Pairing wine with food is not an exact science. That said, it’s not anything goes either. Years ago, a Master of Wine announced to her fellow judges at a competition: “Champagne goes with everything!” As much as I adore bubbly, I have no desire to savor it with Confit de Canard, Xinjiang Roast Leg of Lamb (best in the world), nor Kagoshima or Kobe beef. The acidity of the wine will ricochet off all that protein in the head-on collision.
I will, however, happily nurse a bottle of bubbly with a tempura or dim sum lunch. Or the wine could be Muscadet sur Lie, Sancerre, Turbiana from Lugana, Spanish or Portuguese Albariño, or Japanese Koshu. When the MW made the sweeping claim for the alleged versatility of Champagne, she was not so much stating the pairing prowess of the wine as confessing her fondness for the sparkler. Humans are, if nothing else, indulgent.
There is a flip side to the phenomenon. If someone does not like a particular wine, it does not matter what food you pair it with. It’s the same with food, if someone does not like raw oysters or stinky doufu, it doesn’t matter what wine you recommend. As with music, if you hate rap, ten seconds is too long. It’s useful to know the limits of wine pairing in the face of someone’s aversion to some things. As a helpful guide, it helps to find out some of a person’s likes and dislikes in wine and food before making your recommendations. Our goal is not to “score” but to serve.
Pairing wine with food: Some pointers
When you are on the receiving end of an adventure in pairing wine with food, this is Rule Number One. Always taste the wine first to lock in your impressions of the fruit, freshness, texture, and persistence of the wine before introducing it to the food. This way, you will become fully aware of the transformation the food has on the wine. If the wine “misbehaves” or rejects, enhances, even falls in love with the food.
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Most attempts at pairing wine with food do not fall neatly into situations where it is all good, all bad, indifferent, or sensational. Most times, the chemistry between food and wine is a shade of those possibilities. Another often overlooked fact is that when wine—particularly sparkling or white—is served too cold, the wine is at a natural disadvantage and will make little impression with the food.
Woodiness in a wine makes it difficult to pair, just as too much black pepper, garlic, or truffle oil in a dish makes it hard to distinguish the ingredients. Food does not like oaky wines.
If a pairing calls for a red, the tannins should be evolved and resolved. Food does not enjoy edgy, angry tannins. Texture is an important quality in pairing. Smooth and suave are desirable. Paring wine with food should be an enjoyable experience, not World War III at the dining table. (A “creamy” white is wonderful with a lot of shellfish, just as vibrant freshness is delicious with deep-fried dishes).
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The quality of a suggestion for pairing wine with food depends on the experience and expertise of the person making it. How many different wines does the person know (and, just as important, enjoy)? Not just sparkling, white, rosé, red, but also fortifieds, spirits, even Japanese sake and Chinese Shaoxing rice wine. So, if you wanted to go somewhere for a break and asked around for recommendations, someone who has been to only ten places will not go beyond those ten destinations. But if you consulted a travel buff who has already chalked up 195 places, you would be spoilt for choice.
Chinese (especially Sichuan and Hunan), Indian, Indonesian, Malaysian, Thai, Korean, and Singaporean cuisines are getting spicier by the day. The culinary world is simply getting “hotter.” Sherry and Tawny Port are the two most versatile wines in the world. Their sweet-and-sour quality—epecially in Sherry—and their incredible vitality and freshness are effortless and outstanding with sweet-and-sour or spicy dishes. The way some Sherries, including Fino, Manzanilla, and Palo Cortado, transform and become what they are, they are more like miracles than wine! As with Sherry and Tawny Port, Riesling Spätlese and Vouvray Demi-sec are equally glorious with sweet and sour or spicy cuisine.
Is there such a thing as a cultural or national taste? A bias for greenness over a preference for overripeness. A yearning for acidity over a preponderance for soupiness. A rejoicing of lightness and finesse instead of a clamor for chunk and weight? Mango provides a case in point. Almost the whole world likes it ripe. Often, too ripe. Not, though, the Thais. The Siamese adore it when mango stays green… or raw (to the rest of us): tingling, dancing, riveting!
As for wines where acidity defies gravity, the Italians are probably champions. To begin with, Italians love their whites mostly without any oak influence. Italians hanker for wines with pristine fruit that are in earnest competition with acidity. Why the yearning for so much freshness? It has to do with upbringing which then evolves into DNA. What is Italy’s favorite vegetable (or strictly speaking, fruit)? Tomato, which bristles with acidity! Culture can evolve into DNA. Why are Italian sports cars so sublime? More than 2,000 years ago when speed was determined by horses, the first sports car was a Roman chariot.
Italian whites, including Lugana, Vermentino, Verdicchio, Nosiola, Pecorino, Ribolla Gialla, Greco di Tufo, Arneis, and the majestic Timorasso (especially in the hands of its modern savior, Walter Massa), represent the greatest untapped white wines for Chinese cuisine.
