Wine Sediments

Wine and Food Matching: Combinations.
Food and wine matching - taken to ridiculous levels of intricacy by some, ignored by the majority. As I have just written on Wine Sediments to me it is an integral part of a true gastronome but I can’t recall…

On my blog I’m never writing about wine simply because I do not drink any and although I’ve worked at several restaurants, I don’t have a clue which wine matchs which dish. Still, I’ll think about it…

The best meal of my life was a wine and food pairing that my husband took me to for Valentine’s day in France. Six courses, perfectly matched cuisine and cave. It’s amazing what wines can bring out in food and vice versa.

When I teach my cooking classes,I always serve wine with the meal and try to get it to be a wine from that region if possible i.e. Escargots with Pouilly Fuiss.

But I am super guilty of not blogging about it. Ten lashing of the mouse and I promise to repent!

p.s. We had Walnut Asparagus Risotto last night with a nice chilled bottle of Alsacian Sylvaner

As a poor 18thC habitante (read peasant), if my grapes brought from France won’t grow in the cold Canadian wilderness, I must rely on the wild grapes the Vikings sing about, or wait unti the trade routes can be established to bring in casks of wine and brandies (bottles would have broken in the treacherous portages).

However, in my real life, the most enjoyable meal I’ve ever had was a 5-course French meal suggested by a Cosmopolitan magazine article on being French for the weekend, and the wines brought for each course by a wine connoisseur who wrote for the local paper whom I had invited to dinner.

Because I have to keep to my theme, and I have written on wine http://18thccuisine.blogspot.com/2005/01/wine-for-18thc-taste.html, I really appreciate it when a blogger pairs a wine with a dish. When my meager purse allows me to pursue putting in a wine cellar, I shall have a lot of wonderful wines on my list. But, alas, I am also hampered by being married to a man who only imbibes once a year on Passover.

Keep up the good work, Andrew, et al. Even if I do not mention wine to be included with meals, I do think about it and yearn for the pleasure.

Hi ANdrew… much too long for a comment, but here are my thoughts in the form of a post on my foodblog: http://thepassionatecook.typepad.com/thepassionatecook/2006/04/matching_food_w.html

Hi Andrew, I rely on my wine expert friend which knows about wine not only for having read about it but also for having spitted and drunk a lot more.

Personally speaking I have also taken a wine apprecciation course a while ago, which helped me not to associate wine to food, but to understand how wine is made and why a Cabernet Sauvignon is called such, and why Italy isn’t the first country to export wine even though it’s the main producer.

I agree there are some dishes better served with this or that particular wine, and I also agree that red is not only good for meat but goes well with some fishes.

You might want to add “Blue cheese, Stilton (or even Gorgonzola) go very well with Port”. An easy combination, always available and does not require a big expertise, not even to cook. Just eat and enjoy

Personally, I think the casual wine drinker would benefit much more from a food-centric wine review/tasting note than from a description of the wine. One wine blogger who does a great job of marrying all his wine recommendations to food is the Caveman.

I’m trying to do more, and our upcoming food-wine pairing blogosphere event should further this effort.

I’m mostly a wineblogger, but do occasional photoessays if I’ve cooked something interesting. I always mention the wine (or beer) that I served with the dish. Additionally, I’ve tried to experiment with unusual matches and have recommended the successful ones to friends and family. For instance, a lot of traditional Southern food doesn’t fall into any sort of classical pairing. I’ve had good success with light sparkling wines and fried chicken, as well as with Cotes du Rhone Rouge and smoked pork barbeque.

I do think it’s important to be specific about wines–you could say that a certain fish dish would be great with Chardonnay, but are you talking about a big and bold California Chardonnay or a light and unoaked White Burgundy? There’s times when you want the punch of a young Cabernet Sauvignon but other times when a softer, older one fits the bill. For that reason, it’s not a bad idea to suggest a specific wine, and then offer generic grape and region information as a substitute.

Benito - that is exactly what I am talking about - a Chardonnay indeed but which one? Hence the idea for the blog event which now has a name - Combinations.

Andrew - I think you are being a little harsh on food bloggers. Afterall - it is a hobby not a full time job and everyone has areas they prefer to specialize in over others. There is not time to write about every little detail. For example, one of my own personal pririties is to highlight local ingredients, but even though I have info about this for every post i write , I dont always have time to include it as I would like. Nor can I afford (calory or money wise) to crack open a bottle of wine with every meal I cook.

