Simple with simple, complex with complex

Of course, drinking barolo with a sandwich seems to be a special chic, something unusual and rebellious. However, if you go the traditional way, simple, inexpensive wines are the best match for uncomplicated dishes. For example, a burger with beef patty can be matched with malbec from Caor or Australian shiraz, and a margarita pizza with light pinot grigio or verdejo.

For intricate dishes close to haute cuisine, choose a more refined wine. White or black truffle definitely requires an elegant pinot noir from Burgundy or Piedmontese nebbiolo, lobster – a creamy pouilly-fuissé or pouligny-montrachet, and quail with berry sauce – a structured and noble syrah from Côte-Rôtie or St. Joseph.

The principle of “mirror” and contrast

One of the principles states that food and wine should be equally vibrant and full-bodied so that no one pulls the blanket over the other, but rather everyone is in perfect harmony. For example, a medium-bodied or full-bodied Bordeaux red pairs well with lamb – both have a rich, bright flavor and dense texture. And scallops in a creamy sauce with an oak-aged Chardonnay, as both the dish and the wine have a creamy texture.

On the other hand, many pairings are built precisely on contrast, say a curry and a light, floral pinot blanc from the Rheingau.

Similar aromas and flavors

Choose wines that are close in flavor and aroma to the food. For example, fish with lemon is best accompanied by white acidic wines, where citrus tones always prevail – Albariño, sauvignon blanc or vermentino. And pair with mushrooms with a nebbiolo or pinot noir, which develop flavors of undergrowth, earth and truffle over the years.

One fundamental combination, Muscadet and oysters are united by a light texture and mineral character. Pair wines aged in barrel or from special terroirs that give the wines smoky tones with smoked dishes. For example, a pouilly-fumé will harmonize with smoked white fish.

Fat with acidity and tannin

This combination enthralls many people. Wines with high acidity – sauvignon blanc, albariño, riesling, grüner veltliner – are great for refreshing the receptors, thus creating the right balance. Such wines help to deal with fats, rich sauces and oiliness, they are like dissecting them with a sharp knife. Good choices include albariño and oily white fish, ribeye and malbec from Argentina.

Territoriality

Why is it that when you come to Tuscany, there seems to be no better pairing than Florentine steak and Chianti? It’s all about the local aspect. As a rule, dishes and wines, united by one terroir, have similar shades and accordingly perfectly match each other. Therefore, in a new region, do not be afraid to discover unfamiliar flavors and combinations.

Examples of territorial harmony include salad with goat cheese and white sancerre in the Loire, sauternes and foie gras in Bordeaux, and dumplings and white cat du rhone in the Rhone Valley.

Wine to sauce and garnish

Sometimes we only consider the main ingredient and completely forget about its accompaniment. In wine pairing, this is a gross and unforgivable mistake. After all, one of the main rules states that it is the gravy that rules the ball. If turkey is paired with cream sauce or pear, then white wine with oak aging, say, white Chateauneuf-du-pape, is necessary.

But the same turkey with berry sauce looks better with red Chateauneuf. The same principle should be followed with pasta. Sangiovese or red Rioja is ideal for tomato sauce, verdicchio or lugana for pesto.

Dependence on the “roast”

One and the same product can be cooked in different variations: raw, grilled, oven, etc. And depending on this, completely different styles of wine will suit it. Take beef, for example. A rosé from Navarre will work well with tartare, a merlot from the Right Bank of Bordeaux or California will work well with steak, and a beaujolais cru, Fleury or Morgon will work well with bresaola (beef jerky).

Sweet and salty

Another example of harmonious pairing in contrast. With salty food, an off dry wine will seem less sweet and the food more intense. The most telling example is port or sauternes and blue mold cheese.

Red is not just for meat

Now let’s talk about a few myths of combinations. “Red to meat, white to fish” certainly works 90% of the time. But again the garnish, the sauce, the density of the dish and the wine must be taken into account. An example is the successful union of lightly grilled tuna and barbera from Piedmont. Tuna has a dense texture very close to meat, so it is best matched with medium-bodied red wines or powerful rosé wines like Tavel.

Versatile wines

None of the above is suitable and the question of combinations is still open? Pay attention to gastronomic and universal wines. These include rosé – acidic, moderately aromatic, ready to support both vegetables, fish or even meat. Then there is also worth mentioning oranges, which are wines made from white varieties that undergo maceration on the skins. Orange wines will be extremely harmonious with vegetables and fish dishes. Also successful in this respect are Beaujolais, Valpolicella, medium-bodied chardonnay, pinot blanc wines.

