Wine Pairing

[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.