Straight from the sommelier's toolkit, this handy overview will help you to demystify the sometimes-complicated task of matching food to wine.
The words you need to know
• Taste: the basics – salty, sweet, acidity, bitter and savoury/umami.• Texture: the tactile parts of food and wine such as ‘chewy’ (tannin) and ‘crisp’ (acidity).
• Body: the sum ‘weight’ of a wine or dish’s key parts. Graded in light-bodied, medium-bodied or full-bodied.
• Savoury: food without sweetness or wine with higher levels of astringency.
Prime pairs
• Acid and salt: Think riesling with oysters – a classic.
• Fat and acid: Try hot chips with Champagne. Seriously.
• Protein and tannin: Match your meat to the right pitch of tannin – where weight meets weight.
• Fat and tannin: Not just power – delicate oils (fat) of pink fish suit soft tannins of light red wines.
• Sweet and heat: Just a touch of residual sugar in wine can muffle the burn of chilli.
• Savoury and umami: Look to fried chicken – high in fat and salt – paired with skin-contact whites.
This is an edited extract from the article 'Back to basics' in the latest issue of Halliday magazine. To get the full story, pick up your copy today.
Latest Articles
-
News
Philip Rich on Yarra Yering releasing its second Crowe x George vintage
1 day ago -
Wines to try
19 red, white and sparkling wines to try (all rated 92+ points)
2 days ago -
News
Alkina releases its first Estate range – bridging the gap between its entry-level and top-tier wines
2 days ago -
Travel
Clear your calendar for these two winter wine festivals taking place in August
2 days ago