Each consumer’s individual palate is the final authority on a good matchup of food and wine.  The goal is a pairing that makes both the wine and the food taste better.  Herein we’ll consult on your matchmaking, but your tastebuds are the final authority.

There is a wine varietal or blend to compliment every cuisine, including Asian.  Let’s review our humble opinions on coupling foods with the various varietals or blends thereof:

Cabernet Sauvignon—this robust red does no favors for any seafood.  Red meats, with the emphasis on Beef, are ideal partners, running the gamut from roasts, steaks and stews.
The pronounced flavor of Wild Game is a proper partner, and this can include Game Birds.  Best with entrees, good Cab also enhances strong Cheese, including well aged Cheddar.

Chardonnay—French White Burgundies are styled as food wine, a designation escaping most California over-oaked treatments that do their best by themselves.  Chile and Australia adorn our retail shelves with usually lighter styles of this grape, whose Oregon production is rapidly declining.  Roasted Pork or Veal make a Chardonnay marriage, as do sturdy seafood dishes such as Swordfish, Shark, Tuna and Sturgeon.  Poultry, roasted, BBQ’d or served with an assertive sauce partners well.  Mild flavored Cheeses such as Bries, Swiss and Edam cozy up to a glass of Chard.

Gewurztraminer—the spicy characteristics of this varietal are an ideal accompaniment for almost the full variety of Asian cuisine, including Pot Stickers, BBQ’d Ribs, Curries, Teryaki and sauced Seafoods.  Roast Pork and Rabbit are willing companions.  Soft, ripe Cheeses such as Muenster go well as does fresh Fruit, particularly Strawberries.  The cool climate of the Willamette Valley encourages dry, full flavored Gewurz, but the world’s finest is produced in the Alsace region of France.

Merlot—latest ‘trendy’ emanation from California and Washington vineyards, this grape is also coming into its own in southern Oregon vineyards.  Softer than Cabernets, this red pals with Poultry preparations, the mixed grill that is Paella, roast or grilled Lamb, Rabbit and Beef Tenderloin (and if you enjoy Calves Liver, it fits perfectly).  It also adorns a wide variety of  Cheese.

Pinot Blanc—slightly lighter than its cousin, Pinot Gris, this varietal has achieved flavors in Oregon unmatched by European relatives.  Enjoy it with any seafood.

Pinot Gris—Oregon vintners are now able to match the Alsatian best, and vinify a much fuller flavored beverage than any Italian Pinot Grigio.  Beware new stylings of this grape just being introduced from California and Washington, because those climates don’t encourage the full quality.  Since its inception in Oregon vineyards, Pinot Gris has been marketed as “Salmon Wine,” and rightly so.  Any Salmon recipe, smoked, roasted or grilled, deserves this attention.  The full range of finfish caught in local waters also qualifies, as do Clams and Mussels.  Proper Pinot Gris is truly superior to Chardonnay as
a food accompaniment.

 Pinot Noir—Oregon has proved it can match the best of Burgundy (with the exception of Grand Cru prices) with this subtle red that is ideal with Wild Fowl, Duck and Goose.  It also smoothly defies the “red with meat”, “white with poultry and seafood” maxim.  Salmon and Sturgeon gain with this sip.  See Merlot above for ideal red meat choices, with Lamb leading the list.  Blue Cheese, Chevre, Gruyere and Brie are very friendly. Dessert?  Think Chocolate for a heavenly match.

Rose’s—if you like wine, forget White Zinfandel, the California wunderkind best sipped with salted nuts.  Rose’s of character come to our shelves from southern France and Spain, have both flavor and dryness and walk the aisle with Poultry and White Meat.
they also exhibit a warm color that looks good in the glass. 

Riesling—Germany set the standard for this varietal centuries ago, but the grapes and their distinct growing conditions there blend both acidity for long life, and sweetness, with the latter characteristic off-putting to the average American.  Oregon now produces drier versions of Riesling, matching Alsace, and Dungeness Crab is a marvelous match.  Pork dishes, Blackened Fish and Razor Clams are other natural tieups.  Light Cake, Fresh
Fruits and Custard are top dessert companions to a Riesling with any marked sugar content.

Sauvignon Blanc—French Bordeaux and Loire whites are the leading European examples of this varietal, which is produced by a few Oregon and California vintners.  Fruity and aromatic in its optimum styling, this grape has recently gained world wide attention as New Zealand’s first hit in export wines.  There is no food match with this grape that even resembles the taste harmony gained by sipping it with raw oysters.

Syrah/Shiraz—different names for a noble black grape native to the Rhone region of France and the leading red export from Australia.  Less expensive than quality Cabernets, this grape has also etched a place in California vineyards.  More assertive than Merlot, less robust than Cabernet, this varietal fares very favorably with meats and roasted poultry. 

Zinfandel—this California original is now being grown in southern Oregon.  It exceeds Merlot in the flavor panoply of reds.  Its distinctive assertiveness makes friends with Lamb and roasted Wild Fowl.  It also takes well to any Pasta with red sauce.

Blends—while Burgundy and Pinot Noir are synonymous in purity, Bordeaux red clarets all exhibit a blending of Cabernet and Merlot (plus, in most instances, petite amounts of Cabernet Franc and Malbec).  California vintners are doing similar blending, but at high prices.  Australian white wine production includes a copious amount of Semillon/Chardonnay, an economical blend that blesses most seafood. 

We’ve ignored the flood of Italian wines inundating our shores, but that’s a subject for another column.  This nation leads all others in production volume, a majority of it from grape varietals native to Italy, such as Sangiovese (predominant grape in the Chianti blends), Barbera, Barolo, Soave, Amerone, Gattinara and Dolcetto.  Another Italian varietal, the white Arneis, has been gaining some Oregon vineyard attention.  And then there’s a growing presence of Spanish wines, plus new entries from Austria, Argentina and South Africa. As we said, more later!
 
 

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