Ask Mario
Q: How do you pair wine with food?
A: I found this question to be very appropriate for this week since I will be talking food and wine pairings this Sunday at the Ripepi Summer WineFest 2013.
Pairing a specific type of wine with a specific dish is a great way to enhance your dining experience.
Think about your favorite sports team – generally the team is more successful (and this leads to more fun for you as a fan) when the team really plays as a team. When they play to win games, as opposed to playing for personal accolades, everyone is more successful. Food and wine is much the same – when the food and wine play together as a team, it makes everything better.
In restaurants, sommeliers are often present to make food pairing recommendations for the guest. The main concept behind pairings is that certain elements (such as texture and flavor) in both food and wine react differently to each other and finding the right combination of these elements makes the dining experience more enjoyable.
At the end of the day it all goes back to taste and personal preference. Taste is very subjective and you should use your own palate preferences when selecting a wine that you are going to enjoy with your meal.
I have been taught that the general rule of thumb when pairing wines with food is to be complimentary with the flavor profiles.
For instance, you wouldn’t want to pair a bold heavy wine with a light delicate dish, as the wine would overwhelm the food. Similarly you wouldn’t pair a light bodied wine with a heavier hearty dish, as the dish would overwhelm the wine.
The red wine with meat and white wine with fish rule is also a myth.
It ultimately comes down to what you enjoy eating and drinking and what you feel pairs well together as a food and wine combination.
Matching the heaviness of the dish and the wine is the most basic way to make your pairing preferences.
After you match those, you can dive into the more specific particulars of your food and wine such as the different taste characteristics (i.e. bitter, sweet, salty, sour).
Send your questions for Mario to hsfeatures@heraldstandard.com.
Mario J. Porreca of Belle Vernon is a food personality, author and the host of Just Cook It on WMBS Radio 590 AM. He can be reached via his website at www.JustCookIt.net.