Food and Wine Pairing : A Sensory Experience

222 Chapter 10 Flavor Intensity and Flavor Persistency

7.Taste each of the food items, cleansing your palate with water and crackers between food items to ensure that there is no

carryover of flavors from one item to the next. Evaluate the flavor type, intensity, and persistency of each food item, docu-

menting the results on the Food Intensity and Persistency Level sheet (Figure 10.2).

8.Taste each food item with all three wine samples and record the results on the Wine and Food Flavor Intensity Match sheet

(Figure 10.3). Use a separate sheet for each food item.

a.Sip the dry Riesling sample.

b.Chew, taste, and swallow a little of the strawberry yogurt.

c.Take a sip of the same wine sample.

d.Determine the relative levels of intensity for the strawberry yogurt and the dry Riesling. Is the food flavor more intense or

less intense than the wine flavor?

e.Repeat this process with the strawberry yogurt and the late-harvest Riesling. Then repeat again with the Moscato d’Asti.

f.Repeat steps a–e using the smoked salmon as the food item with the three wines.

g.Finally, repeat steps a–e using the mixed nuts as the food item with the three wines.

9.Assess the flavor types.

a.Dry Riesling. What is the flavor of this wine? Does the lack of sweetness in this wine have an impact on your perception of

fruit flavor intensity? What types of food would you serve with this wine? Why?

b.Sweet Riesling.What is the flavor of this wine? How does the fruit flavor in this wine differ from the dry Riesling? Do you

think the sweetness level in this wine had an impact on your perception of fruit flavor intensity? What types of food would

you serve with this wine? Why?

c.Moscato d’Asti.How would you describe the flavor in this wine? Floral? Orange blossom or honeysuckle? Any fruit flavors

such as grape, tangerine, mandarin orange, or apricot? How about sweet spice such as ginger? Do you think the sweetness

level in this wine had an impact on your perception of fruit flavor intensity? What types of food would you serve with this

wine? Why?

10.Rank the samples of wine for flavor intensity.

Least intense!1. 2. 3. !Most intense

Poached salmon and sorrel is

a classic combination. Acidic

greens such as sorrel can

present a challenge for pairing

if too overpowering (courtesy

of PhotoDisc, Inc.).