Pairing Food and Wine For Dummies

Learn to:

Grasp the basics of aroma, flavor, and taste Select the best wine match for every dish, every time Appreciate how a wine′s age affects pairing Order wine at a restaurant to complement your meal

Expert tips and strategies to help you create the perfect food and wine pairing every time!

Knowing the best wine to serve with food can elevate the meal to another level of enjoyment. Pairing Food & Wine For Dummies helps you understand the principles behind matching food and wine. From European to Asian, fine dining to burgers and barbeque, you′ll learn strategies for knowing just which wine to choose with anything you′re eating. Pairing Food & Wine For Dummies goes beyond offering a simple list of which wines to drink with which foods — we give you access to the principles that enable you to make your own informed matches on the fly, whatever wine or food is on the table.

Start with the basics — get familiar with different wine styles and learn which foods they complement Use your senses — understand the aspects of smelling, tasting, and touching food and wine that help you create the desired match and enjoy the experience even more Travel the world — learn the best food and wine matches for global cuisine, and for whatever′s cooking in your own backyard Soak up the sommelier′s strategies — discover classic and modern pairings and your own new favorite combinations Dine out — find out how to spot a wine–savvy restaurant and get the best wine deals Throw a food and wine tasting party — figure out which kinds of wines to serve, how much, and with which foods

Open the book and find:

Tips, hints, strategies, and secrets for creating food and wine pairings Pairing suggestions for cuisines and wines from around the world The science behind why some pairings work, and others don′t How wine changes with the food you′re eating A few tasting experiments to grasp the basics of food and wine interaction Ways to select wines for a special occasion Why the size of a wine glass is important Tips on becoming a sommelier

Introduction 1

Part I: Appreciating the Marriage of Food and Wine: The Nose Knows 7

Chapter 1: The Whole Is Greater Than the Sum of the Parts 9

Chapter 2: How People Smell, Taste, and Touch Food and Wine 19

Chapter 3: Introducing Food and Wine: A Classic Couple with Ups and Downs 37

Part II: The Nuts and Bolts: Developing Strategies for Food and Wine Pairing 47

Chapter 4: Food and Wine Pairing 101: Getting It Right (Most of the Time) 49

Chapter 5: Focusing on the Food: Flavor, Aroma, and Taste Harmony 67

Chapter 6: Considering Regional and Historical Angles for Pairing Food and Wine 85

Chapter 7: Age Isn’t Just a Number: Age and Pairing Rules 93

Chapter 8: Serving Wine: Essential Strategies to Follow 103

Part III: Sorting Out the World of Wine 119

Chapter 9: Going with Dry Whites and Rosés 121

Chapter 10: Turning toward Dry Reds 131

Chapter 11: Scoping Out the Sparkling with Bubbles 141

Chapter 12: Perusing Off–Dry, Sweet, and Fortifi ed Wines 151

Part IV: Uncovering the Best Wine Bets with World Cuisine (and Cheese)  163

Chapter 13: Heading to the Mediterranean: Land of Olive Oil 165

Chapter 14: Staying Close to Home: North America Food 189

Chapter 15: Warming Up To Northern Europe: Land of Butter and Animal Fat 211

Chapter 16: Venturing to Eastern Europe: Those Lovely Light Dishes 235

Chapter 17: Bringing On the Spice: Asia 245

Chapter 18: Visiting the Land of Chiles: Mexico and South America 281

Chapter 19: Sampling the Flavors of the Middle East and North Africa 297

Chapter 20: The Classic Pairing: Wine and Cheese 309

Part V: Party Time! Pairing with Friends . . . and Professionals 317

Chapter 21: Dining Out: Finding Places That Appreciate Wine 319

Chapter 22: Dining In: Becoming the Perfect Host 333

Chapter 23: So You Want to bBe a Sommelier 341

Part VI: The part of Tens 351

Chapter 24: Ten Food–Firendly Wines 353

Chapter 25: Ten Foods That Flatter Wine 357

Index 361

John Szabo is the original Canadian Master Sommelier, adding the credentials in 2004, and one of only 200 worldwide. He writes for WineAlign.com, NationalPost.com, TorontoStandard.com, Wine Access Magazine, Maclean′s Magazine and Grapevine Magazine, and is wine editor for CityBites Magazine. John is also consulting wine director for the Trump Tower Toronto and Pearson International Airport.