Food and Wine Pairing : A Sensory Experience

264 Chapter 11 Menu Planning: Horizontal and Vertical Pairing Decisions

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. What issues should be considered before planning any
   menu?


2. What are the five basic rules for wine sequencing de-
   cisions?


3. What are the twelve general guidelines for wine and

food matches that are outlined in the decision tree?

4. Are these twelve general guidelines hard-and-fast
   rules to follow, or is there some judgment involved?


5. Are there situations where it is advantageous to use a
   sequential tasting approach as opposed to a mixed
   tasting approach?

EXERCISE 11.1

FOOD-AND-WINE MATCH LEVELS

For this exercise, you may utilize many of
the same varietals used in previous chap-
ters or experiment with other wines. Use
the Food Sensory Anchor Scale (Figure
B.1) and Wine Sensory Anchor Scale (Fig-
ure B.2) to create basic reference points
for ascending levels of components, tex-
ture, and flavor as you complete the
questions posed by the Wine and Food
Pairing Instrument. When selecting the
wines for this exercise, be sure to con-
sider the potential impact of Old or New
World selections, climate zones, oak ag-
ing, and wine maturity.

OBJECTIVES

To distinguish and rank differing levels of

elements present in wine and food; to

compare food and wine profiles to pre-

dict match level; to assess whether the

predicted level of match mirrors the per-

ceived level of match.

Mise En Place: Things to Do Be-

fore the ExerciseReview the Wine

and Food Pairing Decision Tree and the

sections explaining how to use Figures

11.2a–11.2c and Figure 11.4 in this

chapter. Schedule the food preparation to

meet the desired tasting time. The shrimp

and melon dish can be assembled at the

last minute if all of the mise en place is

gathered and the shrimp is poached,

chilled, and peeled ahead of time. The

Caesar salad can be assembled at the last

minute using either bottled dressing or

homemade dressing. The grilled sirloin

needs to be cooked and served right be-

fore the tasting. The cheese and choco-

late should be ready to go whenever

needed. Of course, care must be taken to

ensure the food items and wines are

served at the proper temperature.

MATERIALSNEEDED

Table 11.1 Materials Needed for Exercise 11.1

1 white paper placemat per student, with numbered or labeled circles

to place wineglasses (Figure 9.4a)

1 spit cup per student

Corkscrew

Drinking water for each student

1 copy of the Aroma Wheel per student Napkins

4 copies of Figures 11.2a, 11.2b, and 11.2c per student 5 wineglasses per student

1 copy Food and Wine Sensory Anchor Scales per student Cutting board

4 !copies of Figure 11.4 (Quantifying Wine and Food Profiles to

Predict Match Level) per student

Bread or crackers to cleanse palate

Plates for tasting samples of each food item Plastic (or other) forks and knives