilled shrimp and it was like stepping into a fishmonger's at 5 pm -- no thanks. I'm also not a fan of Pinot Noir with salmon, despite the ravings of others.

Mark Lipton
 
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