Finding the right food for a particular wine is an art which requires a lot of imagination. It is an art which enhances the real pleasure of dining!
1. Be brave! In my opinion one of the most important tips not to be restricted by traditional and well-established rules. Or at least not completely.
2. “White wine with fish and red with beef”? Yes and no. The correct approach is to focus on the balance between the tastes and sensations which wine and food create. They should complement each other. If you manage to achieve this, then every morsel of your meal followed by a sip of the chosen wine, will enrich the palate with new flavours in such a way that the wine and food will not obscure each other.
3. SOS! Wine and cheese... Let me give an example of an inapropriate combination. Wine lovers are often tempted to accompany blue cheese (“Roquefort” for example) with a rich, intense red wine. This may indeed be great, but in fact in this combination the wine tannins and the specific flavour of the cheese mould clash with each other. The cheese will suddenly become surprisingly bitter, bringing forward the acidity and the astringency of the wine. A better match for a cheese like “Roquefort” would be a glass of Muscat dessert wine or sweet Traminer.
4. A dish is a complex thing. The taste of a dish is dependent upon all of its components: the main ingredient, the dressing, the sauce, the spices, the way of cooking, and even the origin of the products.
5. Can you choose the wine first, then the dish? Of course you can. Pay attention to the flavour, style, vintage, alcohol content and origin of the wine. Here, as in the case above, the final result is important - to achieve a compelling flavour combination!
6. Common roots help! It is recommended to combine wine and food which originate from the same region – in this way they can be enjoyed at their best.
7. Step by step... The proper pairing of wine and food should be subject to the established rules of gastronomy. Each subsequent dish and wine from a menu should be stronger in flavours and aromas than the one before. In this way you can get the most out of the food and wine on offer. It is good to choose fresh, light white wine, neutral rose or sparkling wine as an aperitif. They should be followed by more pronounced and aromatic white wines, barrel aged or fermented whites and roses; and then light reds, followed by full-bodied, powerful red wines...
8. If you are not such a connoisseur... If you cannot recognize the different aromas and flavoursl, then follow a simple, yet reliable ranking - lower alcohol wines always come before those higher in alcohol, lighter wines - before heavier, younger - before older.
9. Do not start “hard”. It is customary during a meal to drink wine and water. In this sense, the wide-spread custom to take spirits as aperitif (as often is the case in Bulgaria with rakia) is controversial. As I have already mentioned, it is always best to start with a crisp white wine.
10. Digestif. Digestifs are served at the end of a meal. This group includes most spirits as well as dessert and special wines. For example baked pumpkin with honey and walnuts, accompanied by a glass of plum rakia would be a great match! I wish you many pleasant moments of real enjoyment with perfectly paired food and wine!
Slavi Raychev, sommelier
