The taste of wine varies with a number of things including the glassware, the companion you drink it with, where you drink it, the mood you’re in and most particularly the type of food it is paired with. The old rule of red wine with red meat and white wine with white meat or fish is pretty basic and perhaps not even good guidance today. That rule doesn’t even cover some dishes or modern trends. What about pasta? Sushi? Different sauces and different types of preparation? To get guidance, it’s always smart to consult food and wine experts, and luckily Pittsburgh is brimming with them.
The first inquiry was to Jill Kummer, Bailli (president) of the Pittsburgh Chapter and a member of the international council of the worldwide food and wine group, the Chaine des Rotisseurs. She is also a culinary instructor at Westmoreland County Community College. A curveball question was what she likes with vegetarian meals. Her first response was Pinot Noir from Oregon which is a favorite go-to, but she followed by saying all vegetables are not created equal. Certainly brussels sprouts and asparagus differ from red peppers and beets. She felt the former would pair well with a nice crisp Sauvignon Blanc, as the higher acidity can cut the slight bitterness of brussels sprouts while the latter compliments the asparagus, as it is even used as a term to describe the taste of Sauvignon Blanc.
Kummer continued by saying that a mushroom lasagna paired with a Chateauneuf du Pape (CDP) from the Southern Rhone can be ideal. A CDP is typically made mostly from the Grenache grape, which originated in the Aragon region of Spain, so a Spanish Grenache based wine is another good (and less expensive) choice. The final advice was to always seek balance. “It’s not good if you eat a meal and can’t remember the food for the wine or vice versa,” Kummer said.
Next up was Deb Mortillaro, the proprietor of Dreadnought Wines in Lawrenceville. Mortillaro has a diploma from the Wine and Spirits Educational Trust which takes several years to achieve, and she was a private chef for a prominent Pittsburgh family. The use of canned fishes such as sardines, anchovies or tuna is a hot culinary trend, so Mortillaro offered some perfect pairings. Her wine choices for these are either a Beaujolais, made from the Gamay grape, or a dry Reisling from Germany and the Alsace region of France. The high acid in these wines cuts the fattiness of the canned fish but doesn’t overpower it.
Mortillaro also brought up the famous Japanese wine of sake and said it is a difficult wine to pair. It will go well, however, with salad dressed with a sherry vinegar dressing or with smoked salmon. For dessert the usual wine is Sauternes from southern Bordeaux. While Mortillaro doesn’t dispute this choice, she did point out that if the sugar level isn’t similar in both the dessert and the Sauternes, it can be a mismatch. If the dessert is too sweet, then the wine can seem sour. She suggested a workaround for this would be to serve the dessert first and then serve the wine afterward.
The third expert was Andy Tepper, co-owner of the restaurant Spork, located in Friendship, and the Echanson (leader) of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Mondiale du Vin, an international group dedicated to the appreciation of wine. Tepper advised that champagne goes with just about anything. An obvious choice is caviar (if you can afford it), but he has had it with non-spicy beef jerky and thoroughly enjoyed that pairing.
For birds, particularly duck and goose, Tepper’s favorite is Pinot Noir—particularly those of the Burgundy region of France. What about shellfish? “It has to be the white wines of Burgundy (made from the Chardonnay grape). If it’s lobster with a buttery sauce I would go with Chardonnay from California, which tends to be bigger and richer than Burgundy and thus able to pair better with the butter,” said Tepper.
Tepper’s final thought was to finish a big meal with a small glass of armagnac, which is distilled from grapes in the Gascony region of France. A digestif after a big or rich meal can help avoid stomach distress the next morning. As a brandy, armagnac is much more alcoholic than wine and has a taste more akin to whiskey. Why armagnac and not the better-known brandy cognac? A friend of Tepper’s once told him— “The French export Cognac. They grudgingly yield armagnac.”
So, what’s the perfect pairing? It’s the one you like best! Wine is a very personal thing. Try to experiment with different combinations to find your own favorites.
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