Applying the Art and Science of Pairing Food and Wine

Now that you have all mastered the guiding principles for pairing food and wine properly based on my last two blogs, let’s take it to the next step! I thought it would be fun to walk you through my planning for a recent wine tasting dinner Laurie and I hosted that focused on applying and testing those principles to confirm that they actually work! Did success or disaster ensue? Read on to find out!

Seared Scallops with Cauliflower Puree and Fried Capers – Photo by Laurie Geis

Anyone can come up with rules or guiding principles for anything – how to be an effective leader, how to live a healthy lifestyle, remodeling or redecorating your home, and yes, how to pair food and wine. But eventually, you need to “operationalize” those principles and put them into practice to determine whether they actually work and can stand the test of time.

Recently, Laurie and I decided to “test” our guiding principles for successfully pairing food and wine by hosting a wine tasting dinner for a few friends that focused on choosing food and wine pairings based on the principles themselves. To thoroughly test the principles, I decided to pick dishes that were extremely challenging to pair with wine – because the only way you can really determine how sound the principles are is to apply them under difficult circumstances.

To make it even more challenging, two of our guests were true wine and food aficionados, with one (Nancy Pitta, sister of one of our all-time favorite neighbors down the street!) having attended the California Culinary Academy and achieved success and fame as an accomplished pastry chef and cottage baker in the San Francisco Bay area. In fact, she has worked in one of Wolfgang Puck’s restaurants, Postrio, as the Pastry Sous Chef, and also as the Pastry Chef at Nancy Oakes’ world-renowned Boulevard Restaurant in San Francisco. So, NO PRESSURE, right? Go big or go home!

As we walk through the courses for the dinner, I’ll share the wine I paired with each course, the guiding principles that applied to the pairing, and how the pairings worked (or didn’t work!).

Pairing #1: Chipotle Cheddar Crackers paired with a 2018 Argyle Winery Vintage Brut Sparkling Wine from the Willamette Valley, OR.

The pairing principle here was “Opposites Attract” – I thought the richness and saltiness of the cheddar cheese, as well as the bit of heat courtesy of the chipotle powder would be complemented and offset nicely by the lean and zesty acidity and palate-cleansing effervescence of the sparkling wine. The pairing was a home run!

Chipotle cheddar crackers paired with sparkling wine

Pairing # 2: Lemon-Pickled Radish Toast with Basil and Parmesan paired with a 2022 Frog’s Leap Sauvignon Blanc from Rutherford, CA.

Radishes pickled in lemon juice, cream cheese spread with parmesan and basil, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice on top – could I have made a pairing any more difficult? The pairing principle I applied here was “Acid Trip”, where you pair vegetables with their wine “soul mate” Sauvignon Blanc, which has vegetal characteristics and nice acidity as well. The pickling of the radishes which brought tartness to the table was a bit of a wild card, but I felt the acidity of the Sauvignon Blanc would be able to stand up to the tartness of the radishes. The pairing worked really well, with the lemon-lime flavors of the wine playing off the tartness of the pickled radishes really well.

Lemon-pickled radish toast paired with Sauvignon Blanc

Pairing # 3: Bulgogi-Glazed Pork Belly with Roasted Butternut Squash Puree paired with a 2021 Robert Biale Vineyards Black Chicken Zinfandel from Napa Valley, CA.

I applied a number of pairing principles for this course. First, “Sense of Place” was in play due to the pork being raised in the same valley the wine came from. I also applied “Rich Fat Cat” because I thought the fattiness of the pork belly and the nice tannins in the Zinfandel would moderate each other and help to refresh the palate. I also applied the “Rebel Yell” principle by pairing a white meat with a red wine. The Asian glaze on the pork paired with the spiciness of the Zinfandel was another inspiration for this match. I think this was one of the favorite pairings of the night with a number of the guests noting how well the sweetness of the butternut squash puree paired with the fruitiness of the Zinfandel.

