Welcome September with wine and food pairing tips from a local pro

-A message from the MWWine School-

Melanie Webber of the MWWine School at a vineyard in Paso Robles holds wine made by one of her students.

– As summer gives way to the festivities of early fall, food and wine pairing is a wonderful way to celebrate the region’s bountiful harvest and toast the end of one season and welcome a new one. Certified wine educator Melanie Webber has helped over 500 wine professionals and wine lovers in the Paso Robles area expand their wine knowledge and obtain their certifications.

Locals have come to know Melanie through the WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) courses she has taught for the past five years and as a member of the founding team of the Garagiste Festival, which began in Paso Robles 13 years ago. Melanie’s Central Coast wine school, MWWine School, is the first and most attended wine school in Paso Robles and is offering the WSET Level 1 next month on September 17th at Broken Earth Winery, where Melanie will share her expertise in wine and food pairing.

“One of my favourite subjects to teach my Wine & Spirit Education Trust students is food and wine pairing, and I particularly appreciate the intelligent way in which WSET articulates these principles,” says Melanie Webber. “There is a long tradition of food and wine pairing that is regionally focused: look at how often the wines of a region naturally pair with the food of that region (after all, they literally grow together and share soil, climate and topography).”

Three of Melanie’s most important principles for pairing food and wine:

#1: SWEET GOES WITH SWEET

At the risk of being a spoilsport, one of the least advantageous food and wine pairings is that of brut champagne with a traditional glazed wedding cake because when you pair sugary foods with wine, the sugar on your tongue makes the wine taste more sour, bitter, less fruity and much drier. Champagne is naturally high in acidity and its fruit is subtle, so pairing it with sweet foods is a risky gamble. What would make more sense? A sweet or semi-sweet sparkling wine or still wine. There are plenty of options – from a Moscato Asti to a Demi Sec Vouvray or a Sauternes – with enough sugar to stand up to that cake.

#2 Cake matches cake

Acid is easy to spot in wine and food – it’s what makes you salivate – think of what happens when you suck on a lemon and your mouth waters. While sugar can be an enemy of wine, acid in food can be a real friend of wine: it makes your wine taste fruitier, less dry and less acidic – so if you’re drinking a dry white wine that makes your mouth water, a Riesling for example, try it with a salad with vinaigrette – and if it’s a semi-dry Riesling, try a few sliced peaches or grapes (sugar to sugar) in the vinegary salad and it will be brilliant. And think of how lovely Chianti made from the high-acid grape Sangiovese tastes with pasta and marinara sauce, acid-acid heaven! But beware of combining acidic foods with low-acid wines like Viognier and Gewürztraminer, as this could unbalance the wines.

Tips for combining wine and food from the MWWine School

Tips on combining wine and food from the MWWine School.

#3 BOLD AND SAVOYFUL, GREAT WITH ACID

Fatty or oily foods coat the mouth, making the tongue and mouth less susceptible to acid, so it makes sense to pair fatty foods with high-acid wines. Plus, the acid in the wine cuts through the fattiness of the food and balances it out. Classic examples are oysters with Muscadet or Sancerre or Chablis or Champagne – the oiliness of the oysters masks the searing acidity of these wines, but not so much that the wine is unbalanced. And don’t even get me started on the joys of French fries and Champagne! And of course, cheese is a classic at any wine tasting and pairs beautifully with both red and white high-acid wines.

“Just remember that it’s really hard to spoil the wine with food or vice versa, and that personal preference is most important. These principles are simply opportunities to enhance the experience of what’s on the plate and in the glass and, I hope, build the confidence to experiment,” explains Webber.

To learn more about these tips and more for great wine and food pairings, and for beginners starting a wine career or interested in wine, WSET L1 is an ideal course. It takes place on Tuesday, September 17th at Broken Earth Winery in Paso Robles. For more information and to register, click here. Paso Robles Daily News readers receive a 10% discount on course registration.

Use code: PASONEWS For more food and wine pairing tips, check out Melanie’s blog on her website.