WineLife365

Posts Tagged ‘Wine and Food Pairings’

From: Washington

Price: $10.99

How often is the BS on the back of a wine bottle right on the money!?  More importantly, how often in life do you get entirely what you pay for and more?  The Pacific Rim Dry Riesling (a mix of 20% German Riesling, 80% Washington Riesling) is quite possibly the greatest BFF that a grilled piece of tuna or sushi boat could ever have!  It has a terrific apricot and citrus flavor that really matches up well with any grilled fish, sushi, or vegetarian dish – especially the spicy stuff.  And the folks at Pacific Rim also seem to think so, based on the back of the bottle description.  Try it for yourself!

If you really enjoy this wine, you may want to request a copy of the “Riesling Rules” book.  Just click onto this link and follow the directions to get a free copy.

WineLife365 Rating: 4-Star

Torrontes is the most popular and widely grown white grape in Argentina. This native Argentinean white grape is grown mainly in the provinces of Catamarca, La Rioja, Mendoza, Salta, San Juan and Rio Negro.  The Torrontes grape produces wine with a very strong floral scent to it – and I’m not joking when I say a strong floral scent!  It hits you like you’ve just walked into a flower shop.  The Torrontes wine shares many similar attributes to a Viognier wine:  Torrontes wines exhibit a floral scent and generally have a powerful punch of peach and citrus flavors, similar to Viogniers.

Torrontes is a great sipping or “stand-alone” wine.  It’s terrific with salads, cheeses and grilled/smoked meats.  It’s really awesome with spicy dishes as well!

I’ve received a few questions regarding what to eat with particular wines.   I decided to first start with the world’s king of white wines, Chardonnay.  So in this installment, I thought that it was only fitting to share some of our food and wine marriages with the vastly popular red wine grape, Cabernet Sauvignon.  This powerhouse red grape is made for brawny foods.  The king Cab is not one for flaky fishes or garden salads.  It’s all about the red meat.

Here are some foods that I think you’ll love with your Cab:

1.      Grilled BBQ meats – the heavier the better. Steaks, hamburgers, lamb, ribs, chicken, sausages… you get the point.    Cabernet Sauvignon is pretty awesome with any grilled meats.

2.      **Red** Sauce with Pasta and MEATS.  The white cream stuff is not so good.

3.      Beef Casseroles, Sloppy Joe’s, Beef Stew

4.      Take-out and Fast Food:  Cheese Steaks, Pepperoni/Sausage/Mushroom Pizza, Whopper w/Cheese, Big Mac.

5.      Tex-Mex, Spanish foods

6.      Here’s something interesting—Mushrooms and onions seem to love to be with Cabernet Sauvignon.

7.      These cheeses are great with Cabernet Sauvignon:  Dry Jack, Spanish Manchego, Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano and Cheddar Cheese.  A very interesting cheese that works well with a Cab is Blue cheese and any other moldy cheeses.

8.      Nuts that work especially well with Cabernet Sauvignon are cashews, pecans, and walnuts.

9.      For the dessert lovers:  Chocolate and Cabernet Sauvignon are like peanut and jelly…they just go together!

Unlike Chardonnay, I really can’t think of any particular foods that when mixed with a Cab would taste bad – although, lighter foods may not be ideal.  The only thing that I can think of that can ruin or alter a Cab’s taste is anything comprised of vinegar, such as: Dressings, sauces, and vinaigrettes.  In my opinion vinegar is Cabernet Sauvignon’s worst enemy.  As a rule of thumb, I usually steer clear of the vinegar just to be safe.

This is what I like with Cabernet Sauvignon.  How about you?

I’ve received a few questions regarding what to eat with particular wines.  I thought that it would be good to start with the world’s king of white wines-Chardonnay.

Here are a few foods to consider having with your Chardonnay:

1. Fish. The “fattier” the fish, the better.  Candidates would be swordfish, salmon, tuna or lobster.  Chardonnay also goes great with crabs, crab cakes, shrimp, oysters… you get the point.    Chardonnay is pretty awesome with seafood.
2. Pasta with Cream sauces.  The red stuff is not so good.
3. Grilled Chicken
4. Roasted Chicken
5. Anything with corn or steamed veggies, vegetarian dishes.
6. Olives
7. These 3 cheeses are great with Chardonnay– Provolone, Gruyere, Mild Cheddar Cheese.
8. Fruits that work well with Chardonnay include: Apples, Pineapples, Honeydew, Mango, Dates, Prunes and Raisins.

My best advice is to not pair Chardonnay with any tomato based dishes.  Unfortunately, Chardonnay and tomatoes just don’t like one another.