When you succeed in matching the right wines with these dishes, you end up with a 1+1= 3 kind of result. Some simple examples are:
· Roast Chicken and Riesling (not chicken and Chablis)
· Schnitzel and Chardonnay
· Seafood and Sauvignon Blanc
· Pork and (rich, ripe) Pinot Gris
· Duck and Pinot Noir
· Lamb and (elegant Cabernet Merlot)
· Steak and Cabernet Shiraz
· Beef casserole and robust red (Barossa/McLaren Vale Shiraz or GSM)
· Rich desserts go well with stickies
With Pizza and Pasta, match the wine to the main ingredient, i.e. seafood or salami, white or red. Beyond that, things get a bit fuzzy. Bubbly is best on its own, old Semillon is good with sharp cheeses, and Ports, Muscats or Tokays are great with nuts and raisins and sultanas. It’s best not to make these rules too rigid, keep an open mind and experiment a little.
The subtleties can be important, though. Last night, we had some lamb with a rich Barossa Shiraz which was all we had handy by way of a decent red. The Pinot Noir we had would’ve been too subtle, but the 14.5% Shiraz overpowered the lamb. A 13% Cabernet blend or straight Cabernet would’ve been a better match.
Dishes like the Paella can be tricky to match because we may have seafood mixed with chicken and chorizos. Here I’d suggest a middle course: a big Chardonnay or a white Rhone style – Marsanne, Roussanne, Viognier – that’s a few years old. This might also be the best option with a Salade Nicoise.
Kim