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Wine and Food Pairing
Basic food tastes to pair with wines
We are taught that there are 5 basic tastes the we can clearly identify.
1) Acid (tartness, sour) - examples: lemon, lime, any citrus juice, vinegar;
acid foods such as tomatoes, corn (it is also sweet), coffee, liver and other organ meats;
other fruits such as apples, cranberries, plums, rhubarb;
yogurt, sour cream, buttermilk, aged cheeses.
2) Bitter - examples: coffee, teas, stout beer, tonic water, unsweetened chocolate or cocoa, green vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, green beans, field greens, arugula, dandelion greens, collards, frizee, radicchio, brussel sprouts, asparagus; some nuts such as walnuts, black walnuts, pecans, filberts, almonds, Brazil nuts, olives; certain zests, if too much of the white pith is included, such as lemon zest, orange zest, grapefruit zest, lime zest
3) Salty - examples: salt or any food with added salt such as olives, pickles, tapenades; potato chips, pretzels, Cheetos®, salted crackers, salted peanuts; salted meats such as bacon, ham, sausages, hotdogs, canned meats and fish, deli meats; many canned soups and canned vegetables; salted butter, margarine; salad dressings, condiments such as mustard, ketchup. mayonnaise
4) Sweet (sugary, fruity) - examples: any food with sugar, syrup, honey or cinnamon added; starchy foods such as potatoes, rice, tapioca, white bread, pastas; milk and milk products such as cheeses, cream; sauces such as ketchup, sweetened chocolate, chutney, jellies, jams; ripe fruit, bananas, pineapples, peaches, melons
5) Savory (umami, pronounced ooo-MAH-mee) - examples: red meats such as beef, lamb, venison, buffalo, beef stock; flavorings such as mushrooms, truffles, soy sauce, Worcheshire® sauce, teppenyaki sauce, fish sauce, black pepper, monosodium glutamate, vanilla; certain vegetables such as tomatoes, onions, shallots, garlic; dried, cured or any smoked meats or cheeses such as bacon, salami, smoked sausage, cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, smoked gouda; cured fish such as canned or salted anchovies, smoked salmon
Of the five above tastes, saltiness is not found to any degree in wine with perhaps the exception of some Muscadet (not Muscat) wines from the Loire Valley in France and some Australian wines from heavily irrigated grapes.
Wines usually do not have bitter tastes. However they do have tannins that produce an astringent sensation or mouth-feel. Astringency is a touch sensation and not a taste. Tannins coagulate proteins in your mouth and create a puckering or drying sensation. The astringent mouth-feel of tannins in wine is NOT the same as a wine being dry. Wine drinkers who think that the astringent mouth-feel caused by wine tannins is what is meant by a "dry wine" very often misinterpret this sensation. A "dry" wine is simply not sweet.
Although astringency in wine is not the same as bitterness, many wine drinkers interpret it as the same. Astringency is accentuated by food that is sweet or "hot" (spicy) and is suppressed by foods that are acidic, salty, or fatty. A tannic Cabernet Sauvignon, Bordeaux or Barolo wine is more astringent with hot or spicy foods so in general you would not serve tannic wines with spicy foods because the taste is too unbalanced. On the opposite side, a tannic wine is made less astringent by acidic, salty, or fatty foods. Acid, salt and fat suppress the tannins in wine.
All wines have acid in them and acid brings out more flavors in food. Acid in wine causes saliva to increase which in turn starts breaking down food in the mouth to release more flavors. That is why wine enhances food so often. This does not mean, however, that all wines are perceived as acidic. In general, wines under a pH of 3.4 are categorized as acidic and at 3.4 and above they are categorized as low acid or non acidic.
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Taste FAQs
Wikipedia on Taste
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