Wine and Food Pairing Principles 

A beautiful plate of food is beautiful.
A beautiful bottle of wine is beautiful.
A beautiful plate of food with a beautiful bottle of wine can be beautiful but only if the one complements and enhances the other.

Why do we enjoy a chunky char-grilled steak served with pepper sauce but will not enjoy a traditional malva poeding served with pepper sauce? In the first case, the one complements and enhances the other. In the latter, the one battles and shouts against the other. To be able to find the right food and wine combination, correct wine pairing is needed.

Food and wine pairing leads to an understanding of what is required to allow the beautiful plate of food to complement and enhance the beautiful bottle of wine. Correct pairing can be obtained by following a few basic principles:

Wine and Food Pairing Principles

1.    Balance and Weight
Try to match the body and flavour intensity of the wine to that of the food - neither should overwhelm the other. When the one overwhelms the other a break down of both the beautiful food and wine happens and you might say that the wine or the food doesn’t taste as it did before - it can’t because you’re not allowing it to.

2.    Contrasts
Opposites attract; therefore sweet wines go with sour or salty foods. Try Nr. 2 (Bartho’s Noble Late dessert wine) with a salty blue cheese or Gorgonzola from Gerrie’s cheese table and experience the beauty of opposite flavours in food and wine.

3.    Rich foods
Rich and fatty foods work well with an equally weighted wooded white or red wine. Try the weighted wooded Nr.5 with a creamy cheddar or camembert cheese; or pasta served with a cream-based sauce. Try Die Bartho with its lighter weighted body and wood with a cream of mushroom soup or a roasted butternut and olive tart. Or, on the red wine side, try Die Arnoldus with a hearty oxtail stew; lamb roast or matured cheddar cheese.

4.    Sweet foods
The sweetness of the dish should be less than the sweetness of the wine; otherwise the latter will taste thin and tart. Try Nr. 2 with a slice of pecan nut tart or Madeira cake and enjoy the unique sweetness of both the wine and the dessert individually. Don’t forget to try Die Martha with her soft fruit undertones with a slab of dark chocolate; especially one with high cocoa content – a match made in heaven! On the other end of the scale, try Swartskaap with a slice of Camembert cheese or a brie, bacon and banana chutney baguette.

5.    Highly seasoned foods
Spicy, salty and smoky foods are best paired with fruity low tannins and low alcohol levels. The fruity low tannins of Posmeester will stand up well against various spicy curries. Try it with a traditional Cape Malay curry or mild spicy Indian curry and have fun.

6.    Acidic foods
Food that contains vinegar or lemon/lime juice need a wine with acidity to match the wine or the wine will taste flat and dull. Try Nr.7 with Gerrie’s goat’s milk cheese – another match made in heaven; sushi rolled with fresh fish; oysters with a dab of lemon juice; or roasted cherry tomato and olive tart; and don’t forget your favorite pasta served with a fresh tomato-based sauce. Nr.3 with its softer tropical fruit undertones will do well with fresh vegetable dishes such as char-grilled veggies served with a vinaigrette dressing.   

7.    Bitterness
Any bitterness in food will emphasize the bitterness in wine. A tannic red should be avoided - rather try a full-flavoured fruity wine.

8.    Tannins
This can turn nasty with fish and eggs and bitter with salt. Tannins love a good piece of meat – the chewier the better. Our Die Arnoldus demands a chewy meat such as a sirloin steak served with your favourite sauce; Die Martha goes with a peppered rib steak and Kleinboet with chunks of moist biltong or your favorite beef burgers served with healthy lettuce, tomato and cucumber. Swartskaap, a wine with softer tannins, can be enjoyed with bacon-based dishes and roast pork.

Use the above basic principles when selecting a bottle of wine for your dinner or selecting a meal to complement your favourite Hermanuspietersfontein wine(s) and have some fun….!

Compiled by Mariette Pretorius (aka Die Martha)

 

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Summary

Bloos

Eat with: Sushi sandwiches or sushi rolls made up with fresh fish; oysters with a drop of lemon; tzatziki dip with ciabatta will go well with this crisp dry Rose. The body and flavour of the food must match the body and flavour intensity of the wine.

Sonner Nommer

Eat with: Food with an acidic structure is needed to match this crisp wine; try it with fish served with tzatziki sauce; or garden salad served with a vinaigrette dressing or goat’s cheese

Nr.3

Eat with: The soft  tropical undertones of this crisp wine will go well with many vegetable dishes such as char grilled veggies with rosemary infused olive oil; or phyllo pastry veggie tartlets; or a salmon baguette served with lettuce and vine ripe tomatoes.   

Nr.5

Eat with: Rich and heavier food will work well with this equally weighted wooded wine. Try a creamy style cheddar or camembert; smoked salmon and creme fraise baguette; Ceasar salad with chicken and creamy ceasar dressing.   

Nr.7

Eat with: Food with an intensity flavour of  vinegar, lemon or lime juice is required to match the crisp& fresh  acidity structure of this wine. Try it with goat’s cheese (match made in heaven); or oysters and a drop of lemon; or roasted cherry tomato & goat’s cheese tartlets

Die Bartho

Eat with: Food with a light creamy flavour intensity is required to match this equally lightly wooded and weighted wine. Try it with salad with roasted butternut, beetroot and feta cheese; or creamy mushroom soup; or creamy style cheddar and camembert

Posmeester

Eat with: The fruitier low tannins of this wine will go well with a number of dishes. Try it  with your favorite tomato-based pizza or pasta or slightly more spicy food such as traditional Cape Malay bobotie spring rolls; or bacon and egg quiche or barbequed spare ribs..  

Swartskaap

Eat with: The full body wine with soft tannins asks for richer food to match it’s weight; try it with roast lamb with a hint of mint; or brie & bacon & banana baguette/ salad or camembert cheese.  

Kleinboet

Eat with: This wine with it’s youthfull tannins and weighted body will go well with less chewy meat such as big chunks of moist biltong; or your favorite beef hamburgers or try it with cheddar cheese or equally weighted cheese that is not  too matured.

Die Arnoldus

Eat with: This wine with good tannins and structure loves a good piece of meat – the chewier the better. Try it with a sirloin steak or oxtail casserole; or a mature cheddar; gruyere and Boerenkaas.

Die Martha

Eat with: This elegant & full bodied wine with good undertones of soft fruit will go well with peppered beef fillet with beetroot & horse radish crème; or char grilled tuna or try it with mature cheddar or Gruyère.

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