Best Wine-Food Pairing

[AlohaArtakaHoundsong]

OK, let's see if we can apply this "best of" series to something practical.

What is the best wine-food pairing you've ever had? It can be something general, like "I like a big ol steak on the barbie with a monster Baraussie Shiraz," to something more granular, like, "You can't beat Yak and Pauillac," or to something excruciatingly detailed, down to the exact restaurant or spice rub, manner of cooking, and of course specific wine and vintage.

I need to think about this a bit. I made some nice braised lamb shanks while taking an 08 Langoa Barton for the team in the name of science last year, but I'm sure we can come up with some truly transplendent pairings here.

I am as interested in the food part as the wine part, probably moreso, since I'm constrained in my wines moreso than in whay foods I can cook or obtain in a restaurant.

Thank you.

[Michael Malinoski]

For my birthday a few years back, fellow board member Andy J. made a terrific pork belly dish that we paired with a couple of excellent Cote-Roties. It was a sublime pairing and was the first thing that came to mind when I saw the thread title... Hmmmm, might need to revisit that soon!

-Michael

[Blanquito]

Can't do just one, so...
Broiled lobster tails with beurre blanc and Spatlese
Pineapple-glazed shrimp and Auslese
Osso buco and Sangiovese
Sweet poached pears with roquefort and Sauternes
Venison medallions and Hermitage
Braised wild boar and Nebbiolo
Duck confit and Grenache

[AlexR]

Ah, we're into the best are we?????

What could possibly beat a top-notch steak properly grilled and ANY good red wine?
Or a perfectly ripe brie and the same?

Other memorable matches:

- snails in butter, parsley, and garlic sauce and white Burgundy
- crottin de Chavignol goat's cheese with Sancerre
- feuilleté de ris de veau (veal sweetbreads in puff pastry) and Sauternes
- foie gras and Sauternes
- red snapper and any good dry white wine
- tournedos with truffles and Pomerol
- andouillette (chitterling) with any good dry white wine
- of course, oysters and Chablis

The list goes on and on and on and......

Alex R.

[Comte Flaneur]

I would second Alex's nomination of Goat's cheese and sancerre...even NZ Sav blanc goes well it

I had oysters with Dauvissat chablis on the weekend which was a great combo, until I got ill from the oysters!

Also roast lamb with Pauillac/St-J

Fresh pasta sprinkled with truffle with a mature Barbaresco (preferably Giacosa).

[JonoB]

Passion-fruit SOuffle (the first incarnation when the Ledbury was still a one star) and 99 Rieussec.

That wine was made for that dish, and is indelibly etched on my brain.
Each component lacked what the other had, and so the two together lifted the whole to an infinitely higher plane of existence.

[JonoB]

To add, Ossobucco on a bed of Saffron Risotto and Crociani Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva 06 the other night was pretty special.

[RDD]

Oysters and Chablis
I love a good white fish with sauce and Bordeaux Blanc . Highly underated.
Burgundy and wild fowl.
Rhone and boar or venison.
Pauillac and lamb.
Cali cab and a Poterhouse.
A good baked Virginia ham and Reisling.

[Blanquito]

I'm getting hungry.

[stefan]

Lucie's cheese soufflé with '82 Haut-Brion.

Grilled quail with a medium age La Lagune or Palmer.

Mushrooms sauteed with garlic and carmelized onions with properly aged Bonnes Mares.

[AlexR]

grilled duck breast and pommes sarladaises with Saint-Emilion or a good Cahors
roast free range chicken with a fine wine from the Côte de Beaune
Not-too-greasy or not-too-dry thick American hamburger with *toasted* bun and a Zinfanel
Saucisson sausage and Beaujolais
Melon, wafer-thin Parma ham (idea stolen from the Italians) and Sauternes
Panfried calf's liver with raspberry vinegar and Médoc

Alex R.

[DavidG]

Oysters and Chablis
I love a good white fish with sauce and Bordeaux Blanc . Highly underated.
Burgundy and wild fowl.
Rhone and boar or venison.
Pauillac and lamb.
Cali cab and a Poterhouse.
A good baked Virginia ham and Reisling.

My list is similar to Rob's. Particularly:
Chablis and oysters.
Rhone and boar or venison.
Pauilac or St Julien and lamb.
Cali cab and a grilled ribeye.

Also:
Riesling and Thai - larb or pad thai
A richer style white burg or chardonnay or Sauternes and lobster.

And a secret but rarely admitted (in public) guilty pleasure: Champagne and peanut M&Ms. I can't explain this one...

[stefan]

>>
Champagne and peanut M&Ms.
>>

You have got to be kidding. Everyone knows that Champagne goes best with salted & buttered popcorn.

[JimHow]

1989 Lynch Bages with Maine whoopie pie.

[Chateau Vin]

>>
Champagne and peanut M&Ms.
>>

You have got to be kidding. Everyone knows that Champagne goes best with salted & buttered popcorn.

I know people who are head over heels for "Champagne and Fried Chicken..."

[AlohaArtakaHoundsong]

This is good. Got some nice actionable ideas from these pairings.

[Blanquito]

In general, I find white wine food pairings much more obvious, versatile, and synergistic than for red wines.

I would second the:
Foie gras/pate and Sauternes,
Chablis (or white Bordeaux) and oysters

[hautbrionlover]

Yquem and seared fresh foie gras, for sure. It's one of those combinations that makes you simultaneously feel thrilled and guilty.

Also, a prime dry-aged Porterhouse from Lobel's, cooked over hardwood charcoal, with a 1991 Dominus.

[AlexR]

Please, tell me, how hard is it to find fresh (uncooked) foie gras in the US?

Alex R.

[RDD]

Please, tell me, how hard is it to find fresh (uncooked) foie gras in the US?

Alex R.

The New York Hudson Valley region is famous for their foie gras.
We routinely get it here in Charlotte with no issues.

[DavidG]

Easy to order foie gras in the US.

[AlexR]

A) I've been away for so long, I am no longer (at all) up to date. Heck, when I left years ago it was very difficult to find a cup of espresso!
B) The media here bangs away at the anti-foie gras crusade in America that it gives a very false impression.

Alex

[JonoB]

I think California has banned the "sale" but not consumption of it, but then all you need to do is drive to another state to pick some up.
I don't know if that includes movement and shipping (i.e. buy in neighbouring state and then have then send it to you)??

[AlexR]

Wine and food: I just love a good Port and a well-aged English farmhouse cheddar.

Alex R;

[JonoB]

Wine and food: I just love a good Port and a well-aged English farmhouse cheddar.

Alex R;

Non, Monsieur le port est pour le roquefort ou les stilton ou les stichelton's!