The table is set, the dishes chosen with care and attention. Every detail studied and prepared, to impress your guests or, simply, to treat yourself* to an unforgettable dinner. What is missing to turn a perfect menu into an unforgettable one?
The pairing with the right wine to enhance the flavor, aroma, and texture of the dishes you are about to serve: Harmony is the ultimate goal, the right choice must be able to enhance the taste of the dishes and let the palate experience a perfectly balanced taste experience.
Although the ingredient of fantasy is always a must, there are guidelines that should not be forgotten to achieve a harmonious result: rules of reference, which can be adapted, but which we should not ignore.
Know the characteristics
As a first step, it is important to know how to identify the main characteristics of the menu (tendency to sweet, sour or bitter, savoriness, spiciness, fattiness, cooking…) and of the wines to be matched (savoriness, acidity, sweetness, structure, smoothness…).
Knowing how to make the right pairings
Structure and intensity of the courses must mirror that of the wine on an equal level. If you like, it is also a bit of a matter of common sense: dishes with a delicate taste should be paired with a light wine, structured dishes with strong flavors require a wine of equally great structure, a dish full of aromas requires a wine equally rich in aromas. For both elements to be enhanced, without one overpowering the other.
The pleasure of contrast
At the same time, the contemporary mood is to focus on contrast in what concerns other characteristics of the food (fatness, savoriness, pungency, acidity, sweet or salty): the idea is that if a dish has an excess of certain sensations, the wine can attenuate them.
So here are fatty dishes enjoyed paired with wines of nice acidity, savory foods with soft wines, structured dishes with fresh wines, long-aged cheeses with delicate wines, and, conversely, foods with an acidic tendency with sweet wines.
Some “classic” rules
And then there are some principles to keep in mind, especially if you are a beginner in the kitchen (which does not mean that you cannot twist them with great satisfaction):
- In the succession of courses of a meal, it is a good rule to keep in mind the progression in crescendo (in structure and intensity), both for food and wine. Alternatively, for those who like it, there is the technique by counterpoint, which consists of alternating a structured dish with a more delicate one. The choice of wine should also follow this logic;
- Very successful are “territory” pairings (food and wine from the same region/geographical area): there is an intimate bond between wines and ingredients/dishes from the same land, and it is unlikely that the great classics of the cellar and cuisine of a place are mismatched;
- the perfect pairing with fish is white wine, but if the flavor of the dish is strong, partly because of the seasonings, and you want to surprise your diners, try it with rosés or reds.
- dessert usually goes with sweet wines.
For everything else, unleash your imagination!
We have experimented with our Franciacorta BRUT: pairings with unusual ingredients, with flavors that come from afar and that, according to those who have tried them, have been enhanced, enhanced, accompanied best by our wine.
First, let’s get to know this wine better: what does Brut mean?
We generally think of the term Brut to mean a dry sparkling wine, and this is absolutely true, but in oenology the term Brut means a type of wine with residual sugar in the bottle of less than 12 g/l.
It is a dry but somewhat softer wine, certainly the most popular, classic and versatile type of Franciacorta DOCG.
It is a wine that is made from Chardonnay grapes and Pinot Noir grapes; Pinot Blanc is allowed up to a maximum of 50 percent, while Erbamat is allowed to the maximum extent of 10 percent.🍇
Bottle pressure is between 5 and 6 atmospheres, the result of at least 18 months of aging on the lees, while maturation lasts at least 25 months from the harvest.
Its main characteristics include a straw-yellow color with golden highlights, a savory and harmonious taste and a fine and persistent perlage, making it an energetic and sparkling wine.
A real thrill for the palate, which expert chefs have been able to match with unusual dishes, with refined tastes: we like those who like to dare with our bottles, those who invent new solutions, those who come out of the usual proposals to give a new value to our work.
As did the chef of the Godot café, who paired our Brut with an incredible dish:
The sweetness of watermelon, the acidity of piccadilly tomatoes, very fresh shrimp and a touch of cream cheese: a beautifully colored and uniquely flavored dish paired with our Franciacorta, made for Franciacorta Week Versilia Gourmet 2022.
Our wine was able to enhance, enhance, and best accompany the delicate and original flavor of this unique proposal!
At Dispensa Franciacorta, on the other hand, they love to enhance our territory – Franciacorta in fact – by combining local excellence, in this case our Brut, with a selection of delicacies from the rest of the world.
Like this dish: Gravlax marinated Scottish salmon with pan brioche, crispy puntarelle and alpine yogurt, a mouthwatering and surprising encounter all to be discovered that when paired with our Franciacorta creates an incredible taste explosion on the palate.
For lovers of more traditional cuisine, of more classic but still sought-after pairings, Luca de Santis in l’Agricoltore Bresciano, a trade magazine of Confagricoltura, recommends pairing our Brut with a good dish of filet with green pepper: a classic meat second course with an enveloping taste, which is best enhanced by the harmonious taste of our wine!
Our Brut is made from Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes, harvested by hand in our vineyard and according to organic viticulture; it is a versatile wine, deale to accompany the whole meal or, as we have seen, to enhance dishes with refined tastes. To give new flavor to ingredients that come from far away, in a mixture of flavors that is a new idea of cooking… perfect to experience on special occasions, such as a romantic and absolutely tasty dinner for Valentine’s Day that is approaching!