Cover Story

There is nothing as simple or more complex than enjoying a glass of good wine. The aroma and taste sensations of wine can create a complicated yet pleasurable reaction on the palate, resulting in a satisfying experience that nearly defies description. And then we wake up. Are we dreaming, or can we create dining combinations made in heaven?

A well-prepared meal produces like results. Imagine a succulent seabass with a delicate saffron sauce, shrimp scampi on a bed of angel hair pasta and a light cream sauce, or filet mignon cooked to perfection.

Now put both of those elements together, and there you have it.

"Good wine makes good food taste even better, and vice versa," says Lance Silver, co-owner of Tobin James Cellars in Paso Robles. "That's one of the things we talk about in our tasting room. We'll pour someone a taste of wine and we see their eyes roll back and they say, 'Oh my God, this is so good.' But we're laughing because we know that if you think it tastes good now, wait until you get home and have it with your favorite dish, because it will only be better."

It also helps if that favorite dish is one that pairs well with a specific wine. That begs the question:

Which wine do you pair with what food? The old adage was white wine with fish and red wine with meat, but that concept was left behind years ago when chefs created multi-ethnic cuisines and more wine varietals began appearing on wine lists and in stores.

Now, the new rule is to try and match the wine to the food preparation.  Some suggest treating wine like a condiment or a spice that will enhance the flavor of food, but the best match is one that brings out nuances of both the wine and the food. However, it's often easier said than done, particularly when dining out and everyone at the table orders a different type of dish.

"That's always a dilemma," says Silver. "Someone orders pepper-crusted ribeye, someone else orders sautéed seabass. That makes pairing difficult, unless you order by the glass, but most restaurants have limited wines by the glass. In this case, you throw out the rules and say, 'Let's find a wine that won't interfere with the meal and hopefully enhance it to a degree.' You will not find one wine that will go with seabass and pepper-crusted steak. You have to find a happy medium. You could choose a softer red that won't overpower the fish but still holds up to the steak. A pinot noir would be a great choice, or a sangiovese. Most Italian wines are great food wines."

Of course, some traditional pairings will never change, such as a good cabernet sauvignon with a good steak.

"Cabs are high in tannins, which pairs well with steaks. The fatty acids in steak are absorbed by the tannins and they balance each other out," explains  Josh Crater, a Costa Mesa-based certified wine specialist and educator who was trained at the Culinary Institute in Napa.

Crater says that while there are some basic rules to follow - such as pairing heavy foods with heavier wines and lighter foods with lighter wines - the best pairing method is to eat what you like and drink what you like.

"Experiment a little, and if it tastes great together, do it," says Crater.

"There's nothing more fun than to order a bottle of wine and have several different dishes that could go well with it and have fun with the experience and see how the wine tastes with each dish," says Debra Kleck, co-owner of Silverstone Winery in Paso Robles. "Your palate is activated by a chemical reaction to whatever food you're putting in your mouth, so the wine might taste different from dish to dish. It doesn't mean it won't go with those dishes. Wine is dynamic - it's a living thing, so don't limit yourself. Think outside the box and have fun."

"Unless you pick total opposites, it's rare to ruin the experience," agrees Silver. "You have to go out of your way to pick something that won't work. One way to pair a great dish with wine is that almost any dish can be made better with a little wine in it, and if you drink the same wine you're cooking with, it's the perfect pairing."  

Dining out presents additional challenges when pairing food and wine.

"Sommeliers at good restaurants know what wines work well with their dishes, but it's still a challenge when you're having an appetizer and then maybe a salad and then soup, and then an entrée," says Silver. "Unless you're doing a tasting menu, you're probably ordering one bottle of wine, and it's hard to find one that will go with everything. So a lot of the time, if my wife and I go out to dinner, we'll start with a glass of champagne, which works well with a lot of different appetizers and it's a great way to start a festive meal. And if you bring your own wine to dinner, restaurants always appreciate it if you order some champagne, too."

Massimo Navarretta, chef and owner of Onotria Restaurant, has taken food and wine pairing to a different level by creating a menu with dishes that are listed according to the wine that goes best with them. Bold reds have different types of cuisine matched to them than do light reds or dry whites, making food and wine pairing much easier for diners.

"Food has body, sauce and texture and wine reflects that, so I list the food and wine by body type," explains Navarretta. He'll also prepare meals based on a wine that someone will order, or may bring with them to his restaurant.

"Someone comes in and says what can you pair this wine with. Once you know the anatomy of wine and food, you can quickly figure out how to pair them," says Navarretta."

So what are some classic pairings?

"I love sauvignon blanc with shellfish, or a rich chardonnay with lobster and drawn butter," says Silverstone co-owner Dan Kleck. "I think a perfect pairing is pinot noir with sautéed mushrooms. Pinot is a magnet for mushrooms."
"Zinfandel and barbecue is a classic pairing, but you can bring a cheeseburger home and open a bottle of zin; you have a gourmet meal," states Silver.
"Champagne goes great with cavier and oysters because they're salty, but try it with popcorn; it's fantastic," enthuses Crater.

Bottom line, says Crater: Drink what you like.

"Wine is there to be enjoyed. It's the nectar of the gods." t