Wine and Food Pairing with CIA Wine & Spirits Professor, Michael Weiss
Part II of
Cakebreads annual wine and food celebration, the American Harvest Workshop, featured , who led an informative seminar about wine and food pairing. Weiss, the professor of wine and spirits at Hyde Park, New Yorks Culinary Institute of America, is also the author of
Forget red with meat, white with fish, he began energetically. Instead, he offered several tips for making a wide variety of wines work with the foods you cook.
1. Complement or Contrast Youve probably heard this one before. If youre using a cream sauce, complement the flavor with a wine that has creamy flavors. One thats undergone malolactic fermentation is a good bet try a . Other good combinations: Using black pepper? Try a ; Black olives? Choose an . Fruit flavors such as cassis playing a role? Choose a .
2. Bridging If you use the same wine in the food and in the glass, youre creating an echo of flavors that will work well on the palate. If youre pouring a special wine for dinner that you dont want to cook with, no worries. Use a wine from the same region or another wine made from the same grape to allude to the wine in the glass.
Check back for the next installment, featuring Weiss suggestions for pairing seafood and a discussion of how cooking techniques can affect pairing choices!
(Photo courtesy of www.winemonger.com)
