A semi-serious guide to food and wine pairing – Part 3: Philosophies

Pairing by analogy, contraposition, season or cultural factors. These are some of the most common food and wine pairing philosophies. Find out what they are and pick the parts that suit you

Food without wine is a corpse; wine without food is a ghost; united and well matched they are as body and soul, living partners

Andre Simon, French gourmet and writer

Welcome to the third and final part of my semi-serious guide to food and wine pairing. I wrote this series with the goal of helping you enhance the pleasure drawn from my two favourite ingredients. In case you missed my previous articles, here is a quick recap of my food and wine pairing series:

• Part 1 : An introduction to food and wine pairing, highlighting the benefits of working on this marriage. I also outline some general principles to bear in mind when pairing food with wine
• Part 2 : I lay out some guidelines which will help your food and wine pairings. This article is stuffed with examples to show these principles applied in practice 
• Part 3 (this article) : I will outline a number of approaches (philosophies) to wine pairing taken by wine experts and connoisseurs

Different philosophies

In this article I will go through a few philosophies for matching food and wine. These philosophies are actually vague schools of thought which follow certain general empiric suggestions rather than precise rules. Once again, I would like to stress that there is no right or wrong approach. I will describe these food and wine philosophies purely for illustrative purposes. I’m not suggesting you follow them. In fact, I don’t. But it is interesting to know of the existence and rationale behind these approaches.

If you want, you can take bits from each of the presented matching philosophies and incorporate them into your pairings. If you find something which resonates with your palate, I invite you to find out why a particular combination works – in terms of the structural elements of the wine and food and how each influences the other.

Without further ado, here are some of the most common food and wine pairing philosophies that you might encounter during your culinary adventures.

Analogy

According to this approach, food and wine pairings are based on their similarities in taste, texture, aromaticity, sweetness or spiciness. For example, take a bold chardonnay with lobster in cream sauce. The butteriness and opulence in the lobster mirror similar flavours found in the rich chardonnay. For the same reason, earthy dishes are complemented by earthy wines. A mushroom and thyme chicken ragout can be paired with an earthy pinot noir. 

Another obvious example is pairing a savoury dish containing fruit with a fruity wine that echoes those primary aromas. Pork cutlets with dried apricots (one of my favourite meaty dishes… and absurdly easy to prepare!) are beautifully enhanced by a nice bottle of ripe chenin blanc or peachy riesling from a temperate region, or even a decadent Alsatian pinot gris. 

Fat food with powerful wines is another resounding example of the analogy pairing philosophy. However, such a matching is just a variant of the “bold with bold, and delicate with delicate” guideline I described in my previous article. Fatty or buttery foods naturally call for intense, rich, and concentrated wines. Robust meaty dishes with tannic reds. Sauternes with foie gras. Fortified sweet wines with intensely flavoured desserts… and the list goes on and on.

Contraposition

“Opposites attract” might be an old cliché, but in some cases the harmony of opposites is a source of great pleasure in matching. Pairing by contrasts can take place on different levels:

• Salt vs sweet: Asian dishes seasoned with soy sauce – and therefore salty – can be beautifully matched with off-dry wines. Also, salty mature cheese (like stilton and blue cheese) is a real treat with a sweet wine such as Port or Sauternes
• Chilli vs sweet: Spicy or chilli dishes of African or Caribbean origin are splendidly accompanied by a fruity wine with some residual sugar. Try some off-dry riesling or pinot gris and rejoice! Bear in mind that the happy marriage here is in reality explained by how the chilli in food structurally affects the taste of wines (see my previous article)
• Salt vs acidity: saltiness in food is a great contrast to acidity in wine – that’s why smoked seafood with Champagne or pecorino cheese with Chianti are compelling combinations
• Fat vs fizzy: this interesting (and apparently unusual) matching takes place on the texture side. The marriage of the rich and full body of a fatty steak and the live crispiness of a sparkling wine can be really rewarding 

Pairing by analogy and/or contraposition is a good source of fun, but in a number of cases the effect is merely subjective. Some people might find the matching fascinating, others horrible. My advice is to try some of these combinations and ask your taste buds on which side they land.

Cultural factors

Tradition and regionality can spark excellent food and wine pairings. It’s long been said that regional dishes offer their best when paired with wines from the same region. This is particularly true in the Old World, in countries with a strong culinary tradition such as France, Italy, Spain or Portugal.

The list of these heavenly pairings is virtually infinite, including:

• Tuscan pecorino cheese and Chianti
• Spanish olives and Fino Sherry
• Lamb stew with red Rioja
• Portuguese Bacalhau (salted cod) and encruzado
• Delicate grilled seafood and Provencal rose
• Dense beef brasato with Barolo
• Buffalo mozzarella with falanghina
• Mortadella from Romagna and Lambrusco

The main reason to trust these matchings is that these countries over time have developed and fine-tuned their wine offerings to suit the local cuisine. Of course, there are some caveats. The same region can develop a wide range of dishes or wines (or both) therefore the local-with-local criteria may need refinement. Secondly, some cuisines have developed in places that lack strong viticultural traditions (most Asian countries fall into this category). Obviously, in those circumstances, you are unlikely to get good results from the regional approach.

Seasonality

The time of the year and climatic factors can also influence food and wine matching. I find this is more likely to happen in either warmer countries or ones characterised by a higher seasonal excursion (where there are marked differences between seasons). For instance, in the summer few people in Italy could stand to drink a bold red while in the UK it is quite common.

The underlying idea of a season-based pairing is to balance the weather and the nature of consumed food with the weight and flavours of the wine.

