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Stroll through the beautiful vineyards while visiting Boordy Vineyards in Hydes, Maryland. Courtesy Boordy Vineyards. Photo by Helen Norman

THE GREAT DEBATE: RED VS. WHITE

While many whites are classified as “sipping wines,” “reds, for me, tend to be more dish-specific because of their intensity,” explains Derek Brown, sommelier at D.C.’s Komi Restaurant. “For versatility I like medium-bodied reds that have a little spice…If I have a heavy meat dish, then I go with something with a little more weight and tannin.”

What makes certain red wines “food wines” are its tannins, which give your mouth that dry, puckering feeling after the first sip. These are wines meant to function within meals. Baltimore Restaurateur Tony Foreman describes the Italian, red Brunello di Montalcino, . “If you were to sit on your front porch and have it, you would find it…chewy, chalky, [and] tart.” But, once paired with a beef dish, Foreman promises, “that same wine…has some fat to cut into and some presence on your palate. You notice the fruit character and nuances in the wine now.”

Oft-named sipping wines include whites, Rieslings and Viogners, but don’t overlook lighter reds since their lightness may cause foods to mask their flavors. “Cabernets that are spot-on and well balanced on their own don’t need to be paired with anything,” says Jeffrey Heineman, chef and owner of Bethesda’s Grapeseed Bistro.

Bottom line: there’s no clear-cut winner. Although certain wines seem better suited on their own, while others best complement meals, reds or whites are not exclusive to either category. For every wine, there is a function, and for every function, a person willing to discover it.

DRINK GLOBAL, EAT LOCAL
While great wines can be found close to home as well as around the world, chefs know the importance of pairing them suitably, which means shopping for ingredients locally and in season.

The Charleston, owned by Tony Foreman and Cindy Wolf offers perfect pairings for your tasting pleasure. Photo by Quentin Blake

At Komi, chef and owner Johnny Monis’ menu changes daily. “My grandparents in Greece,” he recalls, “grew their own vegetables and made their own cheese. If it didn’t grow during a season, it wasn’t on the table because it wasn’t available.” Like Monis, many chefs have good relationships with local farmers.

Tony Foreman works with about 20 farmers in the area. “Ripe and in season” is the inspiration for the tasting menu at Charleston, which he co-owns with wife Cindy Wolf. He describes his thoughts as he gets peaches from a Pennsylvania farm: “When I’m bringing them back in my truck and I can smell them, I start thinking about this dish with lobsters and caramelized white peaches that [Wolf] makes, and that makes me think of a certain wine.” For him, the perfect tasting menu is in the moment. “It’s about the relationship between those products. You can’t subjectively and abstractly name a perfect tasting menu: that’s very cold. It’s about as interesting as kissing a mannequin.”

PAIRED TO PERFECTION
Food and wine are indeed connected. While years of experience have helped experts determine strategies for pairing, in the end, it calls upon individual preference.

It is said that white wine should be served with chicken and fish, red wine with red meats, to avoid overpowering a light white wine with steak or likewise a chicken dish with a full-bodied red. However, if you pair pinot noir—a slightly lighter-bodied red—with salmon, a very flavorful fish, suggests Christopher Spann, owner of The Wine Market, they might complement one another. “You also have to consider how you’re cooking it,” according to Spann. “If you grill chicken, some carmelization will happen, so you’re going to lean toward something more full-bodied like a chardonnay, whereas if you poach something, it’s going to impart a more subtle flavor, and then you might go with a crisper, simpler white wine.”

Generally, strategies for flavor balancing involve “wine and foods that have complementary flavors…or…wine and foods [that] fill-in-the-blanks for what the other is lacking,” explains Spann. On Grapeseed Bistro’s menu, for example, the tempura soft shell crab with baby spinach, mustard vinaigrette, and bacon is paired with Gewürztraminer, which is sweet enough to stand up to the dish’s Asian-spiciness. Also, a fricassee of wild mushrooms with sherry vinegar and truffled polenta is paired with Chianti, bold enough to work with the earthiness of mushrooms.

“The science behind it is somewhat complex,” admits Brown. “The structural components of wine have the greatest affect on flavor: acids, residual sugars, tannins, fruit density, alcohol all come in to play. This reaction [one has to food and wine combinations] is not necessarily intuitive; you must taste and compare… Put your mouth and nose to work.”

Regardless of their schools of thought, palate preference, or experience, connoisseurs of food and wine agree: it all comes down to what you love when the time comes to eat, drink, and …you know the rest. Experiencing good food and wine can be satisfying and fun. Take a cue from Brown: “I was asked [once]…whether I was traveling for business or pleasure. I answered, ‘What’s the difference?’”

Annliese Scott is an Editorial Assistant with ChesapeakeHome.

Contacts:
Basignani Winery: basignani.com 410-472-0703
Black Ankle Vineyards: blackankle.com 240-464-3280
Boordy Vineyards: boordy.com 410-592-5015
Charleston: charlestonrestaurant.com 410-332-7373
Elk Run Vineyarads: elkrun.com 410-775-2513
Grapeseed Bistro: grapeseedbistro.com 301-986-9592
Komi Restaurant: komirestaurant.com 202-332-9200
The Wine Market: the-wine-market.com 410-244-6166

While there is no rulebook for pairing wine with foods, Sharon Charny, regional director of national accounts for The Charmer-Sunbelt Group, a wine and spirit wholesaler, developed some helpful guidelines that will generally help with the matchmaking. Charny regularly holds wine education seminars for the hospitality industry members in hotels, like Marriott Corporation and fine dining restaurants like Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. She offers this advice to clients who are looking to please a wide variety of palates on any given day.