Food & wine matching with Yealands wines

I love to cook; I’m fascinated by scents, flavours, and how they marry together, or clash horrifically. I’m also obsessed with finding just the right wine to go with different styles and flavours of food. Many dismiss this, and don’t reckon it’s that important. They could be right – if you’re not really interested in wine, and just want a glass of something to enjoy, that’s fine.

However, it’s a fascinating experiment, and when you put food and wine matching to the test, it proves that the wrong combination can ruin either the enjoyment of the wine or the food. I put this into practice this week,  training staff at a top end Indian restaurant. I made them taste wines with a variety of dishes – what worked well with creamy, coconut- based curries, clashed violently with the drier, herbier, tomato-based dishes on the menu; and the same happened in reverse. The reaction of the team was just what I wanted to see, from a smiling agreement to a glorious match, to a shuddering grimace when the combination didn’t work out so well.

Over the Easter weekend, I decided to experiment with a few new recipes and ideas, most of which had some form of spice, herbs or fruit involved.  Aromatic whites and a juicy red seemed to be the logical matches, so I decided to put some of the lovely Yealands wines to the test.

I’ve always enjoyed, the fresh, elegant, aromatic styles of wine that Tamra Washington, Yealands, head winemaker, produces. My selection included Yealands Sauvignon blanc, Yealands Riesling, the quirky Yealands PGR, Yealands Estate Pinot Gris, and Yealands Pinot Noir.

First up on my culinary weekend fest was a salmon and tuna ceviche, which I’d had marinading for 24 hours,  in the traditional lime juice marinade, spiced up with a chunk of ginger and a  chilli pepper; this was served alongside salmon gravadlax, with a mustard and dill sauce. The Yealands Estate Riesling 2011 was a scintillating, zingingly-fresh match with the ceviche, both bursting with vibrant, tongue-tingling fresh lime flavours, which brought out the very best in each other. The Yealands Estate Sauvignon blanc 2014, was a worthy runner up.

This year’s Easter Sunday roast, was chicken with a twist – a cheerful, Caribbean twist,  Jerk Roast Chicken. There are a thousand and one variations on the spices and herbs used in Jamaican Jerk seasoning . My version included the ‘must have’ spices that define the dish – Allspice, nutmeg and cinnamon, mixed with brown sugar; add to that a chopped up handful of herbs, cracked black pepper, garlic, shallots and the obligatory chillies, plus some freshly grated ginger.

Mixed with a splash of rum, and some soy sauce, this then was pasted onto the chicken, and left for 24 hours before  roasting.

The heady, sweet, savoury, rich aromas and juices, made for a real challenge.   The Riesling, which had worked so perfectly with the ceviche was completely overpowered. Next up was one of my favourites from the range, the baby of the range Yealands Estate PGR 2014 ( a blend of Pinot Gewurztraminer Riesling). I had high hopes for this wine, with its nutmeg and ginger- flecked fruit. However, even this was no match for the dominant presence and pungency of the allspice and cinnamon.   This needed something weightier, fleshier and bolder.

Step up Yealands Estate Pinot Gris 2013, in all its richness and glory. It’s natural spice and sweetness, tempered and got the allspice under control and managed to bring out the more subtle flavours and scents of the other elements in the marinade. It was a clear and worthy winner in this particular challenge -  I didn’t have a bottle of the Yealands Estate Gewurztraminer, but I reckon that would have been a great supporting act.

It proves, once again , the need to balance the wine, to the most dominant flavor, in this case allspice. In terms of red wine,  I didn’t look beyond  the sumptuous, majestic, multi-award winning Yealands Estate Winemaker’s Reserve ‘Gibbston Valley’ Pinot Noir 2013, whose fleshy, silky, spicy sweet flavours, were intensified by the rich sweetness of the powerful flavours of the jerk chicken – however, the heady sweet allspice, would have overwhelmed a more delicate Pinot Noir.

Easter Monday saw fish back on the menu for a relaxed Bank Holiday lunch – Salmon roasted in a soy, honey and ginger marinade, with a crunchy little Asian-style sweet and sour salad. Finally, the Yealands Estate PGR came into its own;  this exotic blend mingles the fresh acidity of Riesling, with the richer, peachy Pinot Gris, and is topped off with a dollop of scented, voluptuous Gewurztraminer – the result is a delightfully lively, spiced, yet fresh, aromatic white, with flavours of apricot, nutmeg and ginger.  A wine of different components, yet balance – just like the fish and the salad, which combined sweetness, spice, saltiness, and lots of different textures, from the creamy richness of the salmon, to the crunch of the salad.

Food and wine matching shouldn’t be taken too seriously – but getting the right match definitely makes a difference; what’s more it’s fun to do, and provokes great conversation. Next time you have guests, be bold, try something out of the ordinary, buy a few bottles of different styles, and work out your own best matches. I never cease to learn!

By Angela Mount