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

STEPS
Table 11.2 Wines, Food Items, and Anticipated Match Levels
Exercise 11.1 265
Wines Food Items Anticipated Match Level
Moscato d’Asti Chilled Shrimp and Melon with
Mint-Curry Cream
Cool / moderate-climate
Chardonnay
Cabernet Sauvignon,
Meritage, or Bordeaux
Good plus
Caesar Salad Refreshment to neutral
Grilled Sirloin Good plus
Tawny Port Stilton Good plus
Moscato d’Asti, Cabernet
Sauvignon, or Port
Bittersweet chocolate These should all work, but for different
reasons, and preferences will vary
1. Prepare and distribute the food items.
2. Pour a sample of each wine for each student.
3. Taste the wine samples and assess all wine elements. Record your observations on Figure 11.2a (and/or Figure 11.2c).
4. Taste each food sample and assess all food elements. Record your observations in Figure 11.2b (and/or Figure 11.2c).
5. Taste the food items in the following order. You can then go back and forth between them later if needed.
a. Shrimp and Melon with Mint-Curry Cream
b. Caesar Salad
c. Grilled Sirloin
d. Cheese
e. Dark chocolate
6. Using Figure 11.4, calculate a predicted level of match for each item, and match each item with at least one wine using the
profiles created with Figures 11.2a and 11.2b.
7. Taste each food sample with each of the four wine samples. Using the perceived level of match scale at the bottom of Figure
11.2c, rank your perception of the match using the 0–10 scale. Compare this match score with the one you predicted using
Figure 11.4.
8. Discuss and record any sensory observations you make about the relationship between the wines and food items. Which wine
and food had the best match? Was it what you predicted? Which wine and food had the lowest match? Did any items have a
no match rating? If so, why? Were any of the matches truly synergistic?
9. Rank the level of match for each food item with each wine from lowest to highest level of predicted match using the score
from Figure 11.4.
a. Shrimp and Melon with Mint-Curry Cream
Lowest score 1. 2. 3.
4. Highest score
b. Caesar Salad
Lowest score 1. 2. 3.
4. Highest score
c. Grilled Sirloin
Lowest score 1. 2. 3.
4. Highest score
d. Stilton Cheese
Lowest score 1. 2. 3.
4. Highest score
e. Dark chocolate
Lowest score 1. 2. 3.
4. Highest score
10. Write any other comments, thoughts, and observations that you identified during this evaluation process. Did the predicted
level of match coincide with your perceived level of match when the food and wine were tasted together? Was there a pre-