For most people, the world of wine is often seen as mysterious, seductive, esoteric, and yet mostly confusing. Particularly, wine and food pairing is an especially common dilemma. The obscurity of choosing wines that compliment complex foods is even larger of a reservation. India, a country fairly novel to wine drinking, is suddenly witnessing a fanatical growth in people who have started enjoying and experimenting with a glass of wine. With wines being predominantly a discovery of the West; it has not been easy for us Indians to combine them with Indian cuisine. It is only experimentation and self-discovery that will lead to some acceptable answers on, “Which wines qualify with an Indian meal?”
To understand wine and food pairing , lets start understand types of Wine.
Appetizer Wine
As the name suggests, appetizer wines are served as a cocktail or before the meal to sharpen the appetite. These are generally soft, light-bodied wines that are simple and fruity and match up with most hors d'oeuvres.
Examples: Righetti Amarone, Dry Sherry, Saracco Moscato, Chilled Dry White Vermouth
Sparkling Wine / Champagne
Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it making it fizzy. The carbon dioxide may result from natural fermentation or as a result of carbon dioxide injection. The classic example of a sparkling wine is Champagne, but many other examples are produced in other countries and regions. The generic Italian term for sparkling wine is Spumante, whereas in Germany it is known as Sekt. In some parts of the world, the words "champagne" or "spumante" are used as a synonym for sparkling wine, although laws in Europe and other countries reserve the word champagne for a specific type from the Champagne region of France.
While the majority of sparkling wines are white or rosé, Australia, Italy and Moldova all have a sizable production of red sparkling wines. In Australia, these sparklers are often made from the Shiraz grape.
Examples: Dry champagne (fruity and sweet), Brut champagne (very dry)
White Wine
These are usually good for beginners as they often tend to like the sweet taste. White wines usually contain less alcohol than most reds. Many wine lovers may not be aware that Germany produces some of the most spectacular white wines in the world.
White wine should be served lightly chilled (around 55 degrees). Once opened, the bottle can be kept in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Examples (based on types / names of grapes): Chardonnay [Shar-dun-NAY], Sauvignon Blanc [SOH-veen-yown, blahnk], Chenin Blanc [SHEN-ihn, BLAHN], Riesling [REES-ling].
Red Wine
Red dinner wines are usually dry and rich, sometimes tart, always hearty. The best red wines today are coming from France, Australia, Chile and Italy. Red wine should be served at room temperature (65 degree ideal) and must never be chilled. It is recommended that once you open the bottle, allow it to breathe for 30-60 minutes before serving. And also, once you open the bottle, you should finish it. Normally, a red wine bottle - once opened, doesn't have shelf life of more than 1-2 days.
Examples (based on types / names of grapes): Merlot [Mehr-LOW], Cabernet Franc [Cah-burr-NAY Frahnk], Cabernet Sauvignon [Cah-burr-NAY Sow-vee-NYOH], Barbera [Bar-BEAR-ah], Carmenère [kar-men-nar], Malbec [mahl-BEHK], Pinot Noir [pee-noh NWAHR], Shiraz [SHEAR-oz], Syrah [See-RAH], Barbarossa [Bar-bar-Roh-sa], Pinotage [pee-noh TAHJ].
Shiraz with Dark Chocolates: Enjoy a bite first... then have a sip of Shiraz... followed by another piece of chocolate. Try it... it's awesome!
Desert Wine / Pudding Wine / Ice Wine
Dessert wines are sweet wines typically served with dessert. Despite the name, they are often best appreciated alone, or with fruit or bakery sweets. Heavier and sweeter than dinner wines, these can range from grossly sugary to crisp and refreshing.
Ice wines are very sweet but with lots of balancing acidity. Most wine laws require temperatures below at least −7 °C (19 °F) before the grapes for ice wine can be picked. Due to the low yield from frozen grapes, these are normally expensive. The most famous ice wines are German Eiswein and Canadian ice wine.
White dessert wines are generally served somewhat chilled, but can be easily served too cold. Red dessert wine are served at room temperature or slightly chilled.
Examples of dessert wine: Madeira and Sherry. Port wine is also served as dessert wine.
Port Wine
Port wine (also known as Porto or simply Port) is a Portuguese wine. It is produced from grapes grown and processed in the Douro region in Portugal. The wine produced is then fortified with the addition of a Brandy (distilled grape spirits) in order to stop the fermentation, leaving residual sugar in the wine, and to boost the alcohol content.
It is typically a sweet red wine, but also comes in dry, semi-dry and white varieties. It is often served as a dessert wine.
Wines in the style of port are produced around the world in several countries, but under European Union guidelines, only the product from Portugal may be labeled as Port.
Rosé Wine / Blush Wine
A Rosé (French: rosé, ‘pinkish’) or Blush (in America) wine has some of the color typical of a red wine, but only enough to turn it pink. The pink color can range from a pale orange to a vivid near-purple, depending on the grapes and wine making techniques. Such wines are generally produced from red grapes by quickly removing the skins from the juice after the grapes are pressed. This technique stops the transfer of color from the dark pigments in the grape's skin, and the wine continues its processing as for white wine. Rosé wine can also be produced as a by-product of red wine fermentation using a technique known as Saignée, or bleeding the vats. Rosé wines are more often produced by adding a specific amount of red wine to an already finished white wine. Rosé wine is served chilled like white wine.
Example: Beaujolais Nouveau Nouveau, Zinfandel, Blush, Chablis.
Happy Reading .....Next I will take you the mysterious world of Red Wine and talk abut how can we pair the Wine with Indian!!!
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