Tip: This article is rather long, so it is recommended to read it in one breath, and you are welcome to collect and forward it for backup ~ But what can be guaranteed is that this article can make you fully understand the matching principles of wine and food, and you can match it with the corresponding wine in the face of any food. If you understand these foundations, the principles that can be used should be changed.

Foreword: In the process of table wine collocation, food has a certain influence on the taste of wine, and vice versa, wine will also have an influence on the taste of food. The purpose of food and wine collocation is to make full use of the advantages of these influencing factors, so that wine and food can complement each other and bring sensory experience that can not be achieved by tasting wine or food alone. Knowing this knowledge will also help to avoid some unpleasant experience of wine collocation.

text: in addition to understanding the basic elements of taste interaction between food and wine, it is also important to remember that people have different sensitivities to various flavor and aroma factors. The same level of bitterness may be strong for one person, but not so strong for another (this is different from personal preference-some people prefer stronger food, others will find the same food unpleasant). This difference in individual sensitivity and personal preference will lead to what seems to be a "perfect match" for one person is common for another person, or even fails. Therefore, the collocation of food and wine should not only consider the interaction between food and wine, but also consider the difference of personal preference.

the key points of the interaction between the taste of food and wine

After the food is eaten, the taste buds will adapt to these foods, so the sugar, salinity and acidity level of the next bite of food or wine will be affected and changed. An extreme example is to drink orange juice immediately after brushing your teeth. Orange juice will taste unacceptably sour. In addition, some foods with adhesion, such as chocolate or foods with rich creamy flavor, will also reduce the taste sensitivity.

In short, two ingredients in food (sweetness and umami) tend to make wine taste "stiffer" (more astringent, bitter, more sour, less sweet, and less obvious fruit flavor); there are also two other ingredients (salinity and acidity) that can make wine taste "softer" (less astringent, less bitter, less sour, more). Generally speaking, the influence of food on the flavor of wine is more than that of wine on food, and most of them are bad effects.

the sweetness in food

can increase the bitterness, astringency and acidity of wine and the burning sensation of alcohol

can reduce the fullness of wine, the sweetness of wine and the fruity taste

The sweetness in food can make a dry wine lose its fruity flavor and the acidity becomes unpleasant. When paired with foods containing sugar, a good basic principle is to choose wines with higher sweetness level.

umami taste in food

can increase the bitterness, astringency, acidity and acidity of wine. The burning sensation of alcohol < P > can reduce the fullness of wine, the sweetness of wine and the fruity taste < P > The umami taste is a delicious flavor. Although it is difficult to separate it separately, it is obviously different from other main flavors. Sweetness can be expressed by separating sugar; Salinity can be separated by sodium chloride, while acidity can be separated by various acids (such as tartaric acid); Umami flavor is usually presented with other flavors (salty flavor in monosodium glutamate) or flavors (cooked mushrooms or dried mushrooms). There is a very simple way to experience the umami flavor. Take straw mushrooms at both ends, heat one of them in the microwave for 3 seconds, and then compare the taste with the raw one. After heating, the flavor of mushrooms has been greatly improved. You can also experience the characteristics of umami flavor by tasting monosodium glutamate (which can be a small amount of particles or diluted into a lighter solution), but it should be noted that umami flavor is combined with salinity in this case.

among the foods that are difficult to match with wine? Many of them contain heavy umami flavor, but there is no corresponding salinity to neutralize them, which makes the wine taste blunt. Such foods include asparagus, eggs, mushrooms and cooked soft cheese. Other foods with heavy umami taste contain high salinity, so they can neutralize the influence of umami taste (see below). Such foods include, for example, smoked seafood or meat, and hard cheese (especially Parmesan—— cheese, an Italian hard cheese).

it is worth noting that the bitterness in wine comes from tannin extracted from grape skin or oak. For a well-balanced wine with high tannins, the change of bitterness (due to umami) will not be too excessive, and it will not be enough to break the balance of the wine body. However, for red wines with low tannins, or white wines cultivated in oak barrels or in contact with grape skins, foods with strong umami flavor will make these wines taste particularly bitter, thus losing their balance.

