'How to Match Food and Wine'   

[JULY 9, 2003]  ^"How to Match Food and Wine." Fiona Beckett, Mitchell Beazley, 2002, 64 pages.

Review by Richard Sumrall

At one time or another we've all faced the same situation: how to choose the right wine to go with the food you are serving or ordering. In her book "How to Match Food and Wine," author Fiona Beckett takes the guesswork out of this potentially awkward situation with her recommendations for matching a great bottle of wine with a particular cuisine. Why are some wines better suited than others for certain dishes? According to Beckett there are several reasons:

• Type of food -- Contrary to popular belief, white wine with white meat and red wine with red meat is less important than light wines for lighter food and robust wines for heartier, more flavorful food.
• How the food is cooked -- Cooking methods and temperature are crucial. Cold foods are generally more enjoyable with lighter wines, while hotter cooking temperatures call for a higher alcohol wine.
• How the food is seasoned -- The more robust the food's flavoring, the more full-bodied a wine should be served.

• What the food is served with -- Even when the entree is plain, flavored side dishes can affect your choice.

In considering food flavors Beckett discusses the six important flavors that are influential in wine selection:

• Salt -- Whites generally complement foods containing a salty flavor.
• Sour, sharp -- It's sometimes difficult to match a wine to these flavors. Wines with a higher acidity tend to work better.
• Savory -- Savory foods are usually best served with a medium to full-bodied red wine.
• Smoky -- Smoked foods require a wine powerful enough to cope with their strong flavors.
• Sweet -- Sweetness can make a wine seem drier. Always serve a wine sweeter than the dessert.

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Eating around the world

Beckett cautions that selecting a wine for a cuisine is not always a simple task. Although it's easy when the wine accompanies French, Italian or German food, it becomes more difficult for a culture whose cuisine has no established wine tradition. For example:

• Greece, Turkey, Lebanon -- These cuisines offer differences in style and structure (hot versus cold).
• Thailand, Southeast Asia -- Generally the hot and sour elements characteristic of these cuisines favor white wines.
• Japan -- A difficult cuisine to match with wine. Very dry whites complement the raw fish dishes, while meatier dishes are best served with a full-bodied red.

• India -- Heat is the factor here in choosing a wine. Soft, fruity wines can be enjoyed with this kind of food; be aware that some wines with high alcohol levels may adversely increase the sensation of heat on a plate of food.

The remainder of the book, "Greatest Hits," is an easy-to-use guide that matches the appropriate wine with your favorite foods. The handy arrangement includes suggestions for soups, salads, eggs, pastas, rice, fish, meats, chicken and birds, vegetables, fruits, seasonings, desserts, and cheeses.

"How to Match Food and Wine" is an easy-to-use reference that takes the guesswork out of wine and food combinations. In the introduction Beckett writes: "Matching food with wine is not quite like matching a pair of shoes or socks. There's no right or wrong about it, it's just that some combinations are more enjoyable than others." This book is recommended for connoisseurs of good living and those of us who want to become better educated about the proper selection of wine.

[Richard Sumrall, Lincoln Public Library District]