Food and Wine Pairings

[oliva]

What kinds of wines do people like to pair with high acidity foods, let's say a potato salad with a mustard vinaigrette, for example?

[Beachfan]

How about California or New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc or a Sancerre?

[tommy]

i generally subsribe to the idea that you either stick with similiar elements, or go completely opposite. i usually stick with acidic wines with acidic foods. i'd be tempted to pair the potato salad with mustard vinaigrette with a light, fruity, acidic, possibly slightly chilled red. my old standby of a cabernet franc from chinon would be my initial thought (as it usually is).

[bellaS.F.]

What are you serving with the potato salad?

[Ron Johnson]

Riesling gives you a great balance of acidity and fruit in a wine. For very acidic dishes based in vinegar or mustard I would recommend Alsatian riesling, especially those from Trimbach or Hugel.

Other whites known for acidity are Muscadet (sometimes lacking in roundness) which pairs well with oysters.

Gruner Veltliner, a lovely wine from Austria, can also have a pleasing level of acidity.

Gewurztraminer from the Finger Lakes rergion in NY would also be good.

White wines to avoid would be those from the Rhone Valley and American chardonnay.

For reds, the classic high acid wine is Chianti, and really anything made from 100% sangiovese. That is why these wine pair so well with tomato based sauces, which are quite high in acid themselves.

Cabernet Francs from the Loire Valley such as Bourgueil and Chinon are medium-bodied with that lemon-squirt acidity. As Tommy said, they are nice served with a slight chill on them.

Red wines to avoid would be american merlot, cabernet sauvignon, or Aussie reds.

[Steve Plotnicki]

To add to Ron's very good list, Alsatian wines consistantly stand up to the toughest pairing. What could have more acid than choucroute? It has saurkraut AND mustard? I also find that the white wines from Friuli work well with light tomato sauces that are used in seafood. Pinot Bianco and good Pinot Grigios are great paired with seafood risotto, and have enough acid in them to counterbalance the acidity from the tomato in the risotto. But when talking straight tomatoes, the classic pairing is Hungarian Tokaii.

[Wilfrid]

...let's say a potato salad with a mustard vinaigrette, for example?

Beer.

[oliva]

Ya Wilfrid, I agree with the beer comment! A nice negra modelo would be great with the potato salad. However, since we are talking about wines....!!

Ron Johnson, you mentioned that one should stay away from American Chardonnay. However, myy favourite is the Jayson Pahlmeyer Chardonnay, which has a strong backbone of acidity. It paired very well with a shrimp and lobster salad I had, which was dressed with a mustard-white wine vinaigrette.

[tommy]

Ron Johnson, you mentioned that one should stay away from American Chardonnay. However, myy favourite is the Jayson Pahlmeyer Chardonnay, which has a strong backbone of acidity. It paired very well with a shrimp and lobster salad I had, which was dressed with a mustard-white wine vinaigrette.

american chardonnay demands specifics, as you've provided, as there are so many horrible, horrible wines from CA. these days, there are a few exceptions, and they are very exciting to find.

[Ron Johnson]

However, myy favourite is the Jayson Pahlmeyer Chardonnay, which has a strong backbone of acidity. It paired very well with a shrimp and lobster salad I had, which was dressed with a mustard-white wine vinaigrette.

I am glad you enjoyed your Pahlmeyer chardonnay with that dish. However, it does not have the type of acidity of which I described in my list of white wines.

Pahlmeyer Chardonnay undergoes 100% malolactic fermentation, a process by which the malic acid is converted to a very soft lactic acid, thereby noticeably reducing the acidity and creating the characteristic buttery mouthfeel of California chardonnay. Additionally, it is barrel fermented and aged in new french oak for 11 months, giving the wine a pronounced woodiness and further softening the acidity.

Tasted side by side with a Trimbach Alsatian Reisling, I think you will notice the difference.

[Ron Johnson]

american chardonnay demands specifics, as you've provided, as there are so many horrible, horrible wines from CA.

Don't forget that they are also quite expensive.

[rich]

Cabernet Franc - from North Fork of Long Island (Pellegrini, Lieb or Lenz)

Sauvignon Blanc - Channing Daughters

Chenin Blanc - Chapellet (Napa)

Gerwurztraminer - Windsor (Sonoma)

[tommy]

american chardonnay demands specifics, as you've provided, as there are so many horrible, horrible wines from CA.

