The Science of Blending Food and French Wines
This is certainly a subtle one, but the
basics can be mastered by anybody. It would be a pity to deprive
oneself of the pleasures it can offer.
With fish, oysters, crab, lobster or
shellfish, serve:
Dry white wines, light sparkling wines, extra dry champagne.
With entrées
and hors d'oeuvre:
Dry or semi-dry white wines, rosé
wines.
With white meats such as veal, lamb or
pork and with poultry serve:
A full-bodied red wine with a good bouquet.
With red meats such as mutton and beef:
A full-bodied red wine, powerful and generous.
With game:
As above, but keep the ore delicate, elegant wines for
game-birds and the heavier wines for other game.
With foie gras:
A dry or mellow white wine of elegance>
With cheeses:
-
Soft cheeses with a flowery rind, such as Brie, Camembert, Carré
de l'Est:
Light red wines
-
Soft cheeses with washed rind, such as Pont l'Eveque, Maroilles,
Livarot:
Full-bodied red wines
-
Semi-hard cheeses, such as Saint-Paulin, Saint-Nectaire, Cantal:
White, rosé or red wines, light and dry
-
Hard cheeses, such as Beaufort, Comté, Emmental:
Dry white or rosé wines
-
Veined cheeses, such as blue cheeses, Roquefort, Fourme d'Amber:
Full-bodied red wines, mellow or naturally sweet white wines,
fortified wines
-
Processed cheeses:
White or rosé, light and dry wines
-
Goat and fresh cream cheeses:
Dry white and rosé wines or light and fruity red wines
With sweet courses:
Sparkling wines, semi-dry champagne, mellow wines, natural sweet
wines.
With fruit:
Mellow white wines, semi-dry champagne, natural sweet wines>
Champagne alone may be drunk throughout the meal, but real
gastronomic achievement calls for the full range and variety
offered by the Wines of France.
After coffee:
Brandies from Cognac or Armagnac, fruit-based spirits, the
famous French liqueurs.
Champagne
Champagne and rosé are good with all kinds of
food. However, perfectionists who recognize that Champagne or
rosé is always proper, show their ignorance by frowning upon the
serving of white wine with certain dishes.
For the non-perfectionists, but true
"connoisseurs", a French dry white wine is always acceptable
when served all during a meal, as Champagne and rosé sometimes
are.
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