Proprietor’s Blog 3/9: Wine Pairings
Now that bottling is behind us, I get to focus on one of my favorite parts of wine: pairings. We have a Wine & Junk Food Pairing event happening March 30th, and it reminded me how much I love talking through this topic.
Studying to become a sommelier taught me how to properly taste wine, evaluate it, and find the best foods for it. There are three main kinds of wine pairings, and they’re easy to remember. Just remember the three C’s: complimentary, contrasting, cultural.
Complimentary
This approach matches flavor notes between the wine and the food. Sauvignon Blanc generally has quite a green complex to it, with flavors of bell pepper and jalapeño, which pairs well with a fresh salad or a crudités board. Syrah has a lot of flavor, with black and white peppercorn notes alongside black and red fruits, so it won’t be outmatched by a flavorful dish like lamb chops.
Contrasting
This is probably the most intriguing style of pairing, since it’s about texture and palate rather than flavor alone. It comes down to the acid, tannin, body, and sugar of the wine against the fat, salt, heat, and sugar of the food. A high-acid Sauvignon Blanc can cut right through a fatty goat cheese, while an off-dry Riesling or Prosecco can balance spicy Thai food through its residual sugar.
Cultural
Wine is part of a larger picture: the taste of a place. Historically, wines naturally matched the food of their home region, so it’s worth enjoying wines in their cultural context, especially when traveling: think Chianti with spaghetti Bolognese, or Pinot Noir with salmon. Our own cultural contribution? We tell everyone to drink our rosé with an In-N-Out Double-Double.
If you’d like to learn more, come join us at our next Junk Food and Wine pairing class.