There are many different occasions
to drink wine, but always with the same hope to derive maximum of pleasure. To
make this pleasure complete you should respect a certain number of rules and
principles, particularly carefully select wines to accompany meals.
Three main precepts should be taken
into consideration. First, during a meal, always progress in quality, so that
you never regret the previous wine. Secondly, the following wine serving order
should be followed: the sparkling wine comes first, then white wine, then rosé,
then red wine and finally sweet wine. Thirdly, it is advisable to demonstrate
originality and inventiveness, and even to take some risks, provided that we can
satisfy our personal tastes and those of our guests
The horizontal and vertical wine
tasting.
The harmony must be respected
along two axes: the horizontal - one wine with a single dish - and the vertical
- reflecting the wines and dishes that come before and after. Horizontal axe
aims to find the perfect harmony between a dish and wine. It includes the
following rules: the rule of combinations - a light meal with light bodied and
little expressive wine, a rich meal with full bodied and very expressive wine
etc, the rule of terroir - a regional dish should be accompanied by wine of the
same region - and the rule of non-competing flavors: the dish and wine should
enhance each other and not compete or quench each other.
The vertical wine tasting contains few
simple rules that need to be respected. The white wines are served before the
red wines, the young wines before the older ones, dry wines before sweet wines.
Serving wine should start with least alcoholic wines and finish by those which
are stronger, cooled wines and finish wines kept in room temperature. One should
avoid serving more than three different wines; otherwise the aromas will get
mixed and we risk not to draw the ultimate pleasure.
It is about finding flavors that respond
best when they are associated. It is an ultimate achievement when tastes blend
harmoniously and create new sensations they would not have produced separately.
Such a combination may be based on similarities or on contrasts. Of course, to
find a good wine food matching pair, the first thing is to know the dishes and
wines! Knowledge of cépages, the specific characteristics of each vintage, will
help you to choose wine that will match the season, time of day, the ambiance of
the meal or the personality of guests. However, we will also remember that this
is not an exact science: as many different tastes as many people. The choice of
wine should not be imposed, but proposed, each person remaining free to enjoy
it.
At your disposal the extraordinary
wine food matching guide which fuel your interest and desire of flavors
discovery
