Wines and food

In this section you will find an increasing number of articles dealing with successful food and wine pairings. For wine lovers, the right combination is crucial, because there is hardly anything better than a successful combination of good basic products, which are prepared into a small or large feast, and the matching wine.

Food pairings: wines and dishes

The salmon and the sorrel

Salmon with sorrel is the most famous recipe of the Troisgros family, who run the Michelin-starred restaurant Les Frères Troisgros in Roanne. Today, Michel runs the restaurant and still has his father Pierre's signature dish on the menu, which he developed in 1962 as a kind of precursor to the Nouvelle Cousine and is still one of the most famous dishes in France.

Sauternes and oysters

What we would like to recommend is to simply serve young Sauternes as an aperitif, i.e. very cold, as an alternative to sparkling wine. Or: offer oysters with Sauternes. This shellfish variety, which is particularly popular in Bordeaux, is often served with Muscadet, Sancerre or Aligoté, but the true, ultimate combination is mature Sauternes with oysters.

Asian cuisine

Asian cuisine is a great challenge for wine recommendations due to the complex flavours of the dishes. However, if you stick to certain basic rules, you can find very good combinations. Wines with a high alcohol content and a strong tannin structure are generally difficult. Asian cuisine requires wines that harmonise well with the complex flavours and buffer and accompany the spiciness and sometimes fatty dishes.

Salmon wild

There are classic combinations of food and wine that are simply unbeatable. One of these is salmon. Of course, with salmon, as with all dishes, it depends on the method of preparation and the sauces, but the basic rule is that salmon is a fish with a high fat content. And it is unsaturated fatty acids that create a pleasantly creamy, but also stimulating mouthfeel. Then there are the proteins, which provide different flavour nuances and pairings depending on how they are prepared.

Oyster mushroom

Many of the classic edible mushrooms are in season and are therefore only available fresh for a few weeks. Not so the oyster mushroom or oyster mushroom, as it is actually called. This was not always the case. In the past, the fruiting body of the oyster mushroom only sprouted due to a cold stimulus. But this type of mushroom could be cultivated so that this cold stimulus was no longer necessary. Today, the mushroom can be cultivated without any problems.

Lobster and wine

Today we're talking about lobster, or more precisely Canadian lobster and wine. Why Canadian lobster? There are several reasons.

The first is that there is a healthy and sustainable population of lobsters off the coast of Newfoundland. The second is that the water there is particularly clean, cold and crystal clear, which also has an effect on the quality of the lobster. It has wider claws and firm white meat with a fine, nutty flavour.

Wine and cheese pairings

Cheese essentially consists of fat and milk protein. Nevertheless, the world of different cheeses offers a whole universe of flavour components due to the type of milk used and how it is processed. Firstly, there is the question of the origin of the milk. Does it come from a cow, a sheep or a goat? This has an effect on the salt content, but also on sharpness or sweetness, the proportion of acidity or flavour.

Wild garlic and wine, yes or no?

One of the unmistakable harbingers of spring is wild garlic. It is one of the most common wild plants, but ten or fifteen years ago it was not really valued in the kitchen. That has changed. Wild garlic has been available again since around the end of February - right through to June. Until then, it is an ideal accompaniment to spring cuisine.

Crêpes & Galette

The wafer-thin patties are either made from buckwheat flour on a hot griddle to form galettes or from light-coloured wheat flour to form crêpes. The choice of galettes and crêpes is almost unlimited. They are available with savoury and sweet ingredients, although Bretons tend to prefer buckwheat pancakes with savoury ingredients and crêpes with sweet ingredients. They are eaten in the morning, at lunchtime and in the evening. Sometimes with jam, chocolate cream or honey and lemon juice, sometimes with crème, fish and seafood or as a "Complet" with ham, cheese and egg - to name just a few classics.

Mussels only in months with an "r"?

You will no doubt be familiar with the saying that mussels should only be eaten in months with an "r" in their name. This statement also used to be justified, but dates back to around the same time when red wine was still drunk at room temperature. Both statements have little or no relevance today.

Some basic rules for pairing wine and food

Basic rule 1: Flavour before complexity
It doesn't always have to be the most expensive wine; it is more important that it harmonises with the intensity of the dish. Sauces often play a central role in this. For example, a rather subtle Wiener schnitzel should not be accompanied by an overly complex wine such as a wood-aged Chardonnay, but rather a fresh Grüner Veltliner. On the other hand, a fish dish in a creamy sauce is more suited to a strong Burgundy than a light Veltliner.

