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wine pairing food mismatch?


goofy md

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I am having some of my wine tasting group over and have selected some wines I want to serve. (trying to stay within my cellar). the problem is they don't match with the foods I want to serve- mainly because I cant serve meat.

I want to start with a tuna tartare with 2003 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage Blanc Chevalier de Sterimberg (a good match)

then couple pizza tart preparations with pistachio basil pesto and forest mushrooms with truffle oil paired with a 1990 Poderi Aldo Conterno Barolo Bussia Soprana ( good match)

now the problem- I really want to serve a parchment paper hong kong style sea bass but I'd like to do it with a bigger red- a 1986 Chateau Montelena or 1997 Ojai Syrah Cuvée Henry Daniel . (the fish has a marin, but mostly soy sauce, vegetable broth, garlic, and ginger.)

And I'll probably make some sort of dark chocolate dessert either with a vintage port or Domaine des Baumard Quarts de Chaume

I really want to throw caution into the wind and just do it. would that be a big mistake? :wacko:

Edited by goofy md (log)
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In my in-expert opinion, but with some experience of odd drink-food mismatches, i would say that timing could curry favour. I know it's not exactly conventional but you could serve the wine before the third course, or move away after the meal for an aperitif. Or it could work anyway? sometimes things just work. even though they don't.

good luck anyhow.

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The Chateau Montelena is going to obliterate that sea bass. And the salty sauce will make the wine taste funny. You need animal fat (generally meat, but butter will do too) to match a big tannic red. You need something acidic (and therefore probably white) if you're going with the salty Asian style preparation with the fish.

Is there anything else in the cellar you could serve? I'd hate to see such a gorgeous bottle of wine not get shown off to its best advantage. Save the Montelena for a night you're eating steak or duck or something it'll stand up to.

Katie M. Loeb
Booze Muse, Spiritual Advisor

Author: Shake, Stir, Pour:Fresh Homegrown Cocktails

Cheers!
Bartendrix,Intoxicologist, Beverage Consultant, Philadelphia, PA
Captain Liberty of the Good Varietals, Aphrodite of Alcohol

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I don't have many good whites, and don't like pinots, so mostly big full bodied wines. I personally don't mind most mis matches, but don't want to offend others.

what if I change my preparation. I still want to work with sea bass cooked en Papillote (in Parchment). Probably on a bed of carrots, mushrooms, onions. what else should I add to fit in better. Probably with a syrah- either a Ojai or maybe a Lillian. :cool:

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Why not move up on the fish and consider salmon or another not so delicate as the sea bass, that may hold it's own with the wine.

you may be right. maybe I'll "bag" the sea bass and try a salmon instead. I'll head to whole foods to see what fish looks good. I do make a mean cedar planked salomon with a spicey brown sugar rub. practice run tonight ! :biggrin:

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The salmon locally is all farm raised and looks awful.

O.K. I'm getting the idea that my square peg (fish) is not fitting in the round hole. I'm a little hard headed sometimes.

what if I do a grilled portobello stuffed with ratatouille? I'd still want to serve it with one of the previously mentioned wines-a 1986 Chateau Montelena,1997 Ojai Syrah Cuvée Henry Daniel or 1995 Tardieu-Laurent Hermitage , maybe the Hermitage to keep the provincial theme. or would you pick another one?

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The salmon locally is all farm raised and looks awful.

O.K. I'm getting the idea that my square peg (fish) is not fitting in the round hole. I'm a little hard headed sometimes.

what if I do a grilled portobello stuffed with ratatouille? I'd still want to serve it with one of the previously mentioned wines-a 1986 Chateau Montelena,1997 Ojai Syrah Cuvée Henry Daniel or 1995 Tardieu-Laurent Hermitage , maybe the Hermitage to keep the provincial theme. or would you pick another one?

Do they sell lamb in your neck of the woods? :hmmm:

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You're still wasting really good wine that's weeping like a martyr to have meat with it. There's no fish or other parve alternative that is going to stand up to any of those big phat tannic red wines. Really. Even by reverse engineering the meal, and choosing the wine before the food, the thing that matches is red blooded animal protein with a good dose of fat. It is what it is. The wine won't be bad, but you'll have completely missed showcasing it with a well matched menu. If you have cases of it lying about I guess it doesn't matter, but if that's your only single bottle of something you could surely do better.

Is there any way in hell to convince your wife to have the parve portion of the meal be dessert???? Perhaps you could prevail upon her to lighten up about the dessert course, which would make the entire construction and flow of the meal a lot easier to handle.

Katie M. Loeb
Booze Muse, Spiritual Advisor

Author: Shake, Stir, Pour:Fresh Homegrown Cocktails

Cheers!
Bartendrix,Intoxicologist, Beverage Consultant, Philadelphia, PA
Captain Liberty of the Good Varietals, Aphrodite of Alcohol

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Would your wife be comfortable with an appropriate delay between a chicken dish (perhaps a coq au vin or something in the same vein) and a milk dish? I know kosher traditions vary a lot in terms of mixing milk and proteins...

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Would your wife be comfortable with an appropriate delay between a chicken dish (perhaps a coq au vin or something in the same vein) and a milk dish? I know kosher traditions vary a lot in terms of mixing milk and proteins...

you right, unfortunately we go 4 hours. my mind set at this moment- which does by the way change from moment to moment, is

to grill the sea bass on a cedar plank and serve it on a eggplant, mushroom, olive tapenade with a Hermitage. i don't know.

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We had a great night. one couple dropped out at the last minute, so my wife made me drop the pizza course.

Started with a spinach and roasted garlic hummus with :

1997 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape (4/4/2008)

lemon, apple and honeydew nose. great balance, minerality, pineapple good long finish (94 pts.)

then had a tuna tar tare and avocado tower on a bed of heirloom lettuce with heirloom tomatoes with:

2003 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage Blanc Chevalier de Sterimberg - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage (4/6/2008)

lemon meringue nose with citrus undertones. nice big oily attack with complex middle and very long finish of crisp apple. (95 pts.)

then had a cedar plank grilled Iron jaw snapper encrusted in Herbs de Provence over ratatouille (the fish guy at whole foods suggested it. I thought it worked fairly nicely. I'm not sure it added much to the wine, but in my opinion, it didn't take anything from it either.)

1995 Tardieu-Laurent Hermitage - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage (4/6/2008)

rubber, tar , earth, mushrooms, black pepper and cherry nose. good acidity, with more earth on the finish. good balance. (93 pts.)

Dark chocolate brownie with chocolate chips and almonds in an Oreo cookie crust covered in a chocolate ganache and topped with raspberries.

1977 Taylor (Fladgate) Porto Vintage - Portugal, Douro, Porto (4/6/2008)

nice nose of cherry, rhubarb, carmel . good richness and dept with a long finish. decanted for 12 hours and needed all of it- was too medicinal/alcoholic at 10, but this resolved by 12. (92 pts.)

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