Don't forget that they are also quite expensive.

rich, i like you already. just had some pellegrini at lunch today. unforunately, they didn't have cab franc, so i settled for their merlot, which really is about 1/2 as exciting.

oh no. lots of horrible CA wines can be bought for 10 dollars or less.

[LaNiña]

not to mention LI merlot

[tommy]

not to mention LI merlot

somehow, half of my post got lost. i also said:

rich, i like you already. i just had some pellegrini at lunch today, but they didn't have cab franc, so i had to settle for merlot, which is about 1/2 as exciting.

[guajolote]

Matthew and I are having dinner together

Our menu is:

Asian Style Tuna Tartare (NV Champagne)

Seafood Cocktail Campeche (Alsatian Riesling)

Composed Summer Vegetable Salad (Tavel Rose)

Pork Loin stuffed with Sausage and Apricots (Red Burgundy)

Berry Gratin

Please help us with wine pairings for each course. My initial thoughts are in the parentheses but I would like some guidance from experts.

Thanks

[MatthewB]

Matthew and I are having dinner together

Our menu is:

Asian Style Tuna Tartare (NV Champagne)

Seafood Cocktail Campeche (Alsatian Riesling)

Composed Summer Vegetable Salad (Tavel Rose)

Pork Loin stuffed with Sausage and Apricots (Red Burgundy)

Berry Gratin

Please help us with wine pairings for each course. My initial thoughts are in the parentheses  but I would like some guidance from experts.

Thanks

Here are some ideas . . .

Spanish Cava with the Tuna Tartare

A good "soave" (like the Anselmi San Vincenzo--can you pick this up, G? I can't find any in GR right now) with the seafood campeche

A white Bourdeaux with the vegetable salad

(I agree with the red burgundy with the pork)

Not sure either on the berry gratin pairing.

[docsconz]

An alternative to the burgundy with the pork could be the Alsatian reisling or a gewutztraminer. Another potentially interesting possibility would be to do a dinner with different expressions of pinot gris (e.g. Italian, Oregonian and Alsatian).

[inventolux]

An alternative to the burgundy with the pork could be the Alsatian reisling or a gewutztraminer. Another potentially interesting possibility would be to do a dinner with different expressions of pinot gris (e.g. Italian, Oregonian and Alsatian).

Im with doc here.

[Crash]

My heavens, that really sounds like a delightful menu!

Your initial thoughts are all wonderful, but as a wine professional, I'd have to ask a few questions/make some comments.

For the tuna tartare, I like the idea of pairing it with bubbles, but go with something light and dry, a blanc de blancs that has some racy acidity, rather than one that is Pinot based (a tad too heavy for the dish and the weather, I think) If you like, you can even try a nice Vouvray Brut (such as Foreau, Fouquet or Huet, to my mind the three best growers in Vouvray) or a well-made Prosecco Frizzante rather than a Brut. (Bisson is the best I've had in this regard - it tastes like great Muscadet with bubbles!).

For the seafood cocktail campeche, I congratulate you on selecting a Riesling, which I consider the King of white wine grapes. Alsace Riesling is wonderful, but select carefully. To my mind, the two best growers in Alsace are Boxler and Deiss, with Albert Mann, Bernard Schoffit and Charles Schleret being personal favorites. (No disrespect to Olivier Humbrecht at Zind-Humbrecht, but that house style is on the sweet side) Any of the recent vintages should suffice.

Tavel for the Composed Summer Vegetable Salad? Brilliant. Guajolote, your sensibilities are spot-on. Almost any rosé would be great, but I would lean towards the less weighty ones, such as Tavel, but consider Sancerre rosé if you can find some. Get 2002's if you can, but some slower markets might have 2001's or even 2000's that are still perfectly delightful.

Red Burgundy for the Pork Loin? Why not? Any excuse to drink red Burgundy is a good one, and I am a sensualist by nature, so it is always an appealing idea.

Sure there are other recommendations I could make, but your instincts are excellent, and my first rule of wine recommendations is this: Drink what YOU like, not what someone THINKS you should like, but always keep an open mind. We aren't born liking these things, after all. I am personnally quite proud that you are embracing some of the best, though least popular wines sold in the U.S.A. Good for you, and bon appetite. à santé!