acidity in food

can improve the fullness of wine, and increase the sweetness and fruity taste of wine

can reduce the acidity of wine

Generally speaking, acidity in food is a good thing for food and wine, because it can balance a wine with high acidity and increase the fruity taste of wine. However, if the acidity of the wine itself is very low, the food with high acidity will make the wine taste a little boring, greasy and not refreshing.

saltiness in food

can improve the fullness of wine

reduce the astringent, bitter and sour taste in wine

saltiness is another ingredient in food that is easy to match with wine, which can help balance other ingredients in food that are difficult to match with wine.

Bitterness in food

can increase the bitterness of wine

Everyone's sensitivity to bitterness varies a lot. And people who are particularly sensitive to one bitter taste may be less sensitive to another. Generally speaking, bitterness will be superimposed on each other, so the bitterness in a food may bring pleasant feelings, and the bitterness in a wine may be balanced, but the combination of the two may bring unpleasant bitterness. This feeling is very subjective.

Pungency in food

Pungency should be regarded as touch rather than taste, and the sensitivity to pungency varies from person to person. Not only are some people more sensitive to spicy than others, but there is a huge difference in whether the experience they bring to different people is pleasant or not.

the pungency in food will

increase the bitter, astringent and sour taste of wine and the burning sensation of alcohol

decrease the fullness, richness, sweetness and fruity taste of wine

The alcohol in wine is directly proportional to the reaction of pungency in food, and the higher the alcohol content, the higher the pungency. Alcohol can also increase the spiciness, and for some people, the spicier the better.

other factors

flavor intensity: generally speaking, in an ideal situation, the flavor intensity of food and wine can be balanced with each other, so that the intensity of one side will not overwhelm the other. However, in some cases, a light wine (such as simple, oak-free and light-bodied white wine) can successfully match some strong dishes (such as curry). Similarly, some light-flavored desserts can be well matched with sweet wine with rich flavor.

acid and fat: most people find that the effect is satisfactory when wine with a certain high acidity is used with greasy food. This combination gives people a pleasant sensory experience, as if high acidity wine can remove greasy taste and make the whole mouth feel fresh. This is a subjective feeling.

sweetness and saltiness: the combination of sweetness and saltiness can also bring subjective pleasure. Many people like this combination, and there are some successful examples, such as sweet wine with blue cheese.

practical application

because of everyone's different sensitivities and preferences, there is no single answer to which wines are suitable to go with which menus. Although there are some rules about the influence of food on the taste balance of wine, whether people like certain combinations depends entirely on themselves. Most people like wine that tastes more fruity and less sour, bitter and astringent. According to such a preference, we can carefully make some recommendations to our guests. It is best to say "most people think that type A wine and course B match well", but the host and sommelier should understand that the guests may not agree with it completely.

when choosing wine to match with food, a very useful method is to classify food and wine as difficult to match and easy to match. Of course, most foods and wines contain more structural components than those listed below, so the choice of collocation should be diverse.

food ingredients that are difficult to match

sugar-sweeter food should be matched with wine with at least the same sweetness.

umami-because umami in food can strengthen the astringency and bitterness of tannins, umami-rich foods are suitable for matching fruity wines and avoiding tannins.

umami-adding acid or salt can adjust the umami in food (making dishes easier to match), but it should not change the flavor of the food itself.

Bitterness-Bitter food will make the taste of wine more bitter, so it is more suitable to match with white wine or red wine with low tannin.

spicy-white wine or red wine with low tannin is suitable for spicy dishes, and the alcohol content is low (for sensitive people, the bitterness and burning sensation of alcohol are unbearable). Pungency will also reduce the fruit flavor and sweetness of wine, so wines with rich fruit flavor or high sweetness can neutralize these effects.

food ingredients that are easy to match-foods with high salinity or acidity.

