{"id":27104,"date":"2020-06-30T07:07:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-30T11:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/?p=27104"},"modified":"2020-07-06T14:42:14","modified_gmt":"2020-07-06T18:42:14","slug":"wine-food-pairing-rules-cooking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wine-food-pairing-rules-cooking\/","title":{"rendered":"Risky Business: Breaking the Rules of Wine & Food Pairing"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Homemade<\/a><\/p>\n

B<\/span>y Rebecca Me\u00efr-Liebman of Chef & Somm<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019m not a follower of hard and fast rules. Charts and wheels are fun, but the best experiences I\u2019ve had have been when I broke the rules. <\/span><\/p>\n

Applying the rules to wine and food pairing will deliver a decent experience, but for an exceptional pairing, it\u2019s all about risks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most charts insist that Cabernet Sauvignon<\/strong><\/a> is the<\/i> wine for beef. But is it really? Always? But charts don\u2019t reflect our actual dining habits. <\/span><\/p>\n

Most guides list a single ingredient \u2013 chicken, beef, duck, etc. \u2013 but how often is there just one ingredient on your plate? How often do you order an unseasoned steak, without sauce, or garlicky potatoes, or vegetables? <\/span><\/p>\n

Almost never. <\/span><\/p>\n

Sure, charred steak with roasted potatoes and beef jus is great with Cabernet Sauvignon, but how about surf and turf? What will a Cab Sauv do to butter-poached lobster? How will a big, bossy red behave if the steak is sauced with cream and herbs? Badly. That\u2019s how. <\/span><\/p>\n

The best pairings are made when the whole plate \u2013 not just the protein \u2013 is considered; the spices, saltiness, the dominate flavour, even the textures on the plate, the done-ness of the meat, the crispiness of the veggies, and the temperature of the elements. <\/span><\/p>\n

In Italy, beef carpaccio is rarely served with red. As an appetizer it pairs well with fuller-bodied, oaked whites \u2013 same for steak tartare \u2013 but being a beef dish, it\u2019s tempting to pour a full-bodied red, such as Cabernet Sauvignon \u2013 it is raw red meat, after all \u2013 but this would \"Beef<\/a>be a mistake. <\/span><\/p>\n

The tannins in a Cab Sauv will overpower the lightness of the raw, tender tartare. Tender cuts cooked anything less than medium-well are too delicate for most Californian Cabernet Sauvignons. <\/span><\/p>\n

Tannic wines work well with cooked beef because cooked meat is loaded with umami; umami is complimented by the mouthfeel of tannic red wines \u2013 the humble hamburger would be a much better fit with a Cab Sauv. <\/span><\/p>\n

When beef\u2019s umami is not enhanced by cooking, as with tartare, the tannins will seem more aggressive, creating an unpleasant imbalance not only between the food and wine, but also within the wine itself!\"Kew
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

With raw beef, try a Marsanne-Viognier blend — Ontario’s Kew Vineyards<\/a><\/strong> are making a great example of that blend. It\u2019s a bold white so the beef won\u2019t bully it, but it\u2019s soft enough to not overshadow the delicate, tender, raw meat; they bring out the best in each other. <\/span><\/p>\n

The slight fruitiness of the Marsanne-Viognier<\/strong><\/a> stands up well against the piquancy of tartare.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Consider temperature when pairing. Try this experiment: taste melted ice cream or room temperature soda pop; they\u2019ll both taste cloyingly sweet, because taste buds are muted by cold. <\/span><\/p>\n

Different temperatures mute or accentuate different flavours; and psychologically we desire a cold wine with a cold dish, and since you wouldn\u2019t dream <\/i>of serving a chilled Cabernet Sauvignon, with beef tartare, go white!<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Beef<\/a>
Beef tartare with red wine? No, think chilled white!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Perfect pairings are influenced by so much more than what is on the plate. The greatest pairings consider the time of day, weather, mood, ambiance; they take risks and break the rules.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Rebecca<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Rebecca Me\u00efr-Liebman<\/strong>
\nSommelier & Consultant<\/strong><\/p>\n

As co-owner of Chef & Somm, the GTA\u2019s only Bespoke Private Dining and Sommelier service, Rebecca has acquired over a decade of experience in some of Canada\u2019s \u2013 and the world\u2019s \u2013 top dining rooms.<\/p>\n

She earned her hospitality, service
\nand sommelier skills at top restaurants \u2013 Canoe, Luma, BL\u00dc Ristorante and Maple Leafs Sport & Entertainment \u2013 but Rebecca is always learning, tasting, and cultivating relationships with winemakers, local and abroad.<\/p>\n

Her thirst for wine knowledge is a never-ending quest; Rebecca brings an unquenchable curiosity and authority to any dining experience. www.ChefSomm.ca<\/p>\n

*Photo credit Hannah Sherrett of Hannah Photography<\/a>, food by Chef Eyal Liebman.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Rebecca Me\u00efr-Liebman of Chef & Somm I\u2019m not a follower of hard and fast rules. Charts and wheels are fun, but the best experiences I\u2019ve had have been when I broke the rules. Applying the rules to wine and food pairing will deliver a decent experience, but for an exceptional pairing, it\u2019s all about risks. Most charts insist that Cabernet Sauvignon is the wine for beef. But is it really? Always? But charts don\u2019t reflect our actual dining habits. Most guides list a single ingredient \u2013 chicken, beef, duck, etc. \u2013 but how often is there just one ingredient […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":218248,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[126,113,10],"tags":[1377],"class_list":["post-27104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wine-beef","category-best-wines","category-food-wine-pairing","tag-chefsomm"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/218248"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27104"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27104\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49447,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27104\/revisions\/49447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nataliemaclean.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}