Food and Wine Pairing Basics
When pairing food with Alsace wine, there are some basic principles you can follow to help ensure that the flavors of the food and the wine complement each other.
- With aperitifs: Crémant d’Alsace, Muscat d’Alsace, Pinot gris, Gewurtztraminer
- With red meats: Pinot Noir
- With roasts and stewed white meats: Pinot Gris
- With fish: Riesling, Sylvaner
- With vegetables: Muscat d’Alsace, Pinot Blanc
- With cheese: Gewurtraminer, Pinot Gris
- With desserts: Gewurtraminer, Crémant d’Alsace
Pairing food with Alsace wine
- Riesling: This dry, crisp, and aromatic wine pairs well with dishes that have a pronounced flavor, choucroute, baeckoeffe, seafood, poultry, and goat cheese.
- Gewurztraminer: This wine is known for its rich, exotic, and spicy notes. It pairs well with spicy foods, strong cheeses, and dishes with a sweet and sour balance, like Asian cuisine, or desserts, like kuglehopf.
- Pinot Blanc: This light, dry wine goes well with lighter fare like salads, light appetizers, and fish.
- Pinot Gris: This full-bodied and slightly smoky wine can stand up to richer dishes, including roasted meats, smoked foods, and dishes with hearty sauces.
- Pinot Noir: As the only red wine in Alsace, it pairs nicely with a wide range of foods, including grilled meats, poultry, and even some types of fish.
- Muscat d’Alsace: This dry and fruity wine is excellent with asparagus, one of the most challenging foods to pair with wine, and also pairs well with other green vegetables and light appetizers.
- Sylvaner: A light and fresh wine that pairs well with simple, rustic dishes like sausages, salads, and tartes flambées.
- Crémant d’Alsace: This sparkling wine is versatile and can be served with a variety of dishes, including appetizers, desserts, or on its own as an aperitif.
Remember, these are just guidelines and personal preference should always take precedence. Enjoy experimenting with different combinations to discover what you like best!