White is better with cheese

We do not want to disappoint you, but cheeses, contrary to popular belief, do not go well with red wines. But sparkling and white wines work much better with them. The combination of cheese and wine should be approached carefully, taking into account the texture of the cheese, aging and additives – truffle, spices and herbs. Territoriality will greatly simplify the choice. Example: brie and crémant or cava, manchego and garnacha, mozzarella di buffalo and greco di tufo, camembert and chenin blanc, pecorino and chianti.

Experiment

And lastly, we advise you not to be afraid to try and pick your own pairings, according to the rules or in spite of them. Muscat with steak or Shiraz with pumpkin – it all depends on your preference. Don’t disdain other drinks either, as it is German lager that will go best with sauerkraut and sausage in Munich.

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1). Preliminary preparation. Wine tasting should be carried out in a quiet, clean and well-ventilated room. It is desirable to achieve natural light, air humidity 60-70% and temperature 19-22 ° C.

Next, wine glasses are properly selected, they should be semi-ellipsoidal (type “tulip”), with a volume of 210-225 ml. Also the following requirements are made to the glasses: thin walls, absolute transparency and the presence of a long stem. Before tasting, the glasses should be clean and dry. They are filled to one third (70-80 milliliters) and held by the stem.

If during the feast it is planned to evaluate several different wines, it is important to follow the order of tasting. The general rule is to start with light wines and move on to more intense wines, from dry to sweet, from young to old. It is recommended to follow the following sequence:

• sparkling (champagne);
• light whites and rosés;
• aged dry whites;
• young reds;
• aged dry whites;
• aged reds;
• sweet and fortified.

2). Visual Phase (“Eye”). The view from above and from the side is evaluated. First, the glass is lowered onto the table and the surface of the wine is looked at. A quality drink should be shiny and there should not be any particles on its surface.

Next, the glass on a white background is raised to eye level, held straight for a few seconds, and then tilted. This is how the transparency, the color of the drink, its shade and the presence of carbon dioxide are determined. The presence of carbon dioxide in the glass is a sign of spoilage (does not apply to champagne).

Visual tasting of white wine. The brilliance and transparency of a white young wine indicates its high acidity. Wines with a light matte hue contain less acidity. A mature drink should have a straw-golden or amber color. If you see a brown or grayish rim on the “disk,” this is evidence that the wine is dying.

Visual tasting of red wines. Drinks of this type range in color from purple to brown. Good young wine comes in dark ruby, purple, garnet or cherry colors. Mature and old wine should be brown or red.

Turbidity or brown color of young wine indicates spoilage or non-compliance with production techniques. A general rule of thumb is that the better the harvest, the more intense the color of the wine.

3). Olfactive phase (“Nose”). Wine is poured into a glass without shaking, inhaled and sniffed. It is important to catch barely perceptible volatile substances and determine their intensity. In a good wine there are no odors of sediment, sulfur or fermentation.

Next, you should swirl the glass while holding it by the stem. This will oxygenate the wine and release the aromatics contained in it. Then the nose is lowered into the glass and the aroma is inhaled. This is how the individual shades of odor of the drink are determined.

The wine is then poured out and the empty glass is sniffed to assess the residual aromatic components of the wine and its resistance to oxygen. Still studying the aroma of the empty glass (it should not be pungent) gives an idea of the alcohol content of the beverage.

4). The phase of taste perception (“Mouth”). A small amount of wine is taken into the mouth. The first sensation caused by the drink is called “attack” by experts. In a good wine, its pronounced flavor is immediately perceptible. After holding the drink in your mouth for a few seconds, open your lips slightly and let in a little air.

Now you should concentrate on your sensations. Warming up in the mouth, the wine will release aromatic substances. It is at this point that you can analyze its acidity, sweetness bitterness and consistency.

A metallic flavor indicates a lack of acidity, while too much viscosity indicates an oversaturation of tannin. All the components of the wine should be well balanced, a clear highlighting of one of them indicates a low quality drink.

The aftertaste of a wine is the continuation of its flavor and aroma after a sip. If the wine is of poor quality, the aftertaste disappears very quickly. It is this fact that deserves close attention when tasting. It is important to remember that the aftertaste does not include a pronounced feeling of strength, tannin saturation and acidity. These are clear signs of a bad wine.

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“The proportion of mineral nutrients in the finished wine has only a complex, indirect and remote relationship to the geological minerals in the vineyard,” says Oxford University professor Alex Maltman in his 2018 book Vineyards, Rocks & Soils.

Soils affect how the vine was nourished, how the grapes ripened, what they are nourished with and, consequently, what the resulting compounds are converted into.

So what types of soils do sommeliers like to talk about?