Basic rule 2: Similar intensity
The strength of wine and food should be balanced. If you have a roast chicken, a young Chardonnay characterised by wood will not go well with it because it would dominate the chicken. However, a young Grüner Veltliner or Welschriesling harmonises very well. This, on the other hand, would completely drown out a roast chicken with cream and morels. It needs something strongly flavoured, which includes a classic white Burgundy.

Basic rule 3: Pay attention to the fat content
Not all fats are the same, which is very important when pairing wine and food. Unsaturated fatty acids (vegetable fat, oil or fish fat) have a creamy and energising effect. Saturated fatty acids (animal fats, cream or butter) have a dense and coating effect.

Basic rule 4: Sauces are the key
Sauces essentially determine the harmony between wine and food.

Basic rule 5: Maturity and freshness
A classic example here is Sauvignon Blanc and goat's cheese. Sancerre and Chavignol are a regional match. Sometimes wine and cheese come from the same place. The rule is: if the cheese is young, the wine should also be young. If the cheese is mature, the wine should also be mature.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Are there rules for pairing wine and food?

When wine meets food, complex flavours develop that influence both the wine and the dish. Although there are no rigid rules, a few basic principles can help to find harmonious pairings. A key aim is to balance the six flavours - sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami and fatty.

Which flavours of wine and food (almost) never go together?

Bitter flavours reinforce each other. Acidity and bitterness often produce metallic notes. Tannins and protein make tannins stand out too much.

Which flavours of wine and food work well together?

Sweet & sweet: Here, sweet white wine goes well with light-coloured dishes and dark wine such as port with dark desserts such as chocolate. It is important that the sweetness is almost the same with both.
Sweet & salty: Salty and savoury cheeses harmonise with sweet white wines. Fat & alcohol: Alcohol dissolves fat and helps to develop the flavour.
Sweet & sour: Works in the same way as sour drops
Sweet and bitter: try bitter chocolate with sweet port.
Sweet, fatty & alcohol: an ideal combination is foie gras or fatty blue cheeses and sweet wines

Which wine goes well with quick-roasted meat?

Flash-fried meat with a lot of fat (entrecôte) requires powerful wines with tannin (e.g. young Bordeaux), flash-fried meat with little fat (fillet) requires more subtle wines (mature Bordeaux with melted tannin, Pinot Noir). With flash-fried beef from the wok, it is not the fat but the spiciness of the sauce that is decisive. Hardly any red wine harm

Which wine goes well with braised meat?

Tender meat such as boiled beef prefers white wines with a mild acidity. If a spicy component such as horseradish is added, the wine should have a residual sweetness to compensate for the spiciness. Creamy and buttery sauces go particularly well with creamy wines such as mature Chardonnays, which have acidity, but not too much acidity, and which have sufficient strength due to ageing in wood.

Which wine goes well with vinaigrettes?

Vinaigrettes are acidic and tend not to go well with wine. If they do, they should be paired with a strong and creamy white wine.

Which wine goes well with beurre blanc?

Beurre blanc is a classic basic sauce with acidity, salt and lots of fat. All of this also requires a rather strong, creamy white wine, which can certainly have wood. A young white wine would be aggressively acidic and metallic. Red wine with tannins has a furry flavour.

Which wine goes well with jus?

Jus is a highly reduced and cooked, i.e. intense, meat and bone-based sauce with acidity, salt and roasted flavours. It clearly enhances (umami) the flavours of a red wine whose tannins harmonise with those of the sauce. A young white wine, on the other hand, would not work. It would lose all its fruitiness and freshness and would not be able to cope with the fat. The subtle flavours of a white Burgundy would also have considerable problems.

Which wine goes well with velouté?

Velouté, another basic sauce of French cuisine with butter, flour and stock. In principle, it is a roux that requires a fresh wine. A sparkling wine is ideal here, as it breaks up the firm creaminess of the roux. Béchamel does not require any stock, but is made from fat and milk. A creamy white wine, which balances out the saturated fats, goes particularly well with it.

Which wine goes well with tomato sauce?

Tomato sauce contains a lot of umami, but also acidity. The acidity should be matched to the wine. A Sangiovese, for example, has acidity and can balance the intensity of the sauce with its strength.

Which wine goes well with chutneys?

Chutney is an expressive sauce variation with hot, sweet and spicy components. This is the job of a young white wine. It packs the flavour and fruit of the chutney, it binds the saltiness. The spiciness even makes it creamier. The same rule applies here: the spicier the wine, the more residual sweetness it should contain. A red wine would taste earthy and bitter here, a white Burgundy would be broad and soft, as it does not like the spiciness.

Which wine goes well with chilli sauces?

Chilli sauces are spicy, fruity and often slightly sweet with honey, vinegar, oils and chillies. It is similar to chutneys. A fresh and sweet white wine is required.