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

For this exercise, I suggest using neutral
white and red jug wines to eliminate any
possible spice character interactions—I
would use a bulk-produced, unoaked
Chardonnay and a bulk-produced Merlot.
OBJECTIVES
To identify and define spice characteristics
in white and red wine; to categorize
STEPS
EXERCISE 9.1
WINE SPICE IDENTIFICATION AND RANKING
the type of spice as sweet, savory, or hot;
to assess and rank the level of spiciness
for each wine sample.
Mise en Place: Things to Do Before
the Exercise Review the sections
of Chapter 9 describing the wine spice
sensations. Assemble the food ingre-
Table 9.4 Wine Samples with Spice for Exercise 9.1
Exercise 9.1 201
dients, wines, and other materials. Prepare
one sample per student (about 1
ounce) of each of the following wine
samples laced with spices as shown in
Table 9.4 and described in step 3 below.
Wines Plain Sweet Savory Hot
White jug wine 1
No spice
Red jug wine 5
No spice
Table 9.5 Exercise 9.1 Materials
2
Nutmeg
6
Cinnamon or cardamom
2 white paper placemats per student, with numbered or labeled circles to
place wineglasses (Figures 9.4a and 9.4b)
3
White pepper
7
Black pepper
1 spit cup per student Napkins
4
Jalapeño
8
Cayenne
Crackers to cleanse the palate
Corkscrew Drinking water for each student
1 copy of the Aroma Wheel per student 8 wineglasses per student
2 copies Figure 9.1 per student
1. Purchase the wines.
2. Chill the white wine prior to the tasting.
3. Divide both the white and red wines into four equal parts. One part is to be left plain and not spiced. The remaining three parts
are to be spiced as shown in Table 9.4. The spice levels should be brought to a point where an aroma is detectable to the
knowledgeable wine evaluator. Allow the spiced wines to sit long enough for the flavors to infuse the wine.
4. Set out placemats and wine glasses and distribute the wine samples.