the-south-asian Life & Times (SALT)

Wine ‘Rites’

At a table, wine is traditionally poured from the right, while food is served from the left.

Fill one third to one half (at the most) of the glass. The remaining space captures the bouquet.

Women and older guests should be served first, then men, then the host.

Hold the wine glass by its stem. Holding the bowl in your hand could warm the wine.

· It is important to store wine properly – a temperature guideline for different wines. White Wines that are cooled too much lose a bit of their flavour.

Celsius

Sparkling

6 to 10

Rosé

9 to 12

White

9 to 14

Red

13 to 20

· Uncork red wine about an hour before you drink it and the white just before you serve it to your guests. Young red wines, which are high in tannin, could be left open for even longer.

Decant the wines to remove the sediment – the result can be amazing! Older red wines with sediment in the bottle should be decanted.

Use the right glass – narrow, tulip-shaped wine glasses enhance the traits of white wine, while wide-rimmed glasses are more appropriate for red wines. Champagne should be served in flutes.

Pour sparkling wine down the side of a glass to retain the bubbles, and still wine in the centre of the glass to let the bouquet float upwards.

If more than one wine is served, they should be poured in a logical progression – from lights to heavy.

Wine pairing – redoing the rules

Champagne with sushi, a white wine with delicate steak tartare, a Pinot Noir with game birds – all work! Whit wine with white meat and red wine with red meat is a rule of the past. Today, a wine's colour doesn't matter – what matters is - is it light or full-bodied? Is it delicate or strongly flavoured? Is it sweet or dry?

"The rules of pairing have changed, because the world of beverages has changed," says Karen Page, co-author with Andrew Dornenburg, of What to Drink with What You Eat. "Today, when you say red wine, do you mean a light and fruity Pinot Noir? Or a big tannic Cabernet Sauvignon? Do you mean a slightly sweet sparkling Shiraz? Or a very sweet late harvest Zinfandel? They're all red wines, but some of them would be god-awful with red meat."

Wine pairing, no longer the rigorous discipline it once used to be, has become an interactive sport and more importantly - it has become fun. People are experimenting a lot more with the vast variety of varietals now available. Multi-ethnic cuisines are becoming more a part of our dining culture and good wines are available from all over the world – with such a heady mix – obviously there can be no rules apart from a few. In fact the wide range of wines available today offer great room for experimentation

As with other areas in life – balance is what one is looking for in pairings as well. You cannot allow either the food or the wine to overpower the other. Both have to complement and not battle each other. Simple wines with complex foods...complex wines with simple foods – is a good rule to remember. Wines with Indian food should be simple. Older white Bordeaux or a sauvignon blanc would go well with the spices. Alpana Singh successfully paired a South African chenin blanc with chicken tikka masala, samosas and naan. “The wine, a 2001 Cape Indab chenin blanc, kept its cool on meeting the tikka masala's spices. It was strong enough to hold up to the food but didn't try to steal the show.” Red wines don’t work too well with hot Indian curries because "Most red wines these days are 13 to 15 percent alcohol …When you get into that kind of alcohol it intensifies the burn."

The logical progression of wines should be: lights before heavier ones; dry before sweeter ones

Pair light-bodied wines with lighter food and fuller-bodied wines with richer and fattier dishes. Delicately flavored foods — poached or steamed — pair best with delicate wines.
Consider pairing opposites. Very hot or spicy foods can work with slightly sweet, sparkling wines. Opposing flavours can play off each other, creating new flavour sensations and cleansing the palate.

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