Nor do I have confidence to write abut wine the way I write about food. I have been cooking all my life but only drinking wine for about half of it so have less experience of it.

Just because we dont write about something, doesnt mean to say we do not have an interest in it, nor should we be required to write about it if we dont wish to.

You write about food, the other day you asked a question on my blog: “You can make jaffa cakes???” Well, that’s the difference between you and me - I instinctively know exactly how to make a jaffa cake, such is my experience in the kitchen, whereas you probably know more instictively how to pair a wine.

You are less likely to post about how to make a jaffa cake & I am less likely to post about wne pairings. Although I do like to do it as part of wine blogging wednesday, that is enough for me.

Of course I like to read about thesubject on other peoples’ blogs, but I am not going to suggest anyone who doesn’t isnt worth reading.

To be honest I hadn’t really thought to suggest a wine match for the food I write about; but I do think it is a great idea, and the upcoming event will be a great way to start to do so.
Choosing a drink to complement a dish is something we do when the mood takes us ; at the weekend or sometimes during the week we will make a conscious decision to match a wine, or beer or other drink, with the meal, or less often a meal to match the wine. Generally on an ordinary day it is : get home have a glass of whatever wine is handy if I feel like it while I start to make dinner.

Sam - What I am saying is that even those pro or near pro bloggers seem to be missing a trick in not mentioning, even in passing, a wine to accompany. My argument is that wine can enhance the food to such a degree that it should not be viewed as just another ‘little thing’ as you put it but a major component in a meal. Yes of course most bloggers are amateurs but I still wonder if it is down to lack of knowledge rather than time (you read the same indepth and expansive food postings as I do and how long do all those wonderful photos take to produce?); as you say most people cook for longer than they drink so knowledge to me is the factor not time.

It’s the same for me in regards to cooking - I know diddly squat but am learning. (Same with photography.) Hence the need(?) for those who are interested in ‘Combinations’.

And Jaffa Cakes - what I meant was why would you want to make them? ‘Cause they are horrid! Well that soft dried spongy stuff it the jam and chocolate are fine. Although I imagine yours to be somewhat improved over the commercial version

Firstly I’d love to match food with wine or ‘wine with food’ more often!

Money, time, personal commitments and knowledge all hinder this, and therefore I would have to strongly agree with all of Sam’s comments above.

I’ve only recently begun to drink wine regularly, and regularly for me is 1 bottle a week, shared between my husband and I over a couple of nights, two bottles a week at most!
A tad more during the week Christmas through to New Year!!

I also have very limited time for blogging, yet I have stacks of photos of food I’ve prepared I’d like to blogging about.

Like Sam I’ve been cooking most of my life, drinking for less than half, and in that time I’ve been poor… very POOR at times, I’ve also been pregnant on and off, working evenings (that is I believe, when most people drink wine) in professional kitchens. I’ve also been a dedicated driver for my 45 minute commute home (there are no taxi, bus or tube etc. in my neighbourhood!)
Or I’ve purely needed to be 110% alert to care for my family, animals etc.

And since for me one glass of wine is enough to make me less alert, more euphoric and perhaps slightly dizzy, that being most probably because I’ve neither had the money, time or experience to get my body to handle more alcohol in one sitting.
Yes, guess I’m a teetotaler, not by choice, but by necessity.

Although Andrew, if you’d like to send me a big fat cheque or two, come and babysit, drive me safely home, milk my cows in the morning, I’d simply love to rectify this and blog about more wine! ;-D
Cheers

Actually, honestly if you sent me a cheque, I’d probably spend it on the foie gras, caviar and scallops - stuff the wine!

What amazes me that people who blog food prefer to blog cats and dogs than wine. To me wine and food are inextricably linked although I don’t always blog the wine I drink. Sometimes it’s just average and I’ll often repeat drink the stuff I like (missing out on new wine opportunities ;-(. Like with the wine, food bloggers often miss out on doing much significant on restaurants. I wonder it is a confidence thing about giving criticism mixed with the mystery of wine tasting and all those plummy terms we’re meant to use. Wine still is complicated and saturated by choice. The other story is why don’t wine bloggers write food and why are so many so geeky (not you Andrew)? Because they can be I suppose. And this brings me to the wine critics who focus on those big smack-in-the-face reds that ruin a good meal.

