wine and food collocation is a highly subjective and inaccurate process.
For a long time, the matching principle is red wine with red meat, white wine with fish and poultry meat. However, such a collocation does not take into account the complexity of today's multi-ethnic and multi-flavor foods and the wide variety of wines from all over the world.
There are some experiences and traditional ways to match wine with food. Of course, you can break the tradition and run counter to these experiences to achieve a strange effect; But first of all, you must be familiar with these traditions and understand why these wine and food combinations are respected by people.
the goal of wine and food collocation is coordination and balance. Wine can't overwhelm the taste of food; Similarly, food cannot overwhelm wine. Wine should be used as seasoning, which can make food taste better; Can enhance the taste of food. Good collocation will show the subtlety of food and wine and play a prominent role in their flavor and unique quality. ?
The following are some experiences of wine and food collocation that can be used as guidelines for your reference:
1. Consider your kind in catering:
Chinese food: you can choose slightly sweet or very dry wine. Qiong Yao pulp, riesling, rose red, Traminers, Suwei strong and so on are all suitable. For example, you can match Beijing roast duck with Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot and California Jinfang Dailai.
Japanese cuisine: You can choose chilled, very dry and fruity white wine. Generally speaking, any red and white sparkling wine will do. Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, sushi and sashimi are well matched.
Thai food: Thai food is spicy, and rose wine is a good match. Riesling and Qiong Yao pulp are all table wines with appropriate prices. Traminers is most suitable for dishes with flower quality. Dry red and dry white are not suitable for Thai food and Indonesian food.
2. Order of serving wine
If you want to drink more than one bottle of wine at a meal, you usually serve light-bodied wine first, and then full-bodied wine; First dry wine, then sweet wine. But if a sweet dish is served at the beginning, it should be matched with a similar sweet wine. Wine with low alcohol content should be drunk before wine with high alcohol content.
3. Balance the taste intensity
Light-bodied wine with light food; Full-bodied wines are paired with heavier, richer and more greasy dishes.
4. Consider the cooking method of food
Food with fine flavor, usually boiled or steamed, is most suitable for fine wine. It's easier to cook dishes with more flavor, such as stews, barbecues, baked goods and stir-fry with wine. Wine should match the sauces, condiments and the most prominent flavors used in dishes.
5. Matching flavors
A black Pi Nuo with earthy flavor is well matched with mushroom soup; The citrus flavor of Sauvignon Blanc wine is suitable to match with fish.
6. Balance sweetness
Be careful that food is sweeter than wine when it is matched with wine, although chocolate and Cabernet Sauvignon can be matched.
7. Consider pairing opposites
Very spicy food, such as Thai food and spicy curry, often goes well with sweet table wine. Opposing tastes can stimulate each other, create new taste feelings and clean up taste buds at the same time.
8. Match according to geographical location
Food and wine in the same area often develop together in a long time, and they will have a natural fit with each other.
9. Wine with cheese
In some European countries, the best wine is only drunk when cheese is served. Red wine goes well with mild or sharp cheese. Cheese with pungent and strong taste is more suitable for wine with higher sweetness. Goat cheese is suitable for dry white wine; Cheese with milder taste is suitable for red wine with heavier fruit flavor. Soft cheese is suitable for any red wine.
11. Adjusting the taste of food
The sweetness of dishes will increase the perception of the bitter taste of wine, which will make the wine taste drier, stronger and less fruity; High acidity in food will reduce the perception of acidity in wine and make wine taste richer and more mature; Bitter food will improve the sensitivity to bitterness, such as tannin; The salty taste in food will reduce the bitterness and astringency of wine and make sweet wine taste more salty.