"Today's World of Wine" by: Michel A. Atlas

Someone once wrote that “War is too serious a matter to be left in the hands of the military…” I would be inclined to use the same line about wine and food ‘experts’, when it comes to deciding how you should feast and what to enjoy at your table!

There is only ONE rule: follow your own taste. That is the perfect starting point. Right now, you are at the crossroads of your own cultural background and evolving spirit. It is your ball game and you make the rules. And it does not mean that you cannot learn new combinations, or discover new matching flavors. You will indeed, as your demanding palate yearns for and finds new flavors. It is ALL about flavor, solid and liquid, and how these flavors tickle your taste buds and produce this magic moment of wow, welcome sensual bliss… And this is where the expert may then walk in, with respectful suggestions and care for your specific needs.

And this is what I would like to do for you: invite you on a journey of renewed emotional pleasure, an experience of communication and even communion with nature and the people who have extracted the goodness of the earth for our enjoyment.

Food and wine are not only inseparable, they are basically the same: taste and flavor. So, if you discover a passion for one, you will easily fall for the other too! I have fallen passionately in love with both, some forty years ago and have also forged a career in the process. Let me be your humble guide for a piece of the journey.

Although the question may sound rhetorical, our approach will be different whether we need to choose a wine to pair with a specific dish, (like what to serve with Chicken Cacciatori) or whether we have a good wine, like an old Bordeaux, and we wish to slelect a recipe which will match this wine to perfection.

Let us start with the foods as a basis, and marry the wines accordingly. As stated vigorously earlier, we will avoid any attempt to dictate the rules under which you should enjoy the selection, we will merely suggest and recommend some sound principles that have proved useful and enjoyable. This process will be very much like sharing a great cooking recipe! Both are in fact very similar, since a wine will affect the food very much like a spice or seasoning will alter the flavor of a dish. By adding some special aroma to the food, you enhance the general flavor; same thing with the wine.

All pairing principles will be ultimately chosen according to the law of similarity or the law of contrast. You will either wish to blend delicately and harmoniously or strike a contrast like an exclamation point!
Pair light with light, humble with humble, delicate with delicate, robust with robust. Work with flavor affinities. (Chowder and Chardonnay are both thick, rich and creamy. Oysters on the half shell or lemon shrimp will demand a peppery, mineral wine like Sauvignon Blanc or Dry Chablis.)
Decide if you want to mirror flavors or create contrasts. (A roasted pork, meaty and dense will sparkle when married to a fruity Riesling or Gewurtztraminer! Salty caviar will be dazzling with Champagne.)
Pair not so much to the meat, but to the preparation. (Alfredo Chicken will pair delightfully with Chardonnay, whereas Barbecued chicken will be better served with a Red Zinfandel or a Syrah.)
Seek out Acidity. (to cut through the fat and spices). (High acid wines are generally easier to pair with a variety of fried and olive fat rich foods, as well as tomato-based sauces.

Seafood is very popular in this area, blessed with a variety of fresh local catch. As said earlier, it will now depend on the type of preparation. Let’s look at a few:

Seafood, scallops, shrimp, crab claws, lobster served seared, grilled or broiled with a light sauce like lemon, butter, capers, shallots, beurre blanc:

- Riesling, Chablis, Sancerre, Fumé Blanc, Verdicchio, Sauvignon Blanc (New World)

One last remark, before we close this episode: since there has been for the last few years an explosion of new wines both from the Old and the New World, only matched by a similar explosion of new recipes, it is becoming increasingly difficult to limit oneself to a standard grid of pairing possibilities; the combinations are humongous!

We can only offer a set of guidelines, but if you wish to enlarge your vision or want to submit a specific pairing problem to our expert database, we will be very happy to oblige and answer your request by e-mail at …?
(To be continued…)