Clay soils

Soils with the finest particles – shallower than silt and sand – so they retain water well and maintain cool temperatures. This is especially useful in vineyards in hot, dry climates. Clay soils tend to be rich in nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus, which the vine converts into the compounds it needs to live.
Clay soils have poor drainage, so vineyards can become waterlogged. Clay is heavy and requires a lot of labor. The wines are full-bodied, rich. The wines are full-bodied and rich.

Regions: Napa, Bordeaux, Rioja and Ribera del Duero, Von Romanée.

Slate

The dark shades of slate make it a good conductor of heat and its appearance promotes drainage, which is very useful in climates prone to rain. Slate also reduces soil erosion. On the other hand, the structure of slate soils makes the vines “work” more for water. The wines are complex, mineral wines.

Famous regions with slate soils: Moselle, Priorat, Alsace, Languedoc, Loire and Rhone valleys, the Douro Valley

Sandy soils

Very porous soils through which water can easily pass.
Drained soils are good for vines, but can lead to drought stress if the root of the young vine does not have access to water reserves. Vines on sandy soils are resistant to phylloxera. Sand is low in organic matter, so many grape growers use compost or humus from plant cover crops.
The wines are non-expressive, light, elegant.

Regions: northern Medoc and Grave in Bordeaux in France, Dao, Setubal, Colares in Portugal, the Bethany area in the Barossa Valley and Blewitt Springs in McLaren Vale in Australia, the Franshoek Valley in South Africa.

Granite

Composition and texture vary with location. Water seeps quickly into rocky soils and roots have to grow deep to extract moisture. Vineyards are cleared of other plants that compete for water. Deep roots make the vines more resistant to extreme drought conditions. Granite soils are said to be twice as much work and half the yield compared to lime soil. Wines from granitic soils have a higher pH, favoring high acidity. Powerful, structural, expressive.

Regions with granite soils are Beaujolais, Northern Rhône, Alsace, Corsica, Sardinia, Maldonado in Uruguay.

Limestone

Contains many nutrients for the vine, but causes iron deficiency in the grapes, so it is fertilized. Limestone retains moisture in dry weather and provides good drainage. The wines are elegant, with good acidity.

Regions: Champagne, Chablis, Pouilly, Sancerre, Southern Rhône in France, Paso Robles in California in the USA.

Volcanic soils

Very diverse because they are formed from volcanic material ranging from coal-black lava basalts to fragments ejected from the mouth of a volcano. Generally porous and provide good drainage, which makes the vines grow deep. The wines are fine, elegant, mineral, often with a smoky note and good acidity.

Popular regions: Etna in Sicily and Vesuvius in Campania, Santorini in Greece, Canary Islands, Napa in the USA.

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Conventionally, these factors can be divided into everything that happens in the vineyard and in the winery.

Grape variety, technology and the vinification process itself directly affect the flavor of the wine, but today’s warehouse store only considers the global natural factors that determine the style of the beverage.

Climate

Most vineyards are located between 30 and 50 degrees latitude. The vines love temperate climates: lots of sunshine allows the berry to gain sugar, and low nighttime temperatures allow the berry to retain its natural acidity.

In cooler wine regions, the crop takes longer to ripen, the sugar concentration in the berry is lower and the acidity is higher. Wines from cool climates are characterized as elegant, subtle. Acidity gives freshness, balance and structure to the wine’s flavor,

Hot regions have more sunny days and higher temperatures. The high sugar level in the berry during fermentation turns into a high alcohol level and a rich dense flavor. Characteristic notes are ripe dark fruits and berries: plum, blueberry, blackberry.

The fruit profile of a red wine suggests the place of production: a wine from a hot region has ripe or jammy notes, while a wine from a cool region has delicate fruit notes like freshly picked raspberries.

Chardonnay, cabernet, merlot are grown in different regions, where they show themselves differently. Riesling, sauvignon blanc, pinot noir like it cool, while shiraz and grenache like it hot.

Terroir

Terroir is the combination of many natural factors that characterize a particular region, vineyard or individual site. Terroir wines are those that reflect a distinctive local style. In this case, producers say that the wine is “made in the vineyard, not the winery,” meaning that the influence of technology is minimal. The wine has been shaped by natural factors:

• soil chemistry and physical composition
• Soil drainage: how and how much moisture the vines received
• age and type of grafting vines
• vegetation: grasses between the rows compete with the vines for water and nutrients, help with pest control, fertilize the soil
• microbial activity of native yeasts and bacteria
• exposure and slope of the vineyard, which determines the amount of sunlight received
• vineyard surface: the color of the soil affects its ability to reflect, absorb, and retain solar heat.
• placement near water bodies
• specific weather conditions: day-night temperature differences, humidity and fog, the influence of sea winds, altitude, etc.

All of these factors combine to create unique conditions for the vines in each individual vineyard. If you change a single component, the result will change.

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