Food and Wine Matching Demystified

Food and wine matching has been practised around the world for thousands of years and it's one of the most pleasurable yet challenging aspects of my job.

As head sommelier of ARIA I'm lucky enough to get feedback from customers on our matches.  It's often the match you think will work that doesn't and vice versa - but that's half the fun.  At the end of the day it's a matter of personal opinion what works and what doesn't but here are some thoughts to get you started.

1. The 'old school' train of thought is to match wines with food that has a similar or shared intensity  (eg rich food with rich wine,  or more delicate dishes with more elegant wines).  Wine and food pair well when they share common ground or backbone, just like people.  For example, twice cooked pork belly with glazed apple would typically marry well with an off-dry chenin blanc from the Loire Valley. This is because on the palate there are similar textures but the fruit sweetness of this wine would marry perfectly with the stickiness of the pork and the subtle apple component.
2. The 'opposites attract' (yin and yang) strategy was a revelation about 20 years ago and is still used and followed today.. this is where you might have a rich ingredient and use a wine to essentially 'cut' through it..  Such a match would be ripe Brie de Meaux cow's milk cheese paired with a non-vintage blanc de blancs champagne to go against the grain and cut through the oily richness.
3. Temperature and timing-  are you serving the wine at the correct temperature?  A red or white served too cold or warm may impair its true profile and hinder its partnership with the food.  Decanting white (yes whites) and red (and even sparkling) is a good way to bring wines to their optimum drinking temperatures and can also change/enhance their textures, flavour profiles and mouthfeel, making for more versatile options across a whole meal as opposed to just one course.
4. Always try to consider the focal point.. are you wanting to showcase a 'special' wine to your friends? In that case the food should work around the wine and play second fiddle, or are you promoting a certain dish or theme, in which case the wine should be part of the backstage crew.
5. You need to consider the cooking techniques (eg is it confit or grilled), plus what condiments/sauces (acidic or creamy?) are used as these all influence how a wine will pair 'overall'.  A simple dish with a potent sauce can often over-power a wine and the same can be said on the flipside.
6. For sweet foods... serve a riper style of wine from a warmer vintage, or choose a wine that has a similar degree of sweetness so they are on the same page (eg German Riesling from 2003).
7. For salty foods.... look at an off-dry or slightly sweet wine as they compliment each other.  Avoid high-alcohol wines or those with dominant oak. (eg try Alsace Pinot Gris or Joven Tempranillo).   
8. For spicy foods.... go for wines with some residual sugar or fruit sweetness, or dry and fresh Rosé (Bandol from Provence) is always a good option.  Gewürztraminer often has the spicy backbone to cover all bases but as a back-up I'd recommend you buy some beer as your secret weapon.
9. For bitter foods.... opt for wines high in acidity and that perhaps have a bit of oak dominance, drying tannins or a savoury finish (Italy is good.. Nebbiolo for red or for white try a Vermentino). 
10. For foods that are tart.... go for a wine with similar astringency or with greener characters.  Give red wine a miss here. (whites of choice: Adelaide Hills sauvignon blanc or young hunter semillon)

Try the following experiments out on your friends - it's far better to get as many people involved as possible so I reckon its a good excuse for a dinner party!  And as always I'd love to hear your comments on what you uncovered.

• Try the same wine but in two different glasses to compare contrasting aromas, textures and flavours.  Glassware can make a massive difference so best to experiment.
• Try the same dish but with three different wines and go through a process of elimination, from worst to best. Do they sing on the palate with the dish or does one stick out more than it should?
• It's amazing what sight can do to 'trick' your mind.  It might make for a strange looking dinner party, but try a dish and the wine while blindfolded.  Pre-conceived ideas can limit a 'match made in heaven'.  Let the aromas and your taste buds do the talking.

One of the most inspiring 'wine and food' days I have had this year was with Catherine Faller of Domaine Weinbach in Alsace, France in June.  Her passion and enthusiasm blew me away and I really like her philosophy of producing wines of 'emotion' and 'pleasure'. When Catherine talked about their wines she kept listing great food matches.  She also had a great analogy: "the best wines I've tried are like a fine painting - everything is in balance and harmony.  The closer you get the more complex it is".  Catherine younger sister, Laurence, makes the wines now and a white of particular interest I tried that day was the 2009 Reserve Gewürztraminer which they paired with some Choucroute (local pork specialty), Foie Gras and Gruyere.  Pretty senstational stuff - one of the best I've tried...Gewürztraminer is the most aromatic grape variety in Alsace, on the nose there was a seductive perfume of pink florals (rose petals) with spicy sandlewood and candied orange peel, whilst the palate was silky with opulent stone fruits (white peach).  Powerful wine with some residual sugar but balanced by impeccable acidity.

The 2009 vintage of this wine is arriving on Australian shores soon. Click here to purchase. ($67 per bottle)

At the end of day keep food and wine matching fun - it's awesome to see faces light up when you get it right. If you can think outside the square and try some new techniques then you can experience a new journey, or perhaps re-live a favourite memory or blast from the past that can transport you to that special time or place.