Last week we talked about wine pairing differences. This week we’re talking similarities.
Need to catch up? Here are the wine 101 posts so far:
Wine pairing 101 – Opposites attract
Body
As I mentioned in the What does wine taste like? post, a wine’s body refers to how heavy it seems to be.* As wine educator Larissa Dubose teaches, think about the difference between skim milk and heavy cream. The skim milk is lighter and thinner, and the heavy cream is heavier and coats your tongue. An example of a light-bodied white wine is an Italian Pinot Grigio, or, as Hubby likes to refer to them, “water.” He’s a bit hard on Italian whites – I love them. A heavy bodied white wine is a Viognier. Reds tend to be heavier than whites, but think about the difference between a Pinot Noir and a Cabernet. The Cab is definitely heavier.
One rule of thumb to follow is that heavier foods pair better with heavier wines. More simply, you want a wine that won’t overwhelm or be overwhelmed by the food.
Flavor
Then there’s flavor. It’s great to have contrast, but sometimes it’s good to pick up on elements that both the food and wine share. For example, the tart fruit in Chianti plays well with tomato-based dishes. They’re both tart, so they don’t overwhelm each other.
Examples
Let’s consider some examples. First, in the non-wine world:
Milk and cookies – both have sweetness
Peanut butter and jelly – both have similar weight on the tongue
Ham and cheese – both salty, similarly weighted
In the wine world:
White wine and fish – both lighter in weight and flavor (depending on cooking method, of course)
Steak and Cabernet – both heavy and rich
Rosé and pork tenderloin – both light to medium-bodied
Yes, cooking methods can make things complicated because how you prepare something can affect how heavy it is and add different flavors. Sometimes you can get away with a light-bodied red with fish or a heavier white with meat. This is where it’s good to practice but also to ask for recommendations when you’re eating out and trying to find that perfect glass or bottle for with your meal.
Case study: what to pair with…
Barbecue!
All right, so some of you are probably saying, “Duh, beer,” but sometimes people don’t like beer. Or the high-grav stuff they like is too heavy for the summer. Or there’s not a gluten-free option. Or maybe you just want a glass of wine with your ribs.
Enter the Côtes du Ventoux. Hubby and I discovered this gem when we went to Belgium for my mom’s family reunion in 2008. Yes, Mom is full-blooded Belgian, and my sister and I definitely favor that side of the family rather than the Italians, at least in coloring. I didn’t realize how much so until we were walking along the boardwalk in Blankenberg, and my husband turned to me and said, “Hey, all these people look like you and your sister!”
It’s nice to know where you come from.
We stayed in an old European-style (see: shared bathrooms) hotel run by a lovely woman who would open wine every evening and host a social hour for her guests. The Ventoux was her wine of choice. It’s a sub-type of the Côtes du Rhône, so it’s a Grenache-Syrah blend, and it does have some tannin, or that dry bitterness, to it, but it’s also got a lot of nice fruit. Keep that in mind as we continue this case study. Basically, Hubby and I have deemed it to be the flamingly gay cousin to the Côtes du Rhône – you can tell they’re related, but it’s a lot less restrained.
The wine in question this particular evening was the Chateau Pesquie Côtes du Ventoux (60% Grenache, 40% Syrah). Let’s think about the pairing principles we’ve considered so far. The best pairing is one that takes advantage of both opposites and similarities between the food and the wine.
As for opposites, barbecue tends to be heavy and fatty. Sorry, as much as you may want to consider pork the other white meat and therefore healthy, it comes in healthier forms than barbecue, which does tend to be fatty. Plus there are the sauce and sides. European wines tend to have higher acid, which cuts through the fat and makes you want to take another bite. It’s almost like a little palate cleanser between bites.
And then there are the similarities. The Ventoux has enough body to stand up to the barbecue, meaning that neither overpowers the other. The fruit in the wine plays well with the sweetness in the barbecue sauce and sides. There’s also that tannic bit that complements the smokiness.
I’m going to try more Ventoux and Rhône blends with barbecue in the future, but I’d call this a promising case study to start.
Cheers!
*I almost wrote, “How thick it feels in the mouth” but thankfully caught that one in time. Leaving it down here for those of you with an inner twelve-year-old to giggle over.