According to the RAE, the term pairing refers to the fact of "marrying" a food with a wine to enhance the pleasure or what is the same, getting the right wine to enhance the flavor of the food.
The well-known saying that white wines pair with fish and reds with meats, is a somewhat banal simplification of the art of pairing in which numerous components of both the dish come into play (textures, temperature, type of cooking, salinity, sweetness or bitterness), as well as wine (alcohol, Tanicity or structure).
In general terms there are two types of pairing, By affinity and by contrast.
In the first case, wine and food are aligned; so we would couple a light and fresh dish with an equally light wine, with little body and young, while for structured dishes with a powerful flavor we would choose wines with more body and more mature.
In the case of a contrast pairing, the effect sought is the opposite, and we would compensate a dish, for example, excessively salty with a very sweet wine in order to balance the palate.
It is equally important The cultural aspect Of the pairing; there is an expression widely used by chefs and sommeliers, “what grows together, goes together”, or what is the same, “that which grows together, combines well”. That is why the perfect harmony of a Sanlúcar shrimp with a chamomile or that of a scallop with an albariño from Rías Baixas is unquestionable.
Finally, we cannot forget the personal perception and taste that will ultimately decide whether we prefer to enhance or soften a certain flavor.
For all of the above, the connection between sommelier and chef is very important, and in Marqués de Murrieta our chef Mariano Pascual designs great dishes after tasting the wines of each new vintage. Like its delicious hake kokotxas in its pil pil with crunchy cod skin and candied crystal pepper with the recently launched Castillo Ygay 2010.
We hope that these days at home you can practice these little tricks in the pairings of your dishes and later, when everything has happened, come to our winery so that you can enjoy our incredible gastronomic experience.
Health!
