Professional Documents
Culture Documents
V.A.
Sweetness in food
- Increases the perception of acidity and bitterness and the burning effect of the
alcohol in the wine.
- Decreases the perception of sweetness, fruitiness, and body in the wine.
* Sweetness in the food can make the dry wine lose it fruitiness and becomes
unpleasantly acidic. If a dish contains a lot of sugar, it is recommended to
choose a wine, containing a higher level of sweetness.
Umami in Food
- Increases the perception of acidity, bitterness, and alcohol burn in the wine.
- Decreases the perception of sweetness, fruitiness, and body in the wine.
* Umami is savory taste and it could be difficult to isolate it. We could find it
present with other flavors like cooked or dried mushrooms.
* Examples for tasting umami: try a raw button mushroom with one that has
been in the microwave for 30 sec. The umami taste in the mushroom increases
with the cooking. Another way to taste umami is by sampling MSG or
Monosodium Glutamate, we try only a few grams. In this form, umami is
combined with salt taste.
* Foods to pair with a high level of umami but low level of salt: asparagus, eggs,
mushroom, soft ripe cheese.
* Foods to pair with a high level of umami and high level of salt: cured or
smoked seafood, cured or smoked meat, hard cheeses (like Parmesan).
Acidity in food
- Increases the perception of the body, the sweetness and the fruitiness in the
wine.
- Decreases the perception of the acidity in the wine.
* A small amount of acidity in food is a good thing for the food and wine pairing
as it would balance a high acidity wine into enhancing the fruitiness in the wine.
* If a wine is low in acidity and the food is high in acidity, it would make the
wine flat, flabby and lacking focus.
Salt in food
- Increases the perception of the body in wine.
- Decreases the perception of acidity and bitterness in the wine.
Salty food could help soften some of the hard elements in the wine.
Bitterness in food
- Increases bitterness in wine.
* Each person has a different sensitivity of bitterness. Bitterness on it owns
either in wine or food it is a good thing. But bitterness in a combination of food
and wine can be unpleasant.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS
* Flavor intensity: It is recommended that the flavor intensities, both in the food
and wine are matching so that neither is overpowering.
- Curry (intensely flavored food) could be paired with a light flavored wine
(unoaked, light wine).
- Light flavored dessert could be paired with intensely flavored sweet wines.
* Acid and Fat: Acidic wines and fatty or oily food are a perfect combination. It
feels like the acidic wine is cutting through the fatty/oily food and clearing the
palate.
* Sweet and Salty: Some people enjoy it, and some do not. An example: is paring
of sweet wine with blue cheese.
High-risk foods:
- Sugar: if a dish has a lot of sugar it should be paired with wine having as much
sugar.
- Umami: if a meal is high in umami it should be paired with more fruity wines,
as the umami will point out the bitterness of the tannins.
- Umami: to "take down" the umami in the dish, it could be added acid or salt in a
reasonable amount, not to alter the character of the meal.
- Bitterness: if a meal is high in bitterness it will point out the bitterness in wine
as well.
- Chili heat: if a dish is high in chili heat it should be paired with whites, low-
tannin reds, with low % of alcohol.
Low-risk foods:
* Dishes who are high in salt and/or avid
- Dishes high in acid should be matched with wines high in acid as well. If not
the wine can taste too soft and flabby.
High-risk wines:
Are the wines with a high level of bitterness from the oak and the skin tannins,
in combination with high levels of acidity and alcohol with complex flavors. The
incorrect combination with the food, the wines can reveal hard to detect flavors,
as when they are consumed alone.
Low-risk wines:
Unoaked simple wines with a small amount of residual sugar, cannot be made
unpleasant by any food. They are safe to combine, they change a little, but the
total pairing experience is not enjoyable.
The last part of the WSET 1 course is the wine tasting. Pictures from the wines
tasted are posted bellow.
Wine tasting is not a part of the WSET Level 1 exam. We did taste the wines to
learn how to describe them and to learn the correct process of wine tasting.
English
Millésimes Alsace Digital How to order wine in a Wine bottle shapes and sizes
Tasting - Geiler Cave… restaurant?
d'Ingersheim