5 steps to perfect wine and food pairings

5 steps to perfect wine and food pairings:

1. Balance flavor intensity: pair light-bodied wines with subtly flavored foods and big-bodied wines with hearty, full flavor dishes.
   
   
2. Balance textures: softly flavored food to the palate should be served with wine with a softer mid palate such as Jambalaya and Viognier, Prime Rib with a big, tannic Cabernet Sauvignon.
   
   
3. Observe wine flavor profiles: Bitter flavors in food will make your wine seem more bitter so choose a wine with a soft, creamy texture to balance. Sourness in foods will suppress a bitter taste, so choose a wine with a higher acid base. Salt will tone down bitterness/astringency of wine and may make sweet wines taste sweeter.
   
   
4. Consider Geographic pairings: some pairings have been developed over the centuries, including oysters with Sauvignon Blanc (Bordeaux Blanc), paella with a Rioja red, pasta and red sauce with Chianti (Sangiovese). These are all pairings that have worked for years.
   
   
5. In general, contrasting flavors (sweet with spice, acidic bigger wines with fattier savory dishes) create a third flavor in the mouth, adding to the complexity of the pairing and providing palate- cleansing effect.

"Taste of Terroir"
Thursday, July 23, 2009
The Palm Event Center
1184 Vineyard Avenue, Pleasanton, CA, 94566
6:00 PM - 9:00 PM

Master Sommelier Evan Goldstein and wine writers Sara Schneider of Sunset Magazine and Jessica Yadegaran of Bay Area News Group will sample pairings presented by 16 of the Livermore Valley's wineries and their restaurant partners. The distinguished judges will award Most Innovative Pairing, Best Expression of Local Ingredients and Judges' Best honors at the end of the popular event, which is open to the public. At this event, winemakers and chefs from the Valley team up to present food/wine pairings and compete for prizes. Up to 500 people can purchase tickets to taste all of the creations and vote for "People's Choice."

Tickets are $75 per person and include a tasting of each of the 16 food/wine pairings, the opportunity to cast a vote in the People's Choice competition and a decadent dessert spread paired with Livermore Valley ports.

>> More information and to purchase tickets

Featured in this segment:

Jim Ryan
Estate Manager at Concannon Vineyard
4590 Tesla Road
Livermore, CA 94550
Phone: (800) 258-9866 / (925) 456-2505
Website: http://www.concannonvineyard.com

Patrick Schoolcraft
Chef/owner of Patrick David's Restaurant
416 Sycamore Valley Road
Danville, CA 94526
Phone: 925-838-7611
Website: http://www.patrickdavids.com