Invite good friends to your wine tasting dinner
By Richard Ferrugio
Good food is about balancing flavors in ways that excite your palate. Good wines play an integral role in this balance. With America’s love affair with wines growing and our knowledge of and experience with varietals from all over the world increasing, we’ve come a long way from “red wine with red meat and white wine with fish or poultry.”
When choosing wines to go with specific foods, there are characteristics of both which complement each other when paired properly. If you drink wine by itself it will taste different from when you drink it with food, because the characteristics of wine—the tannins (puckery/astringent/bitter qualities), the acids (tart/sour qualities) and the sugars (sweetness)—react with the food to provide different taste sensations.
Many factors effect the flavor of wine: the type of grape or “varietal;” is it one grape or a blend? Was it aged in oak or steel? How long has it been in the bottle? In the process of making wine, the sugars in the grape juice ferment to form alcohol. The amount of alcohol in the wine contributes to its aroma and “body” or richness. A wine with very little sweetness is a “dry” wine. Tannins, which come from the skins, stems and the cask material mellow with age and contribute to a wine’s complexity. I could go on and on…In general, you are seeking to balance or contrast the primary flavors or characteristics of a dish with the characteristics of the wine. For example, an acidic food such as seafood in a citrus or vinegar sauce would go well with an acidic wine like a Sauvignon Blanc. A spicy full-flavored Thai or Indian curry would contrast well with a sweet wine like a Riesling. A rich meat dish with a complex sauce would pair well with a full-bodied (alcohol at 13 – 15%) tannic Cabernet Sauvignon.
Let’s plan a Wine Tasting Dinner party for 6. That’s a good number because a 750 ml bottle of wine will yield 5 full servings or 8-10 servings ideal for “tasting” – plenty to sample, with some left over for those who would like more. We’ll keep it simple with a salad course, a seafood course, an entrée with vegetables, a dessert, and serve four different wines. And since it is summer, let’s keep it light and refreshing. Serve the meal with a crusty French or Italian baguette and sweet butter or extra virgin olive oil for dipping. I have suggested a type of wine and an alternative to pair with each course, rather than any specific bottle. You can find all of these varietals in any good wine shop. Allow them to make a suggestion for each type based upon your budget.
First Course
Fresh Tomato, Mozzarella & Basil Salad drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt & freshly cracked black pepper to taste. Try a Pinot Grigio or a Sauvignon Blanc which have clear crisp flavors that work well with the creamy mozzarella and the tart acidic tomato.
Second Course
Cold Boiled Shrimp served with Horseradish Aioli, a good quality mayonnaise to which you have added horseradish, minced garlic and lemon juice. Pair the shrimp with a Chardonnay, which has the body and fruit flavors to match the richness of the shrimp and sauce. An excellent option would be a Viognier which has the body, is dry enough and has exotic fruit & spice flavors to complement this dish.
Main Course
Grilled Steak with Grilled Vegetables. No sauces or seasonings except sea salt and cracked pepper. Try a Merlot or medium to full-bodied Zinfandel. They each will offer the tannins and sufficient fruit flavors to stand up to the simply flavored steak and the seductive smokiness of the grilled veggies.
Dessert
Take 1 lb of fresh strawberries, hull and slice them and marinate them in a quarter cup of good quality aged balsamic vinegar and 2 Tbs sugar for a couple of hours in the refrigerator. Serve them with a sparkling Italian wine called Moscato d’Asti. It is lightly effervescent and its rich fruit flavors and slightly acidic sweetness will be a revelation with this dish!
The most important thing to remember is to drink what you enjoy drinking and that the most important ingredient in a meal is good company. Buon Appetito!
Richard Ferrugio is co-owner & chef of Saratoga Rose Inn & Restaurant in Hadley. Join us for our 2007-2008 Wine & Beer Tasting Dinner Series beginning this fall. For more information call 518.696.2861 or visit www.saratogarose.com .