SEATTLE — We can always count on Hailey Bohlman from Cork and Fizz to give us the best advice when it comes to wine.
She joined the show for another round of recommendations.
Hailey says:
Finding the right wine to pair with your dinner can be intimidating. But it doesn’t have to be! You truly only need to know a few things about wine and food pairings, and be willing to try different things and suddenly it becomes a lot of fun!
Sparkling Wine
I don’t know about you, but I love any excuse to pop open a bottle of sparkling wine. But I also don’t want to spend a fortune on a bottle of champagne every time I want to enjoy a glass of bubbly. These budget friendly bottles of bubbles taste just as great as Champagne — but at a fraction of the price!
1. Spanish Cava
Our first budget sparkling comes from Spain, it’s called Cava. This wine is made in the exact same method as Champagne, but with different varieties of grapes and, obviously, it’s from Spain and not Champagne, France.
Being made in the same method as Champagne means it’s going to have the same bubble structure and a similar mouthfeel, or body to Champagne. Sparkling wine can be made in a few different ways, but most people consider the Champagne method the best.
Some common tasting notes for Cava include yellow apple, chamomile, almond, and citrus.
Any guesses as to how much this bottle of Cava costs? Just $8.97 + tax at Total Wine!
2. Cremant du Jura
Have you ever heard that sparkling wine can only be called Champagne if it comes from the Champagne region of France?
Well, this is true. All other wines made in the exact same method but from different regions in France are called Cremant. And many different regions throughout France make these sparkling wines. The wine will be called “Cremant de (or du)” + the region it’s from. Cremant du Jura is one of my favorites.
Jura is this tiny little region in France that’s just east of Burgundy. Again, this bottle is far cheaper than Champagne, but is so similar in flavor and profile that you’re not missing anything!
Food Pairing: As for pairing food with our sparkling, I want to let you in on a secret. Sparkling wine pairs with just about any food. It really does! I know we tend to just think of sparkling wine as an aperitif before dinner, but consider trying it with dinner next time!
In particular though, it loves salty and fatty foods. This makes it a perfect pairing for any sort of appetizer or salty snack before dinner.
Red Wines
1. Red Burgundy (aka Pinot Noir)
Alright, this first wine is a classic, and absolutely perfect for a romantic dinner. Why? Because it’s considered the most romantic of the wines!
Burgundy is a red wine from (you guessed it) the Burgundy region in France that is made with 100% Pinot Noir grapes. It’s typically bursting with really delicious red fruit flavor (strawberries, cranberries, etc) along with this earthiness that makes it great for pairing with a wide variety of foods. You’ll also notice hints of cinnamon and nutmeg from being in contact with oak.
In general, Burgundy has high acidity and fairly low tannins (those things that make your mouth feel really dry), which means you won’t need a big bold meal to pair with it. In fact, it pairs just as well with some pre-dinner charcuterie as it does with roast chicken or grilled pork chops.
2. Nero d’Avola
This second red wine is perfect for anyone who likes A LOT of bold flavor from their wines. If you’re a Cabernet Sauvignon drinker, you’ll love Nero d’Avola.
Let me introduce you to Nero d’Avola. This is a grape variety that is grown primarily on the Italian island of Sicily. You can expect darker fruit flavors like black cherry and black plum, along with some more unique notes of sweet tobacco and chile pepper. These more savory aromas give the wine a lot of depth and boldness.
It’ll also be more tannic which means you’re best pairing it with something fatty or high in protein. This is definitely your big steak wine! For vegetarians, it goes well with earthy shitake mushrooms or black lentils.
3. Brachetto d’Acqui
When pairing wine with food, you typically want to have your wine be as sweet or sweeter than your food! So if you have a sweet food you need a sweet wine!
The last wine is this delicious sweet wine from Piedmont, Italy called Brachetto d’Acqui. It’s often called the red moscato d’asti as it’s similarly sweet but also fresh and spritzy.
Try a sip of the Brachetto d’Acqui. Then take a bite of a sweet food, and immediately after take another sip of wine. How does the food change the flavor of the wine?
Try the same thing with the Nero d’Avola. Take a sip of it, then a bit of sweet food, and back to the wine. How does the food change the flavor of the wine?
What you might notice is that the sweet food makes the wine taste dull, less fruity, or bitter even. This is because the sweetness in the food overtook any amount of sweetness in the wine (aka the fruit flavors!) Pretty crazy, right?
If you’d like to learn more about wine, follow Cork & Fizz on Instagram or check out my website corkandfizz.com. I offer Private Tastings both virtually and in-person in the Seattle area and I actually have a class specifically for wine and food pairing where you get to experiment just like we did here with the sweet wine!
You can also head to my website to download a free wine and food pairing guide!