• Winter is generally cold; we need more warmth, richness and calories. We consume more red meat, hot soups, hard cheese, and legumes. According to this pairing philosophy, in winter we should favour robust red wines. Wines with body and substance, a decent amount of alcohol, old more than young
• In spring we eat fresh vegetables, white meat and lighter food in general. Therefore, we need lighter wines as well – perfumed, young, with less alcohol
• Summer is the season for salads, raw vegetables, fresh cheese. We tend to have more fish or seafood, and occasionally raw meat. Food in general is simpler and more delicate and, if you follow a seasonal criteria, so should the wine. Light reds, perfumed white wines, dry or off-dry, are a good match. Fizziness is welcome in summer too – as you probably already know!
• In autumn it gets colder again. Common foods in this season include some vegetables, mushrooms and game. Red wines are preferable, young or old, with emphasis on structure, body and some spiciness to match autumn delicacies.

Looking at the classics

In wine literature, there are some pairings which are a classic for a reason. These matchings (such as oysters and Champagne or steak and cabernet sauvignon) are so engraved in our traditions that we consider them to be common knowledge. 

Classic matchings offer a great way to find cracking new food and wine pairings. Look at classical combinations and try to understand why they work so well. Consider the structural interactions. From there, you can find alternative wines which share the same characteristics as their classic counterparts.

Here are some examples:

• Goat cheese and Sancerre: the pairing works well for a number of reasons. The tangy and rich creaminess of goat cheese match the intense aromatic profile of the Sancerre (sauvignon blanc from Loire). Goat cheese is quite high in acidity, so it needs a counterpart with an even higher acidity. Furthermore, the acidity of the wine cuts the fatness of the cheese perfectly. To sum up, Sancerre is a high acidic wine, unoaked, with pungent and tangy flavours, supported by a rich aromatic profile. Any other white with similar characteristics will generate a wonderful match; some examples include: New Zealand sauvignon, albarino from Rias Baixas (Spain), Vermentino di Gallura from Sardinia (Italy), Chablis, prosecco, or even crispy rosé from Provence. 
• Oysters with Champagne: here’s another cliche. Fresh oysters, with no condiment other than a squeeze of lemon juice, taste fresh and sharp with a distinctive saltiness and discreet fattiness. Acidity plays a central role in the pairing. The shellfish has a soaring acidity. Any wine with a lower acidity will taste flabby. Hence Champagne is a great option. The famous French sparkling makes a great companion because of three main features which echo the oysters’ nature: crispy freshness, citrusy-driven profile and a characteristic minerality. Any other wine sharing the aforementioned elements would prove a valid alternative. Try a muscadet from Pays Nantais or Sancerre (both from Loire Valley), dry Tokaji (from Hungary) or a Picpoul de Pinet (from Languedoc)
• Blue cheese with Port: probably the most decadent of traditional pairings, it’s based on matching richness of flavours and texture. Port wines (especially Vintage Ports or Tawny Ports with indication of age) have concentrated flavours and a full body, essential conditions to withstand the intense creaminess and lush texture of blue cheeses (Stilton, Roquefort, Gorgonzola, etc.). Also, the pronounced saltiness of these cheeses is perfectly counterbalanced by a decisive sweetness of the Portuguese fortified wine. Other wines have similar features (intense flavours, full body, sweet). To mention just a few: Madeira (Portugal), Marsala (Sicily), Sauternes (Bordeaux), sweet Tokaji (Hungary), Banyuls (South of France), or picolit (Friuli)
• Cabernet sauvignon and steak: Wine-wise, the features of this classic pairing are: robust personality, high level of tannins and a similarity of flavours between the food and wine (black pepper, dried herbs, meaty flavours and smokiness). There are a number of reds with these attributes, which will prove a tasty alternative for your meaty dish: Chilean carmenere, a bold syrah/shiraz, Brunello di Montalcino, petite sirah (durif) or a powerful Southern France blend (based on grenache, syrah and mourvèdre)
• Olives and Fino Sherry: There are several styles of Sherry. Fino (and the similar Manzanilla) style is characterised by a fresh and dry profile, with defining aromas of acetaldehyde (tangy and iodine flavours) and citrus fruit. The pairing works well because of the intense aromaticity of the Fino and the cleansing mouthfeel you get every time you sip the wine. Also, the citrusy core of the wine complements the pungent and appetising personality of the olives. Other wines with similar features you might try include: Vin Jaune from Jura, a tart and lemony sauvignon blanc, or even some examples of Gin (yes, I know it’s not a wine… but it fits really well here!)

Afterthought

In this third and last part of my semi-serious guide to food and wine pairing I offered an overview of the most common matching philosophies. I’m not advocating you have to follow any of them (for what matters, I don’t), but I believe it’s interesting to know they exist and understand the rationale behind each of them. 

Once again, there is no right or wrong approach here. My personal advice is to follow your intuition. However, I do believe there are some structural interactions between food and wine which might help you determine what wine is more suited to a particular dish or meal. 

Ultimately “de gustibus non disputandum est” – taste is subjective. The end goal of all of this blathering about food and wine matching is not academic. The purpose is your pleasure. Your pleasure is different from mine. I (and everyone else) can only offer advice and guidance. But at the end of the day, only you can judge what pairing works for you.

Now that you have finished reading my series, the next step to finding your perfect food and wine matching is to experiment. Try some combinations and unleash your creativity. Consider my guide as a starting point – not the finishing line. The only limit is the number of wines out there (and there are so many of them)!