Note:

Generally, foods with high acidity should be paired with wine with high acidity, otherwise the wine will taste too soft and greasy.

wines that are difficult to match with food

The more structural components of wine (and food), the more flavors that may be formed by their interaction. This makes the combination of food and wine more complicated, but also more interesting. Wine, the most difficult food to match, has the following characteristics: they have a strong bitter and astringent taste from oak and grape skin, high acidity and alcohol content, and complex flavor. Nevertheless, these types of wine may produce very interesting changes when they are paired with food, thus showing a unique flavor that should not be perceived when drinking alone.

wine that is easy to match with food

wine that is simple, not cultivated in oak barrels and a little sweet may be regarded as a versatile type of various dishes. However, the changes that these types of wines can make when paired with food are relatively limited, so the matching experience may not be so interesting.

To apply the above rules to practice, the most effective way is to carefully study typical successful collocation combinations and analyze the reasons for their success. If we understand the internal reasons, we can find similar types of wines and successfully match them with food. For example, Muscadet and champagne are not cultivated in oak barrels and have no bitter ingredients, which will not become more bitter because of the umami taste of oysters; Its flavor is light and elegant, and it will not overshadow the light taste of oysters; The acidity is high, even if the oysters are eaten with lemon juice, the wine still tastes energetic and refreshing, so they are a good choice with oysters. Then other wines that meet these conditions should also be able to match oysters well. For example, Rias Baixas Albarino in Alvario in the Lower Bay production area and Hunter Valley Semillon in Hunter Valley.

Other methods of food and wine pairing

Let's use the above principles to evaluate the matching rules of food and wine that are often encountered in daily life.

flavor collocation or contrast

in the collocation of food and wine, one of the most commonly used concepts is that the flavor in food is similar to or in contrast with that in wine. For example, a dish with smoked, spiced, game or cream flavor may be very successful when paired with a wine with smoked, spiced, game or cream flavor. However, success depends not on whether it is matched with flavor, but on the interaction between the structural components of food (sugar, oil/fat, salt, etc.) and wine (sugar, alcohol, acid, tannin, etc.)? . If the structural components can be matched successfully, the matching or contrast of flavors can bring more fun, but if the structural components fail, the matching of table wine will not be successful.

conclusion: structural components are more important than flavor.

local wine with local food

for local dishes, the best wine with it may be the wine from the local area. This can be regarded as an entry-level suggestion for table wine collocation, because for a producing area with a long history of brewing, its table wine collocation is bound to evolve together. For example, if some wines taste bad with all local foods, the winery may replant other grape varieties that are more suitable for local foods, or people may increase the salinity or acidity of the food in areas where high-tannin wines are more common (such as Italy). However, most producing areas will produce a wide range of wines (red wine or white wine; Fruity or tannic; Sweet or dry; Simple or complicated), in this case, the above suggestion is not so helpful, but it is necessary to know some principles of food and wine collocation, which can help you make a choice when you match food and wine. At the same time, the birthplace of many delicious foods has little or no wine production, so how to match these foods with wine should also be considered, even if the conclusion may be that some of these foods are difficult or impossible to match with wine successfully. On the contrary, the food in some wine producing areas is not very good. In order to match the wine from such producing areas, there should be some principles to help us find the food suitable for these wines.

Conclusion: It is not "universal" to match local food with local fine wine.

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"Red wine with red meat, white wine with fish"

The first part of this sentence is based on the fact that tannins in red wine can combine with protein in red meat, thus softening the astringent taste of red wine. However, although tannins do combine with protein (when highlighting red wine, it is not so important to match with food. On the contrary, it is the salinity in meat dishes that softens tannins. The second part of this sentence is based on the fact that some fish have a strong umami flavor, which will make red wine taste more bitter and astringent. However, this can be offset by salinity and acidity, which are common in most fish dishes. What is more difficult to avoid is that the ingredients in red wine react with very greasy (blue) fish to produce a metallic taste. For such fish, it is safer to match it with white wine. So let's go back to this rule: it's important to consider all the ingredients of a dish (especially sauce and side dishes) with what wine. If the structural components of a dish can be matched with wine, then white wine can also be matched with red meat, and red wine can also be matched with fish.

conclusion: this rule can avoid