food-and-wine-pairing-a-sensory-experience-robert-harrington

A recent tasting menu is provided below. The menu features Chef Walsh’s
inspired Canadian regional cuisine and highlights the unique interaction of the
flavors and textures in food and wine. Ruben Elmer, the senior sommelier at Canoe
Restaurant and Bar, has provided tasting notes for each match on this menu.
Canoe Taste Classic
Henry of Pelham Rosé BrutNV
Spice-Cured Salmon with Spring Radish, Melon, Yogurt, and Abiti Caviar
The inherent fattiness of the salmon demands a rich-textured white. Coupled
with the heat of the radish and the sweetness of the melon, we find sparkling wine
has both the high acidity and slight effervescent sweetness needed to refresh the
palate and prepare it for the next bite.
Novala Recioto della Valpolicella 2001
Simmered La Ferme Foie Gras, Beluga Lentils, Celery Root, and Cocoa Nibs
This rich sweet red wine is reminiscent of a Port, only lighter and more
savory. The unctuousness of the foie gras calls for an equally rich-textured wine.
The sweetness of the wine contrasts well with the cocoa nibs, and the rich stockflavored
lentils dissipate any tannin left in the wine.
Fattiness in Food 169
Martin Ray Merlot 2000
Grand River Venison Loin, Oka Poutine, Kumquats, and Mulled Red Cabbage
The beauty of wine and food matching lies in the fact that grand wines are not needed. (In fact,
sometimes their personality is just too big.) This wine, a generous mature California Merlot, shares the
same texture as the venison, while picking up the spices in the red cabbage and letting them change and
enhance the wine.
Taylor Fladgate Ten-Year-Old Tawny Port
Dark Chocolate Truffle Tart, Roasted Pine Nuts, and Crème Fraîche
Good dark chocolate is one of wine’s greatest allies, letting the sweetness or the ripeness of the wine
complement the bitterness of the chocolate. This tawny Port plays off the rich chocolate bitterness while
the pine nuts bring out a side of the wine that wouldn’t have been noticed otherwise. The fat in the crème
fraîche smoothes out any edges that remain.
The food selections matched with the wines create interesting layers of taste, texture, and flavors.
The tasting notes provide many specific examples of food-and-wine texture interactions: the fattiness in
the salmon with the rich, textured rosé brut sparkling wine, the natural texture in the lentils smoothing
any tannin in the Recioto della Valpolicella, the texture match of the venison and Merlot, and the fat in
the crème fraîche smoothing the edges of the Port. Based on your experience, can you think of other wines
you might pair with these dishes? Are there any other texture interactions not pointed out here that may
come into play in these examples?
FATTINESS IN FOOD
Fats can be divided into a number of categories (saturated/unsaturated, fats/oils,
invisible/visible, vegetable/animal, etc.). For pairing purposes, it is meaningful to determine
whether the fat is natural or an added textural element. Natural fats are found in foods such
as dairy products, meats, seeds, and nuts. Added fats include oils, shortenings, lard, butter,
and margarine. Added fats are used for flavoring and mouthfeel. The main objective of
assessing fattiness in food from a texture perspective is determining mouthfeel characteristics
The Canoe Restaurant and Bar
dining room in preparation for
the next meal period.