For many people, food and wine pairing is an intimidating thing. They know what they like, and they like what they know, but does that make it right?
Indeed it does, as a group of 16 students learned at last Sunday’s Food and Wine Dynamics class held at Stonestreet Winery in Alexander Valley. Yet, there are better ways to partner flavors, and with just a little education, the process can be easy and enjoyable.
“Acid,” explained instructor and Stonestreet estate chef Constantino “Taki” Laliotitis. While there are other wine and food characteristics to consider, including sugar, fruit, tannin (bitterness) and oak, complementing acid is the most important factor to keep in mind.
And with that tip, this student spat out her bite of sun-dried tomato, which Taki had dared her to taste alongside a swig of 2005 Black Cougar Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon. The acids and tannins of the tomato had turned the $90-a-bottle wine into swill. Even worse: a pairing of super-salty kalamata olive. Better: a roasted mushroom dredged in expensive grated Parmesan.
The class, held at the Summit center next to the estate’s tasting room overlooking the sweeping valley vineyards and mountainscapes, was one of the first in a new series of courses being offered bi-monthly to offer insight into the world of wine.
Over the next hour, students took a quick but deep dive into the power of taste and smell, sipping and nibbling the whole way. For professional chefs and sommeliers, Taki explained, there’s an intensive “Deductive Tasting” chart to follow, with nearly 100 facets to consider. Professionals have the chart memorized and do the analysis instinctively, Taki said, insisting that with enough practice, so could even the most ignorant student among us.
In fact, after just a few bites of the test foods he placed before us, we were getting the idea. A knob of unseasoned roast pork with 2007 Red Point Chardonnay? Pretty blah. But that same pork with a spritz of lemon and a touch of Maldon sea salt, and pow, the pork became savory, while the wine gave forth in a stunning, full-bodied citrus expression, blossoming in a mid-palate of apricot, orange rind and nectarine.
There were no dumb questions, we were promised, though Taki did share a head-scratcher someone had asked him once. “I’d described a wine as lemony, and they wanted to know at what point in the winemaking we added the lemon juice.”
Because the series is new, assistant tasting room manager and curriculum organizer Jeff Bean is still tweaking activities. What that meant for this class is that Taki was having such fun that he continued past the wine seminar into a full-fledged cooking demonstration. And that we scored an unbelievable bargain for our tuition cost of $35.
We sipped more wine as we watched him prepare pumpkin pie spiced blini with cured salmon, crème fraiche, red onion rings and salmon roe; red wine allspice braised short ribs with truffle celery root puree; and pan seared Liberty Farms duck breast with rosemary infused dried fruit compote.
Then, to test what we’d learned, we tasted more wine along with the full-size plates he brought out for each of us – Chardonnay with salmon, short ribs with Cabernet, and duck breast with a 2006 Fifth Ridge Merlot-Cabernet Sauvignon blend.
Or actually, whatever we felt like pairing with what.
Because that, explained Taki, was another rule of wine and food pairing. Sometimes, the best relationship is one of contrasts, such as his recent discovery of tart, tannic bleu cheese paired with sweet, silky dessert wine, or mustard chow chow pickles with Chardonnay. The key is to explore, practice tasting, and listen to our senses.
Failing all that, it’s still hard to wrong with wine and food pairing, Taki insisted. “If you eat something you don’t like, wash it down with lots of wine. Invariably, it’ll get better.”
Details: Stonestreet Summit School, 7111 Highway 128, Healdsburg. Classes start at 1 p.m. and are limited to 25 students. For reservations, call 800-355-8008 or email jeff.bean@stonestreetwines.com.
Upcoming classes include:
* December 6, 2009: Does glassware affect the way a wine tastes? The $75 tuition includes a set of four Riedel Crystal glasses to take home.
* February 7, 2010: “Madame de Fromage” and Cheese School of San Francisco instructor Colette Hatch leads The Dynamics of Wine and Cheese. Tuition is $25.