Andrew,

Sadly, although I love wine medical reasons prevent me from drinking it very often. And when I do it’s usually in circumstances that I don’t blog about.

However, your point is well-taken and I’ll make a special effort in the future to mention wine when I have it with something I post about.

“pro or near pro bloggers”

Pro bloggers - are the ones who write for money like you and the others on well fed and slashfood. Maybe if you are being paid - you have a certain responsibility. But what that is - is your affair not mine.

I have a certain responsibility too - and it is to myself only. I have written many posts on wine pairings, but I will not do it every time - like I said - I do not have the experience, the time, the money, the wine cellar at my finger tips. I don’t have enough confidence - and I don’t want to spread bad information on the internet. I *know* about food. I hazard a guess about wine.

In order to do this job properly I would need to taste several wines with every meal I produced in order to work out the best pairing, otherwise it would be guess work or copying info from other sources and I don’t really see the point in that.

Think you are missing the point somewhat Sam - it is all about exploration and experimentation. At some point you didnt know about food but through trial and error, instruction etc etc found out about it.

I dont have an extensive cellar either and I am sure you earn a darn lot more than I do! But I like the fun of finding a nice pairing - sometimes it works, othertimes it doesnt whether its a 3.99 wine or one at 12.99 - its all part of the fun and trying to expand ones gastronmic experiences. If you find a bad pairing you will know next time that that was the wrong wine and thus you have learned something. You dont have to blog about it everytime but I would love to read that x wine worked or y wine didnt and why in your posts; just simple pointers. Your palate is evolved as well as mine whether you are a paid blogger or not (Spittoon and here are not paid). I am not suggesting an indepth analysis trying different wines with the same dish - although it is a fun group activity once in a while.

I also meant something a little more than just being paid to blog as a pro - I class you as a pro. I mean it as someone who has a lot of followers and/or has gained great respect through their bloging activities; which you and many others have.

Dining with wine experts is a real pleasure, but what I know about wine is largely limited to two things: 1. I rather like Rieslings the best (both the wine and the bottle), and 2. I seem to be allergic to sulfates. I am not a teetotaler nor do I have a problem (spiritual or chemical) with alcohol. However, since several people out there do fit into the aforementioned categories, I’ve decided to leave well enough alone. I have mentioned wines and liqueurs I like on my blog (and I plan to participate in the this month’s inebriated Sugar High Friday), but I mostly stick to the things I know best: eating chocolate, enjoying food, and reading literature. I hope I’ve provided a helpful perspective.
Emily

Often I mention what wines I drink, especially if it’s a dinner party. On the occasions I don’t (i.e. ordinary dinners) it’s because I’m drinking the bog-standard house red de jour, which is usually something pleasant I bought on special, but nothing to write home about (I don’t drink whites as a general rule). But for you I shall try to do better in future! [grin]

Hmmm, wine matching. It’s certainly something that I don’t really do. You know it’s probably fear. I’m more likely to be chugging on a beer or two with my dinner, so I guess I could do that instead. Then again I should conquer my fear. Fear is the mind killer…..

…hang about…people get paid to do this?????

I have to agree with Johanna (in her blog post - sorry, you’ll have to click through to see what I’m agreeing with!!) - I am primarily a food blogger so cooking is pretty much always on my mind. Once the food is cooked then we might decide to open a bottle of something nice & appropriate, but to be honest if it is a weeknight I usually dissuade Nick from doing so as I really don’t want to drink half a bottle of wine on a “school night” and I hate leaving a really good bottle of wine open in the fridge overnight as very few are improved by this!! So often we end up drinking something arbitrary & I don’t bother to mention it. Also (and this is purely my OCD showing…), I tend to only want to post about wines if I have made proper tasting notes, and often in the heat of the moment I eat, drink & forget to take notes! And I feel to embarrassed to just say “it was nice”! But that’s just me…

Oh, and re. champagne Johanna, this is going to sound like sacrilege, but a dry champagne/cava and olives work for me - not a million miles from fino and olives which is acknowleged as a good combo…