Glazed pork belly paired with a Zinfandel

Paring # 4: Tex-Mex Caesar Salad paired with a 2022 Solena Estate Pinot Gris from the Willamette Valley, OR.

A regular Caesar salad is difficult enough to pair with wine, so why not make it harder by adding chili powder, cotija AND queso fresco cheeses, and lots of anchovies to boot? The first guiding principle I applied was “Acid Test”, where I chose a leaner white wine to pair with the lime vinaigrette on the salad. I also applied the “Same Ole Same Ole” principle by pairing a more acidic wine with the tart, acidic, and spicy lime Caesar dressing. I liked this pairing and thought it worked, but next time I would probably double down on the acid-acid match by going with an even leaner wine like a Chablis from France or Vermentino from Italy.

Tex-Mex Caesar salad paired with a Pinot Gris

Pairing # 5: Wine-Braised Mushrooms with Parmesan Risotto paired with a 2018 Saintsbury Pratt Vineyard Pinot Noir from the Sonoma Coast, CA.

This was definitely one of the easier food and wine matches of the evening. Whenever I serve mushrooms, I automatically default to the Pinot Noir grape, since many pinots have an “earthy” character to them that pairs perfectly with the earthiness of mushrooms – the “Same Ole Same Ole” principle applies here. I also applied “Opposites Attract” because Pinot Noirs are often elegant and light in body with nice fruit, so I wanted to offset and balance the richness of the cheese risotto and the braised mushrooms with a somewhat lighter wine offering. This was a match made in heaven – one of the favorites of the night for the group.

Mushrooms and risotto paired with a Pinot Noir

Pairing # 6: Pan-Seared Sea Scallops with Cauliflower Puree and Fried Capers paired with a 2019 Siduri Chardonnay from the Willamette Valley, OR.

You might initially think this would be a simple food and wine pairing, until I remind you how briny capers are, and tell you that the puree had cayenne pepper in it, along with lemon zest and lemon juice. Not so easy now, huh? Anyway, I applied a number of different pairing principles here when I picked a lean and very lightly oaked Chardonnay from Oregon. “Same Ole Same Ole” applied as I tried to marry the brininess of the capers and tartness of the lemon with the leanness and acidity of this cool-climate Chardonnay. I also applied the “Opposites Attract” principle by tempering the richness of the puree (which had a lot of heavy cream in it) as well as the seared scallops with the leanness and steeliness of the Chardonnay. Finally, “Acid Trip” applied here courtesy of the fried capers and lemon. Everybody agreed that this wine and food pairing hit the mark!

Seared scallops and cauliflower puree paired with a Chardonnay

Pairings # 7 & 8: Chocolate Caramel Tart paired with a Quinta Das Carvalhas 10-Year Tawny Porto from Portugal and Strawberry Shortcake paired with a 2021 Wagner Vineyards Riesling Ice Wine from the Finger Lakes, NY.

I put our star pastry chef to work for the deserts and she produced some beauties! In both cases, I paired Nancy’s beautiful deserts with wines using the “Sweet and Sweeter” principle, so each wine was slightly sweeter than the tart and the shortcake they were paired with. I also used the “Same Ole Same Ole” principle in the caramel tart and Tawny Port pairing because this style of port almost always has a burnt caramel like flavor that perfectly complements the chocolate and caramel in the tart. All that said, while the ice wine and strawberry shortcake pairing was a hit, the tart and port pairing got a ho-hum response from a number of the guests. I decided that was due more to the fact that they weren’t tawny port lovers than the pairing itself but based on the feedback I’ll reconsider this pairing in the future!

Chocolate caramel tart paired with a Tawny Port

Strawberry shortcake paired with a Riesling Ice wine

I hope you enjoyed hearing a bit about how I applied the guiding principles for pairing food and wine for our recent wine tasting dinner. My verdict? The 10 guiding principles have been validated and are ready for you to use yourselves – have fun and let me know when you achieve one of those perfect food and wine pairings yourself!