The Old Rules of Food and Wine Pairing with Harald Wiesmann

Pairing white wines with white meat and fish, red wine with red meat and cheese, Champagne with dessert, Sherry with consommé, Sauternes and Foie Gras,  Port Wine to Stilton, Yes/ No?? There is nothing wrong with the old rules of food and wine pairing. In fact, you could quite easily enjoy this traditional pairing system for the rest of your life. You don’t have to take any suggestions from Sommeliers or chefs, as long as you’re happy with your selection of wines. But, if you wish to experience new sensations on your tongue, then you should at least try some of these new food and wine pairing systems; A Sommelier may suggest you select  wine based on the color of sauce: taste of the food – spicy, fruity, creamy, herbal, sweet, sour, intense, reductions etc:  preparation style – sautéed, grilled, poached, à la foiled, plancha, oven roasted: premium food to premium wines: cheese with white wine and dessert with sweet wines.

Let’s take wine selection  based on the colour of the sauce as an example. If you were to order Chicken breast with vegetable foam and a meat reduction sauce you would traditionally match the white meat to white wine, however, your Sommelier may suggest you choose otherwise since the color and the taste of reduction sauce is quite soft. Another example is a wine selection based on the taste of the food, or the particular herbs/spices used in its preparation. A dish, such as Gindara Fillet Shimenji/enoki mushrooms, coconut milk, kaffir lime foam, red chili and citrus sea salt creates mild and hot components, therefore a Sommelier may suggest a wine that is not too dry, but taste great like Riesling, Dorsheimer, Pittermaennchen, Grosses Gewaechs, Schlossgut Diel 2008 or a quite powerful Chardonnay, like Giaconda Estate Vineyard, Victoria Alps 2006, Australia. By implementing the above experiment, you will have a new and enjoyable dining experience. A gourmand will never stop in the quest to discover  the ideal matches in  food and wine pairing.