It’s that time again. No, I’m not referring to the holiday season;
I’m referring to the season of soups and stews.
I was reminded of this a couple weeks ago when my mother called me. She had just poured a glass of wine to go
with her turkey noodle soup when my father told her that wine didn’t go with
soup. My Mom is really determined, and
she really wanted that glass of wine.
So, of course, she decided to call me in to referee.
Sorry, Dad, but Mom wins
this one.
In fact, soups and stews
generally pair beautifully with wine.
Well, they pair nicely if you’ve chosen the “right” wine.
Because many of you, like me, with the onset
of cold weather may now be eating these hearty dishes, I decided to dedicate
this month’s column to providing some advice about matching common soups and
stews with some of the many reasonably priced wines that are currently on our
local store shelves. For the most part,
the wines recommended below are chosen for their ability to pair with the food;
they are not intended to be the stars of the show. For that reason, I’m able to recommend very
affordable wines that might not taste as lovely if drunk by themselves. But pair them with the food indicated below,
and prepare to be impressed.
1.
Chicken or Turkey Noodle (or Rice)
Soup: One the great things about this
All-American comfort food is that it pairs equally well with red wine and white
wine. My favorite matches are pinot noir
and chardonnay. The pinot, which is
fairly light for a red wine, brings earthy flavors with a good dose of
acidity. Chardonnay, on the other hand,
is fairly heavy for a white wine. It
offers fruit flavors (can be citrus or apple or pear) balanced by oaky or
cedary notes. A few to look for include
Erath Pinot Noir (Oregon ; about $15) and
Turning Leaf Chardonnay (California
2.
Tomato Soup: Because of the beautiful, rich color of
tomato soup, it’s tempting to think about red wine. But don’t.
Many red wines have a lot of tannin in them, which won’t do this soup
any favors. But you have to be careful
with white wine, too, because you don’t want the intense acidity of the
tomatoes to overwhelm a delicate, little wine.
So what’s the answer? I think
it’s a white wine that used to be a red wine – pinot gris. You see, pinot gris is a white grape that
developed as mutation of pinot noir. It
still has the high acidity and complex flavors of a pinot noir, but it also has
the lovely refreshing quality that we so often expect from a chilled white
wine. The acid in the wine complements
the acid in the soup and assures that the wine isn’t overwhelmed by the
assertive flavors of the tomatoes. Look
for A to Z Oregon Pinot Gris (Oregon ; about $14) or Cloudline Pinot Gris (Oregon
3.
Beef Stew:
With its intense, rich meatiness, beef stew cries out for cabernet
sauvignon. The herbal, sometimes vegetal
notes in cabernet complement the herbs and vegetables in the stew, while the
tannins in the wine (the component in the wine that makes your tongue feel
leathery) mellow considerably in the presence of red meat. In other words, a cabernet that might taste a
little harsh on its own may be fantastic when drunk with a rich beef stew. This maybe one of my very favorite food and
wine pairings. A few cabs to look for
include 337 Cabernet Sauvignon (California ;
about $13) and Columbia
4.
Beef Chili:
In pairing wine with chili, the biggest worry is making sure that the
wine is sturdy enough to stand up to the assertive flavors and weight of the
food. My favorite pairings are zinfandel
or cabernet sauvignon blends. Both of
those wines generally have enough weight in your mouth and intensity of flavors
to stand up to the chili. But neither is
so aggressive as to overwhelm the chili.
Zinfandel offers pepper and dark berry flavors, while cabernet tends to
display herbal notes and dark fruit flavors.
If you choose a zinfandel, I recommend Bogle Vineyards Old Vine
Zinfandel (California
5.
Clam Chowder: Assuming that you’re having a cream-based New England style clam chowder (as opposed to the
tomato-based Manhattan clam chowder), Sauvignon blanc is a great choice to cut
through the creaminess. Sauvignon blanc
is a crisp white wine that typically has quite a bit of citrus and/or herbal
notes. Cream-based soups tend to coat
your palate, meaning that each bite makes it more difficult for you to actually
taste the next bite. The intense acidity
in sauvignon blanc cuts the cream, making each bite of the soup nearly as fresh
and delicious as the first. Choose a
sauvignon blanc from New Zealand
or California Geyser Peak (California , about $10) and Dashwood (New
Zealand , about $11). And if
you prefer Manhattan claim chowder, look for a
Riesling, such as the Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling (Washington ;
about $10).
If you can’t find one of
the specific wines I recommend above, don’t sweat it. Just look for another wine made from the same
grape varietal and the same region. It’s
not the label of the wine that’s important.
And Mom and Dad, when you read this, just remember: Everything goes with wine; you just have to
find the right pairing!
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