Quiz 10 - Food and Wine Challenge

[Colo]

I return to a topic that is near and dear to my stomach – food and wine!

This week’s challenge puts you in the role of sommelier. On the menu, you have multiple course meal, and below that a wine list. The goal is to match the wine that best pairs to the offering. Only European wines will be used, because this is a European Board.

You have your choice of challenges!

Challenge A)

The Diner’s Challenge – Pick one item from each of the 4 courses and pair the appropriate wine with each item.

Challenge B)

Sommelier Challenge – Pair all the menu items with the appropriate wine.

(Disclaimer: This is a highly subjective topic, so I referenced a very well-known wine expert for the pairings – these are not my opinions. I did embellish the dishes… a little)

The Wine List

Whites

Spoiler: Albariño - Rias Baixas

- Grilled Sardines with Seared Scallops on Black Rice

Spoiler: Muscadet, Loire

- Fresh Oysters on the half shell

Spoiler: Pinot Blanc - Alsace

- Sashimi

Spoiler: Sancerre - Loire

- Fish Pâté

Rosé

Spoiler: Rosé - Provence

- Prawns with garlic

Red

Spoiler: Barbaresco

- Fillet of Venison with wild mushroom sauce

Spoiler: Beaujolais

- Terrine de Campagne

Spoiler: Pomerol - Bordeaux

- Veal Kidneys Bordelaise

Spoiler: Châteauneuf-du-Pape

- Beef Daube Provençal

Spoiler: Ribera del Duero

- Lamb Chops Sizzled with Garlic

Spoiler: Santenay - Burgundy

- Herb Grilled Salmon

Apéritif and Dessert

Spoiler: Amontillado - Sherry

- Assorted Cheddar Cheese Plate

Spoiler: Champagne - Brut

- Russian Ossetra Caviar

Spoiler: Moscato Spumante

- Pavlova

Spoiler: Sauterne - Graves

- Blue Cheese Platter (Bleu d'Auvergne, Roquefort, Gorgonzola)

Spoiler: Vouvray Moelleux - Loire

– Almond Tart

 

[Ian Sutton]

Hi Colo
I think I might share a link to this with a couple of wine forums I post on. Wine matching is always a fun and contentious topic, so I reckon a few would enjoy the challenge - and it's a good one.

Some classic pairings in there, plus plenty that offer a few options that should work. I didn't count, but somewhere around 10 exact matches to the suggestion.

I had a surprisingly decent match to the answers, though with a few of the answers swapped over, as you'd expect with wine and food matching being an imprecise art. Fair that there are some regional clues, after all time has allowed local food and wine to find what matches well, and one of the few 'rules' that are worth respecting is you'll usually find a good (though not always the best) wine match from the wines of the same region as the food.

I used to enjoy reading about the heats and final of an annual Sommelier competition. In that competition they would be presented with a dish (or was it just the recipe?) and have to suggest a 'safe' wine to match and a 'brave/innovative' wine to match. Interestingly price was very much up to them, allowing them to recommend what they know, rather than have to dumb down or get too flashy. The judges would taste the dish and the wines and award points for the quality of the match, but they'd also mark down for a 'safe' wine being anything but safe, or the brave wine being a bit too safe. I also enjoyed that on occasions they'd criticise the sommelier for putting a fancy wine up, where a more modest wine would have worked better / the fancy wine was a bit wasted, and also for someone suggesting a wine they didn't think was very good and didn't improve with the food.

One final comment, for anyone thinking this food/wine matching is all a bit scary / intimidating, is it is an imprecise art, and it's cool to just try different combinations out. Only occasionally is the match catastrophic e.g. many red wines with blue cheeses - they can end up tasting tinny. No combination will kill you and if the match is poor, just finish that dish, have a sip of some water and then drink the wine.

regards
Ian

 

[Colo]

This quiz was fun and educational for me to put together. As I said in the disclaimer, the quiz is very subjective. Because of this I did not choose the pairings, but someone who is widely respected in the wine industry. Albeit it is still her opinion! (Hint on the expert).

I truly love to enjoy and learn about wine. I active in the American Wine Society, and have done public speaking/tastings at many different levels of wine appreciation. I classify myself as an avid consumer, but also one who is lucky enough to enjoy wine daily. I will say that I am true believer that if you like the wine – It is a good wine. Having said that, just because the bottle says Merlot on the label and you like the wine that does not make it a good Merlot.

There is no doubt there are some serious wine folks on this board, and there are probably twice as many who enjoy wine who have not taken the vino deep dive plunge. My goal was to get wine novices curious, and cause oenophiles to argue (discuss) food and wine pairings J

I truly hope board members will take the quiz and post what they found surprising or disagree with the expert. I know some of the dishes are not familiar with most North Americans, but this is a European board and old world wines, so feel free to Google the dish if you are not familiar.

Ian, I am looking forward to what wines you paired differently. I know there were some I would have called differently.

 

[Ian Sutton]

Hi Colo
The terrine and herbed salmon had most variants, though I also tend to think the meaty mains are very flexible with the reds and I instinctively thought Bdx with the lamb (though that's more a 'left bank' classic match). The brains of the operation would have Pomerol or Barbaresco with any of the mains. The sherry also tough, as I was thinking of it earlier in the meal - somewhere in the first courses. I know people who'll argue sherry is a wonderful food match for a wide variety of dishes, but getting people to drink it can be a challenge still.

Poor Pauline will be starving though - a diet of cheese and desserts!

My very worst attempt at food and wine matching, was at a rather classy veggie restaurant in a rather dangerous London suburb, wonderful food completely avoiding the thinking that veggie dishes should be like a meat dish but with the meat replaced. The dishes would have been lessened by substituting some meat in, which is quite an achievement IMO. Wonderful delicacy, but what wine did I pick up earlier that day to BYO? D'Arenberg Dead Arm, a very bold (albeit not gloopy) Barossa valley red, from a recent and substantial cellaring vintage. The wine/food matching equivalent of two people attempting to have two different conversations and neither backing down!

Also looking forward to what others make of it

regards
Ian

 

[Colo]

I could not agree more with you on the Sherry. About 15 years ago I participated in Sherry tasting and over a 2 hour period we sampled 10 different Sherry offerings. It was the longest tasting in my life! I think I was not ready to appreciate the opportunity - I am not sure I am today either

Bodega Name-Vintage Style
1. Emilio Lustau Papirusa - NV Manzanilla
2. Pedro Domecq La Ina - NV Fino
3. Emilio Lustau Los Arcos-NV Amontilldao (Dry)
4. Sanderman Character-NV Amontilldao (Swt)
5. Emilio Lustau Peninsula-NV Palo Cortado
6. Emilio Lustau Don Nunu-NV Oloroso (Dry)
7. Sandeman Oloroso-NV Oloroso (Swt)
8. Emilio Lustau Capataz-NV Delux Cream
9. Emilio Lustau Emilin-NV Moscatel
10. Emilio Lustau San Emilio-NV Pedro Ximenez

It appears the quiz is getting looks... just no comments.

 

[Pauline]

Poor Pauline will be starving though - a diet of cheese and desserts!

I'm not even going to attempt this quiz!