Pairing for the best fusion

You don’t have to enjoy wine with a meal. You can try it with almost anything, as Megan Baadjies found out

I’VE HEARD it said that there are two types of wine drinkers in this world – people who have their wine with food and people who don’t.

If you identify with the former, then I am sure you’d agree that the art of food and wine pairing can be quite complex and subjective, especially if you’re not an expert.

Pairings have become very popular with winemakers and chefs collaborating to create interesting combinations.

Whether it’s wine with pizza, pasta or a Cape Malay curry, the options are limitless as long as the pairing works.

As this trend becomes increasingly popular, local chefs and winemakers have raised the bar by creating some unique pairings that are so simple you can try them at home. hummus variations do not compete with the wine, instead they showcase the wines, making it the start of the show. “It’s a light, tapas-style pairing that is perfect for whetting the appetite,” he adds. Bennett’s pairing suggestion is to have the wine first then the hummus.

The humble koeksister (or koesister) has been part of

South African heritage for many generations. Whether it’s a Cape Malay style koeksister with coconut or a traditionally twisted koeksister dipped in syrup, there is so much to love about this sweet delicacy.

Leanne Sutherland for Stellenbosch Hills says both doughnuts pair well with the Muscat de Hambourg.

“The vanilla notes in the crunchy koeksister combined with the wine makes for an intense butterscotch-like mouthfeel,” she says. “If you are not so fond of the sweetness, you can opt for the koesister instead. This Cape Malay ‘spicy doughnut’ has the perfect combination of spice and sweetness – emphasising the wine’s floral notes.”

Sutherland’s tips for home-made pairing: “Replicate the aromas and flavours of the wine (usually found on the back label) with more or less the same notes found in your food option.” movie: I can’t think of a better way to spend a Friday night and or a better snack combination. What makes this a fun pairing is the different flavour combinations you can experiment with and create your own experience.

This innovative pairing was introduced at Flagstone winery as a creative way to showcase their wines. Ironically the concept was born “from a creative space more than a food space”.

Joanne Stone, from 3 Verse communication, says there are two factors to consider when hosting a pairing of this kind. “We wanted to be more creative with pairing options… and everyone was doing chocolate.

“A colleague said it would be a fun idea to do a popcorn pairing and I thought about doing spices – it’s cheap, spot on and can’t go wrong with different flavours because you can do sweet or savoury with the flavour profile. There are two things to consider: one, think about the spices, and two, think about the food people pair wine with and understand what spices go into each variety.”

Stone admits that getting the perfect flavour combinations wasn’t easy as she bought many different spices to get the perfect combination.

“You have to get the spice to stick to the popcorn so in some cases I mixed sunflower oil. I found that ground pepper works well with a mix. A lot of it was intuition, but you can create your own flavours,” she says.

At Flagstone, the popcorn is paired with their red and white wines. “Pairing the viognier with a Cape Malay spice popcorn brings out the fruitiness in the wine, it almost sweetens it.”

If you are more of a whisky person, there are choices for you too.

Whisky and chocolate is another unusual pairing that’s becoming increasingly popular. Charl Theron, assistant food and beverage manager at the Table Bay Hotel, says this combination produces a variety of interesting flavour profiles.

“When pairing whisky and chocolate, focus has been