One of the greatest thrills of being a sommelier is the excitement of recommending a wine and food match without even trying the two together, and getting it spot-on. Get a group of sommeliers together and at some point conversation always reverts to that spur of the moment wine recommendation for a dish that was all but impossible to recommend wine for.
Executive wine decisions made at 8:30pm in a heaving restaurant, with three tables to clear, two more to set-up, no more ice and a commis who’s missing in action since you sent him to get more champers. Stories that are akin to old veterans trading their own war memories.
There are, of course, numerous classic food and wine pairings to fall back on: cold Sauternes and foie gras, crisp Chablis and oysters, Pinot Noir and duck, Champagne and… well, a glass.
But what if your dish is not a classic? What if you’re dealing with ingredients that are absent from those food and wine matching text books? Ingredients that make you sit back and think a bit. In other words: The Awkward Squad.
THE PROCESS
Imbibe asked six different sommeliers to name their three trickiest ingredients and they came back with (in order): eggs, artichoke, lemon-based/ceviche sauces, asparagus and spinach.
We then took the first three ingredients and asked the sommeliers what two wines would they match (in theory) if these ingredients were in a dish. The verdict was:
Eggs – Blanc de blanc champagne and Grüner Veltliner.
Artichoke – Loire Sauvignon Blanc and Provence Rosé.
Lemon sauces – German Kabinett Riesling and dry sherry.
‘OK,’ we said. ‘Put your theory where your mouth is.’ We separated the sommeliers into groups, asked their chefs for two dishes, containing one of the above as an ingredient, sent out the wines they had suggested and had an ‘Awkward Taste-off’. Just for good measure we also allowed the sommeliers to try all the wines with each dish, just in case.
THE RESULTS
With so much deliberation before the actual tastings and theories backed by very sound arguments, we were, despite the difficulty of the ingredients, expecting some perfect partners. But in fact, what came back was a bit of a surprise.
Of all the theoretical matches suggested in advance, only one came out as an overall winner: champagne and eggs.
‘The advantage of champagne was the perlage, an incredible tool for cleaning palates,’ said Andrea Briccarello of Galvin La Chapelle. Karen Ribier from 1 Lombard St thought ‘the structure of the eggs with the champagne worked quite well, the richness of the dish gave a extra dimension to the champagne’. While Joris Beijn of Andaz put it more simply: ‘Why do you think Champagne is the best option for breakfast?’
In terms of style the ceviche came in second as a theory winner. That is to say despite the sommeliers not agreeing on a specific wine match, they all agreed on the need for a lighter style wine that is crisp and high in acidity.
Becky McKevitt, sommelier at Salt Yard and Dehesa, thought that ‘the citrus flavour and high acidity in the Grüner cut through any oiliness of the mackerel and balanced well with the lemon juice and vinegar used in the ceviche.’ While David Vareille from Bleeding Heart believed that simple style wine with high acidity would be the way to go, suggesting Muscadet or even a Sylvaner.
The artichoke, though, was genuinely tricky. It received a different vote from each of the sommeliers. Erica Lalér of Texture thought the sherry would work well but was surprised that it didn’t hit expectations. ‘The Manzanilla was just too powerful for the artichoke soup and diluted it totally,’ she said.
Joris Beijn decided to call in a ringer in the form of a Central Otago Pinot Noir. ‘When tasting with the food all the [Pinot] fruit remained, but the best part… your glass was now full of this mushroomy, forest, farmyard smell.’
So, one taste-match winner, one broad style agreement and a big L loser.
The underlining conclusion from this exercise seems to be that if you are the person recommending wines, whether it’s from behind the bar, on the floor or with the little grape pin on your chest, there’s no substitute for knowing the specifics of your own wine list, because that is what you’re working with.
Perhaps even more importantly, understand the food that comes out of the kitchen. The wine, broadly speaking, won’t change much, but the kitchen is the wild card. Since it’s the food that changes you need to find a wine that is able to pull it all together.
THE DISH
THE DISH
THE DISH
THE DISH
THE DISH
THE DISH
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