[tommy]

i love the champagne with the tuna, especially if it's a bit spicy.

my only question is what time and what should i bring.

i'm not sure what "Campeche" is, but if it's acidic (please excuse my ignorance), i'd avoid sweeter wines. but i'm a freak.

the vegetable salad. are they grilled? how's that done.

[KatieLoeb]

I'd actually see if you could find a sparkling Riesling for the Tuna tartare. I've had this with sashimi and it's tremendous. Really compliments the saltiness (assumption: "Asian style" means there's soy or ponzu sauce?) and the fattiness of the tuna.

I like the idea of Pinot Gris variants - particularly with the seafood cocktail. Or perhaps a Spanish or Portugese white like a Verdelho would be complimentary. Or Muscadet de Sevre et Main. Depends on the sauce. Acidic wouldn't be good, but simple and briny would be delicious with one of these.

YAY! Someone else who drinks pink wine! Bravo! Tavel is very tasty, or perhaps a light weight Bardolino Chiaretto or a Garnacha rosado from Spain.

Pork loin - I confess I don't eat a lot of pork, but an elegant Burgundian Pinot Noir (see if you can find one by Ampeau) sounds luscious if you really like to drink red with it. Or else an Alsatian Gewurztraminer would be lovely with the sausage and apricots, but hard to go to after the Rose. It would have to be closer to off-dry to follow. Or perhaps a Marsanne? Another red alternative would be a Cotes du Rhone with a few years on it so it's softened a bit.

For the berry gratin I'd have a glass of Brachetto d'Acqui. I LOVE Brachetto with berries. A light red sparking Piemontese wine that smells of berries and is incredibly refreshing and not heavy after a big meal.

Sounds like a really yummy dinner!

[jsolomon]

For the berry gratin I'd have a glass of Brachetto d'Acqui.  I LOVE Brachetto with berries.  A light red sparking Piemontese wine that smells of berries and is incredibly refreshing and not heavy after a big meal.

Sounds like a really yummy dinner!

I agree wholeheartedly with Katieloeb on the pink wines.

For the gratin, I would go with one of those lovely red sparklies, or (if your palates aren't overworked already) a port. But, I think a mid-range pink sparkling wine would be great, just like a tentatively flawed pink wine goes so well with those super-fresh big summer tastes.

[Echezeaux]

I find the menu and wine accompaniments you've selected to be quite tasteful.

I like the Champagne and Tuna Tartare suggestion and I wouldn't mind if it's Pinot-based or Chardonnay, just so long as it's well-balanced and quite dry & crisp. I'm also a fan of some of the Rose Champagnes...Laurent Perrier is quite good and really berryish and crisp.

With the seafood cocktail--I might alter the selection to some sort of Sauvignon Blanc, especially if the Campechana "cocktail" has the cilantro and jalepenos which are often a part of Yucatan cuisine. I suppose a stony, minerally Riesling might work, but for my personal taste-buds, I'd opt for a bone dry, crisp, limey New Zealand Sauvignon...but the key here is something youthful and racy. Muscadet, given the tendency towards spiciness in this dish, is probably too light and delicate. Pinot Gris, for my taste, doesn't usually have enough "snap" to stand up to this.

The Tavel Rose, providing it's not one of the "sweet" ones, should be marvelous with the vegetable salad. If the Tavel has nice spice notes, I'd be sure to grind some pepper atop the salad before serving.

You shouldn't need much of an excuse for drinking Burgundy. I can appreciate others' suggestions for Pinot Gris given the apricots in the pork, but I would opt for a berryish, cherryish Pinot (rather than a more earthy or gamey styled wine) in this instance. A lighter styled, fruity Zinfandel should also work well in this case. And in this weather, it should be served with a slight chill (cellar temperature being about 55-degrees).

The berry dessert can be matched, if you're still thirsty, with the Brachetto (suggested earlier), a fresh, lively Moscato, a late-picked Austrian or German wine, etc.

I think the progression of flavors/intensities, etc. should make for a memorable culinary experience!

Happy hedonism!

[melkor]

If your going for a pink sparkler with the tuna, check out Paul Bara Rose. If you can find it, it's great juice at a reasonable price.