Entertain with passion
with Chef Marc Miron
Food and wine were made for each other. Although certain nouvelle beer drinkers may disagree, no other beverage offers anything approaching wine’s diversity and ability to complement food. In fact, certain wines—particularly mature ones—show their best only when presented with appropriate foods.
Old-fashioned—and often, ill-conceived—rules shouldn’t prevent you from experimenting with different combinations of wine and food. Drink what you like!
Although it is hard to generalize about the relationship between wine and food, there are still some guidelines worth observing that permit all the flexibility and originality you could hope for.
For starters, don’t try to compete with the wine—contrasting is more likely to meet with success. If you have spicy food, for example, try a sweeter or even a more full-bodied fruity wine; if you are having something rich, try something more acidic. Generally, wines that come from a single variety of grape—or cepage—are usually the easiest to pair.
To eventually get the best pairings, keep track of your tastings. Sing simple words, write down the characteristics of the grape variety, paying attention to the aroma and the subtle flavours you get from the wine. After many trials and bottles, you can really start to have fun!
To get you started, here are a couple of superb wines that will work beautifully with a traditional Christmas turkey dinner.
STORM BAY PINOT NOIR 2005 (RED) — a 750 mL bottle of this Australian Pinot will run around $24 at the LCBO (#90225; 70+ bottles in stock). The discriminating nose will taste red cherry and crisp white pepper notes.
EQUIFERA CHARDONNAY VQA (WHITE) — a 750 bottle of this Canadian jewel will cost under $15 at the LCBO (#135155; 30+ bottles in stock). This crisp white wine will offer green apple and pineapple overtones.Entertain with passion
with Chef Marc Miron
Food and wine were made for each other. Although certain nouvelle beer drinkers may disagree, no other beverage offers anything approaching wine’s diversity and ability to complement food. In fact, certain wines—particularly mature ones—show their best only when presented with appropriate foods.
Old-fashioned—and often, ill-conceived—rules shouldn’t prevent you from experimenting with different combinations of wine and food. Drink what you like!
Although it is hard to generalize about the relationship between wine and food, there are still some guidelines worth observing that permit all the flexibility and originality you could hope for.
For starters, don’t try to compete with the wine—contrasting is more likely to meet with success. If you have spicy food, for example, try a sweeter or even a more full-bodied fruity wine; if you are having something rich, try something more acidic. Generally, wines that come from a single variety of grape—or cepage—are usually the easiest to pair.
To eventually get the best pairings, keep track of your tastings. Sing simple words, write down the characteristics of the grape variety, paying attention to the aroma and the subtle flavours you get from the wine. After many trials and bottles, you can really start to have fun!
To get you started, here are a couple of superb wines that will work beautifully with a traditional Christmas turkey dinner.
STORM BAY PINOT NOIR 2005 (RED) — a 750 mL bottle of this Australian Pinot will run around $24 at the LCBO (#90225; 70+ bottles in stock). The discriminating nose will taste red cherry and crisp white pepper notes.
EQUIFERA CHARDONNAY VQA (WHITE) — a 750 bottle of this Canadian jewel will cost under $15 at the LCBO (#135155; 30+ bottles in stock). This crisp white wine will offer green apple and pineapple overtones.