Peter D'Souza,  Associate Professor                                                    
Department of Hospitality and Tourism                
University of Wisconsin-Stout
E-mail: dsouzap@uwstout.edu

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Wine and Food

WINE AND FOOD PAIRING PRINCIPLES

OBJECTIVE

Wine should always complement the food, never overpower it.

TFT APPROACH to wine and food pairing

The TFT approach is one of the easiest approaches to match wine with food. Texture(T), Flavor(F), and Taste(T) is present in both wine and food. The challenge and the fun is in matching these components in wine and food.

Texture:       weight or firmness in food or body in wine

Flavor:         intensity of smell followed by taste in food and wine

Taste:          perceptions of sour, sweet, bitter and salty tastes in the mouth

Once a component has been selected (it could be Texture, Flavor, or Taste or a combination), the next step is to consider Strategy.

There are two strategies that can be used based on the component selected in the TFT approach above:

  1. Similar Strategy: This is matching a wine and food with similar characteristics based on the component selected. Example is an acidic wine with acidic food or a sweet wine with sweet food.
  2. Contrasting Strategy: This is matching a wine and food with contrasting characteristics based on the component selected. Example is an acidic wine with salty food or semisweet wine with spicy food.
  1. Creole salmon canapés served with a Sparkling wine
    (Taste is contrasted by spice in food and acid in wine)
  2. Tarragon Pasta with Cream Sauce and Sauvignon Blanc
    (Similar flavor of herbs in wine and food)
  3. Baked Walleye Pike with Spicy Maltaise Sauce with Gewürztraminer
    (Taste is contrasted by spice in food and sweetness in wine)
  4. Fresh Grilled Salmon and Pineapple Salsa with Pinot Noir
    (Similar texture in food and wine)
  5. Prime Rib and Gorgonzola Cheese with Merlot
    (Similar texture in wine and food)
  6. Roast Duck with Orange and Ginger Sauce with Shiraz
    (Similar Texture in wine and food)
  7. New Zealand Venison Tenderloin with Cabernet Sauvignon
    (Similar Texture and Flavor in wine and food)
  8. Chocolate Sacher Torte with Port wine
    (Similar taste and texture in wine and food)

One of the most exciting events for the past two years has been co-teaching with Philip McGuirk the International Wine and Food Pairing course at University of the Balearic Islands (UIB) in Majorca, Spain. The course was taught in January 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2005 with students in the hotel, restaurant and tourism management program at Stout.  Tolo Hernandez, the Spanish instructor, talked about Spanish wine and food, and was joined by Spanish students who also attended the class. There were five days of lecture and lab, followed by four lunches and dinners matching wine and food from Spain and the United States. This was followed by one field trip to three wineries in Palma, Majorca, and a second field trip to three wineries in Barcelona and Madrid. The class ended with a dinner hosted by Sol Melia, one of the largest hotel chains in Europe. Each student was presented with a diploma to commemorate the event.

Wine and Food Pairing Pictures in Spain

New- Wine and Food Pairing in Australia.

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