When it comes to food and wine, most people are brought up with the rule stating “red goes with red, white goes with white”, which means red wine goes with red meat while white wine goes with fish and poultry. Then came the “postmodern” maxim which says that ‘if you like the taste, the match is perfect’.
Despite the presence of these simplistic guides, many people still don’t know how to match food and wine well. The truth is, many really don’t know what tastes good and what doesn’t. Fortunately, the art of food and wine matching follows a simple logic that is quite easy to follow.
The bottom-line with food and wine matching is that the food should have an equal fighting chance with the wine and vice versa. Simply put, one shouldn’t dominate the other. When you bite into food, its tastes and pleasures should be enjoyed. When it is the wine’s turn to be sipped, it should evoke an equally pleasurable sensation. Now, when it is time to bite into the food again, it should be the star of that moment. And finally, when it’s time for the wine to draw, it should rise up to prominence once more.
In short, the food should be able to replace the flavors of the wine with every bite, and conversely, the wine should be able to replace the taste of the food with every sip. When the combination isn’t good, one will overpower the other.
To achieve this, you have to take in consideration the dominant tastes found in both the food and wine. Sweet food, such as dessert, goes with sweet wine. Food with hints of bitterness, such as charbroiled meat, would go better with a bitter wine. Acidic foods or those foods that go great with a dash of lemon or vinegar, go with acidic wines.
Here is a short overview of wine flavors:
Acidic wines include Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, White Bordeaux for whites and Pinot Noir, Red Burgundy, Sangiovese, and Gamay for reds. Acidic white wines usually go well with seafood because of their delicate flavor. Acidic red wines go well with tomato based dishes and grilled seafood.
Wines with bitterness include Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Bordeaux, Red Zinfandel, and Merlot. These usually go well with steaks and roasts.
Sweet wines include Vovray, Asti Spumante, Chenin Blanc, or most German wines for whites and Lambrusco, Port, Sherry and Vermouth for reds. These usually go well with dessert or by themselves.
Matching wine with food is not that complicated with this simple guide. Happy matchmaking!
Jerry Shannon
http://www.articlesbase.com/food-and-beverage-articles/the-right-food-with-the-right-wine-711593.html
What are some of the food & wine trails in South Australia we could do?
We are planning to visit South Australia in January for 2 weeks and we want to find and experience the best food and wine…
Great food and wine can be found right throughout SA, if you’re staying in Adelaide and want to take a day trip up to the hills, there are some fantastic wineries up there. The best thing i could suggest would be to just take a drive up there, and just start calling into wineries, last time we took a day trip we were given a map that had probably 40-50 wineries on it and we just visited a few of them, before having a picnic at the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens. I would probably steer away from any guided tours (unless you really need a driver:) as personally i’d prefer to visit some of the smaller wineries (if i may suggest Hahndorf Hill Wines for a great tasting experience.
I’d also suggest the same with the barossa valley area, again, drive down there (probably 45minutes from the city) there’s a heap of wineries down there and they’re all really, really well signed. Chateau Tanunda is a great example of the caliber of wineries that can be found. Again i would steer towards the smaller wineries, all credit to the giant wineries out there, they have helped to build an industry, but some of these independent wineries are simply put, amazing.
Most, if not all of the cellar door sales will offer some local fare, particularly in the way of local cheese plates and fruit.
Also if you have the time there are some great wineries to be found in the Riverland (about 2&1/2 hours north of Adelaide, well northish), if i could suggest Pennyfield wines, who have a cellar door/ cafe in Berri, located right on the banks of the River Murray, a great place to loose an afternoon.
Finally the best advice i could give you would be to take your time and enjoy, there really is some sensational wine areas around here, and I have completely neglected to mention any of the Limestone Coast, only because i haven’t quite gotten around to visiting them yet (we keep getting stuck where we know:)
Hope this helps,
Enjoy.
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Enjoyed probably far too much wine from South Australia:)
The trouble with South Australia is that, when it comes to good food and wine, you are completely spoilt for choice.
As already stated, the Barossa Valley and the Adelaide Hills offer some good choices, as does the Riverland but it’s also worth checking out McLaren Vale (south of the city but within easy driving distance) and the Clare Valley (north of Adelaide, about two and a half to three hours drive).
Might I suggest you visit the following website http://www.sacentral.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=57&area=2&path=4873 which may prove helpful.
Hope you really enjoy your stay.
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Former resident of Adelaide.
hey there, sorry a bit late. Depends on which area you are staying in and what type of wine you like. Send me an email and i will forward you some maps
[email protected]
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if in south australia, you have to visit mclaren vale, in the high street is a cafe called the blessed cheese, has an orange sign, every local in the street can direct you to it. inside they will give you information on the food and wine trail, and will pack an assortment of cheeses, crackers etc, from the local area. this is placed inside a cool bag for you, and you are given directions to various wineries in the area, where the wines will compliment the cheeses and other produce in your cool bag. have a great time, the wineries are excellent. By the way, if you do visit the barossa as well, the jacobs creek visitor centre is great, unpretentious in the extreme, and the food at the restaurant is reasonably priced but outstanding. white linen table cloths, glasses and cutlery cleaned and polished with white gloves, yet priced in the same bracket as a pub lunch. excellent views, a real gem.
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