foodwineclick

Our favorite places to go for food & wine pairing advice

Greg is a Master Sommelier and also the owner and winemaker at a favorite winery of ours: Gramercy Cellars.

Greg Harrington’s Wine Pairing in 5 sentences
“1) If a white wine is crisp without oak, if you can put lemon on the food, the pairing works
2) If a white wine is full bodied with oak, if you can put butter on the food, the pairing will work
3) If you have a red wine that you can read the newspaper through, it will go with fish that weigh more than 20 lbs and two legged animals
4) If you can’t read through the wine, it will go with 4 legged animals.
5) Fruity sauces get fruity wines, earthy sauces get earthy wines.
Anything more than that, and you are over thinking it.”

I like Greg’s advice, but I would add 6) if the wine is sparkling and a bit sweet, it will go with spicy foods.

Here are some our favorite places to go for good food & wine pairing advice in no particular order:

• Fiona Beckett’s Matching Food & Wine – A British take on the subject

Here are some books we like. You might try them out at your local library first.  If you like them, add them to your library:

• Andrea Immer: Everyday Dining with Wine – Andrea includes some very accessible everyday recipes to pair with specific types of wine.  They just work.  This book was the source of the Prosciutto Sage Chicken with Barolo recipe I enjoyed so much.
• Dornenburg & Page: What to Drink with What you Eat – Most useful as a cross reference guide.  Have a wine that you want pick a food to pair?  Have a food you want to pick a wine to pair?  This is your book.  Very few recipes, but lots of good ideas.
• Francois Chartier: Tastebuds and Molecules – Fascinating book with a theory of aromas that can guide wine and food pairing.  Not a complete food & wine pairing text, but it has some very cool ideas.