Pairing wine and food
As the holidays approach, thoughts of Beaujolais nouveau, the new release of the Gamay wine from France, come to mind. It is bottled shortly after fermentation is complete, without aging that makes its sibling, Beaujolais, far more complex. The early release of this wine was started as a marketing ploy, saving the winemakers the cost of aging the wine. It has become an event to receive the wine by the third Thursday of November, just in time for our Thanksgiving holiday.
Beaujolais nouveau is known for its fruity, non-tannic qualities. The downside is that some of the descriptors for the nouveau are: banana and bubble gum! Not flavors I look for in a wine.
This light-bodied red wine is best served slightly chilled. Remember that the reason we think red wines should be served at room temperature is that in the olden days, there was no central heating, and room temp was pretty chilly. In addition, a little aeration goes a long way here.
The Beaujolais region is just south of Burgundy, so it’s not surprising that this Beaujolais wine is similar to pinot noir, a Burgundian wine. So, when planning your holiday dinner, consider Beaujolais, Beaujolais nouveau or pinot noir. Other good pairings are a dry or off-dry riesling, and sparkling wines.
Rieslings are highly underrated in this country because they are thought of as sweet wines, and looked down upon. However, rieslings can be some of the most valued wines in the world. Something to remember about r.s. (residual sugar) in wine: as salt brings out flavors in food, so sugar does in wine. Sometimes the amount left in wine is so negligible as to be undetected on the palate, but the balance with fruit and acidity make extraordinary wines, as the Germans can testify. They have a whole classification system:
· Kabinett (dry to offdry)
· Spatlese (sweet) · Auslese (sweeter) · Beerenauslese (very sweet)
· Trokenbeerenauslese (sweetest)
The sweet wines make excellent dessert wines, and pair very nicely with things like creme brulee, flan, pear or apple tart. The rule with dessert pairings is for the wine to be sweeter than the food — otherwise, the wine tastes tart by comparison.
The last great fallback for pairing is sparkling wines, because they cleanse the palate with every sip, and thus make it possible to taste the true flavors of diverse foods. For instance, a cocktail party
where many different hors d’oeuvres are served, is a great call-out for sparklings, which consist of Champagne from France, prosecco from Italy, cava from Spain, and of course, many sparklings from the U.S. Our wines are usually made from chardonnay or pinot noir grapes, harvested early when the sugar is lower than for other wines. As a result, sparklings have lower alcohol content than most other wines. The basic chemistry of winemaking is the conversion of sugar to alcohol. So, the less sugar, the lower the alcohol. My favorite domestic sparkling is Schramsberg from Napa Valley.
Happy Thanksgiving! May we be thankful that we have not suffered fires as the rest of the state has, and wish wellbeing to those that have been affected.