Cooking
Wine and food. You could spend a lifetime trying to understand that relationship! Lately I've been developing some recipes for a wine retailer and it's been a lot of fun. It's also been a challenge since my normal process would be to start with a dish and then figure out what to serve with it, not the other way around. Along the way I've talked to a lot of people, read a number of books and gathered up as many resources as I can to help me.
This weekend at brunch, Derrick of the food blog Obsession with Food, mentioned his basic rules for wine pairing and they are really good ones. Check out his post on the subject here.
Along with my "bible" What to Drink with What you Eat, I also like Andrea Immer's book, Everyday Dining with Wine. If you want something short and sweet and internet accessible, here are some links to sites I find useful as well.
1. Wine & Food Matcher
This is a great tool, tucked away on Natalie MacLean's web site, Nat Decants. You can start with the wine or the food and see what pops up.
2. BBC Good Food Grape Guide
Here you can sort by wine/grape or by food type. It's not comprehensive, but it does have some nice suggestions and good descriptions.
3. Food Network Food and Wine Pairing Chart
This is a fun one because it actually lists the flavors associated with wines, and makes suggestions for wines, depending upon your budget.
Wine blogger extraordinaire Alder of Vinography has put together a tasting tool and while it doesn't pair food with wine, it does help hone in on just what's going on in your glass (head to his site to download it).
Bottom line--drink what you like with whatever you like! Food and wine are about enjoyment, not about adhering to strict rules.
FOOD + WINE
- Wine Folly Book Review
Because I used to develop recipes to pair with wines (for a now defunct online wine retailer) I have quite a collection of wine books. The book I probably use the most these days just to learn about wine is The Wine Bible, by Karen McNeil. I am eagerly...
- Food And Wine Pairing
Wine goes with food. I know this sounds obvious, but not that long ago I got into a disagreement with a wine blogger about this very subject. Her point was that not all wine needs to be paired with food, some people enjoy wine without food. Well not...
- The Subjectiveness Of Smell
Slate's Mike Steinberger continues his look at the physiology of tasting wine with a probing of the nose. There's some good information there, and it reinforces what I already tell my students: You are always right about what you smell and what...
- Wine Spectator Is Arrogant
I know. It's a shock. But take a deep breath, and I'll explain. In the current issue, they've printed a letter from a reader who blames Wine Spectator for promoting monstrous wine lists, and he goes on to decry the trend. "I am not happy...
- A Day Too Late
I just noticed the following article at Wine Spectator's web site: pairing wine and Halloween candy. It's actually a pretty interesting article, since it reveals a lot about what the wine press looks for in the ever-elusive perfect food and wine...
Cooking
Wine & Food Pairing Tools
Wine and food. You could spend a lifetime trying to understand that relationship! Lately I've been developing some recipes for a wine retailer and it's been a lot of fun. It's also been a challenge since my normal process would be to start with a dish and then figure out what to serve with it, not the other way around. Along the way I've talked to a lot of people, read a number of books and gathered up as many resources as I can to help me.
This weekend at brunch, Derrick of the food blog Obsession with Food, mentioned his basic rules for wine pairing and they are really good ones. Check out his post on the subject here.
Along with my "bible" What to Drink with What you Eat, I also like Andrea Immer's book, Everyday Dining with Wine. If you want something short and sweet and internet accessible, here are some links to sites I find useful as well.
1. Wine & Food Matcher
This is a great tool, tucked away on Natalie MacLean's web site, Nat Decants. You can start with the wine or the food and see what pops up.
2. BBC Good Food Grape Guide
Here you can sort by wine/grape or by food type. It's not comprehensive, but it does have some nice suggestions and good descriptions.
3. Food Network Food and Wine Pairing Chart
This is a fun one because it actually lists the flavors associated with wines, and makes suggestions for wines, depending upon your budget.
Wine blogger extraordinaire Alder of Vinography has put together a tasting tool and while it doesn't pair food with wine, it does help hone in on just what's going on in your glass (head to his site to download it).
Bottom line--drink what you like with whatever you like! Food and wine are about enjoyment, not about adhering to strict rules.
FOOD + WINE
- Wine Folly Book Review
Because I used to develop recipes to pair with wines (for a now defunct online wine retailer) I have quite a collection of wine books. The book I probably use the most these days just to learn about wine is The Wine Bible, by Karen McNeil. I am eagerly...
- Food And Wine Pairing
Wine goes with food. I know this sounds obvious, but not that long ago I got into a disagreement with a wine blogger about this very subject. Her point was that not all wine needs to be paired with food, some people enjoy wine without food. Well not...
- The Subjectiveness Of Smell
Slate's Mike Steinberger continues his look at the physiology of tasting wine with a probing of the nose. There's some good information there, and it reinforces what I already tell my students: You are always right about what you smell and what...
- Wine Spectator Is Arrogant
I know. It's a shock. But take a deep breath, and I'll explain. In the current issue, they've printed a letter from a reader who blames Wine Spectator for promoting monstrous wine lists, and he goes on to decry the trend. "I am not happy...
- A Day Too Late
I just noticed the following article at Wine Spectator's web site: pairing wine and Halloween candy. It's actually a pretty interesting article, since it reveals a lot about what the wine press looks for in the ever-elusive perfect food and wine...