What wine with what dinner?

 

Fitness-wellness experts often claim that wine is fattening. Don't believe everything they say! Dry wine contains very little carbohydrate (sugar), and if consumed in moderation (stopping at one bottle), it is much less fattening than, say, beer or a glass of sugar-bomb orange juice. However, there is one reason why wine might still be fattening – because we eat alongside it... and not just a little. Yes, the basic 'ingredients' of wine are various acids that stimulate our appetite, so we really have to be ascetic (or very full) not to eat anything while drinking wine. But given the situation, let's try to pay attention to the quantity – and especially the quality: pair our wine with healthy and well-matched foods... and we won't feel any guilt the next day.

Of course, it's very difficult to determine what food pairs well with a wine based on the wine label. There are general rules – and widespread misconceptions, which I will now go through and recommend some simple dishes for 'Kifli-wine' that are also good friends with the given wine.

Myths:

 

- The aromas of wine complement the aromas of food well

 

We often hear this from sommeliers in restaurants or read it on the pretentious back labels of wines, but as a general rule, it doesn't help us at all. Pairing wines and foods does not depend on the flavor notes in the food and wine, no matter how splendid it sounds that "the tart cherry aromas of this red wine are a great complement to our meat dish," if the food and drink do not match in the grand gastronomic matrix of body, acids, and the main characters that define the structure. Moreover, the fruity aromas of a wine can appear quite differently than those of edible fruits, which is why it's not so good to mention them on a plate.

 

 

- White wine with fish and chicken, red with more serious meats

 

Especially the first part of the sentence sounds very old-fashioned. There are (wine) regions in Europe where it is completely natural to drink the local light rosé with their fresh fish. It's not the color of the wine that matters when choosing for food, but its weight, texture, and acid structure. And of course, no one would drink Irsai Olivér with a steak, but a barrel-aged chardonnay or, for example, a Somló juhfark can be a good companion for pork.

 

- Wine cannot be recommended with soup

 

This is a frequently voiced gastronomic dogma, the opposite of which is practically true. Soups are mostly the least weighty foods, with the least pronounced aftertaste in our mouths – we can experiment with any wine after them without worry or anxiety, they won't disturb much water (wine). Italians typically drink a light, acid-focused red wine with their minestrone – and probably not because they are prone to self-torture.

 

- Cheese is good with every wine

 

Bad news: cheese is not good with most wines. If there is a little pleasant bitterness in the wine (as in all olaszrizling, but also in many furmint and other white wines), cheese can make it unpleasantly strong. It sedates the main structural elements of the wine, the acids, and tannins: a large, complex, harmonious red wine can be completely neutered by a sneaky piece of camembert. The good news: most rosés go well with most cheeses, especially those with good acidity – that is, most Hungarian rosés!

 

Main rules:

 

- They should be uniform…!

 

This means the size and format of the food and the body of the wine. This is the most important rule that cannot be ignored: choose light wines for light dishes and full-bodied wines for heavier dishes. If you do otherwise, one will overpower the other. Light wines are generally: unoaked (reductive) white wines, most kadarka, kékfrankos, pinot noir among reds, and light-tuned, reductive red wines – in Spain, for example, they call these "joven" and usually label them as such.

 

- Acidity against fats

 

If a dish is fatty or creamy, be sure to choose a wine with good acidity. The color of the wine doesn't matter, the key is the acidity. Among Hungarian wines, the dry white wines of Tokaj or the white wines from the northern Transdanubian wine regions – Etyek-Buda, Neszmély, Mór, Pannonhalma, Balaton Uplands, etc. – generally offer a higher acidity sensation, and among reds, the soproni kékfrankos or cooler character kadarka from any wine region.

 

- There really are "gastro wines"

 

We often hear from experts that a wine is a "gastro wine" or "bistro wine", but we don't really know what it means. I don't know what others mean by it either, but it's certain that quite a few wines truly shine alongside some food. This is especially true for wines that are lighter and have a higher acidity sensation than average. If you find such a wine too acidic, it doesn't have to end up down the drain. Try it with some acidic (citrusy, vinegary, tomato-based, etc.) dish – a miracle will happen with the ugly duckling!

Some great pairs:

 

tomato sauces x good acidic, light red wines

 

The everyday combo of Italian cuisine: any pasta with tomato sauce (Milanese, Amatriciana, etc.) and an acidic red wine. The acids in the food and wine do not amplify each other, but rather balance each other, allowing the consumer to enjoy the other beauties of both.

creamy sauces x more acidic dry white wines

 

A simple and common dinner is chicken with some kind of creamy base, even with pasta – these go well with those white wines that have relatively high acidity (able to cut through the creamy richness) and medium body – so they don't overpower the dish, but they are not too big to dominate.