Food and Wine

We all taste—but what are we tasting? Knowing the factors involved in how we taste can help us develop our individual palette. Unlike the many critical reviews of food and wine pairings, this book gives a systematic approach based on personal tastes. Covering the most common international and regional wines, the author explains how they relate to the foods we eat. Fun “homework” assignments that match specific wines with recipes and variations help readers learn how they taste as individuals.

Harry Haff is a certified executive chef and certified wine educator who teaches on line at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts based in Scottsdale, Arizona, and continuing education wine classes at Yavapai College in Prescott, Arizona. He has published articles in The Wine Report Magazine, Forsyth Living Magazine and others.

Harry Haff

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 220
Bibliographic Info: appendix, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2017
pISBN: 978-1-4766-6607-5
eISBN: 978-1-4766-2623-9
Imprint: McFarland

Preface 1
Introduction 5

1. Taste: How We Taste, Using Hearing, Seeing, Smelling and Touching 9

2. Flavor and Texture in Wine and Food 21

3. Your Wine and Food Pairings: Red Wines 29
France 29
Cabernet Sauvignon: King of the Hill, at Least for Red Wine Grapes! 29
Merlot: The Grape That Got a Bad Rap 39
Pinot Noir: Cranky Grape! 45
Syrah/Shiraz 52
Gamay/Beaujolais 59
Italy 65
San Giovese and Brunello 65
Nebbiolo, Barolo and Barbaresco: Could These Be the Best? 73
Valpolicella and Amarone 80
The Big Three: Aglianico, Negro Amaro and Nero d’Avola 85
Primitivo/Zinfandel: Italian American or American Italian? 93
Iberia: Spain and Portugal 99
Tempranillo: The ­Go-To Grape in Spain 99
Garnacha/Grenache: A Spanish Native That Gets Around 105
Monastrell/Mourvèdre: Another Saga About the Young and Restless Grapes of Spain 109
Cariñena, Mencia and Touriga: Crossing the Border 112
Second Chances: Malbec, Carmenere, Tanat and Durif (Petite Sirah) 118
Back to the Piedmont: Dolcetto and Barbera 130
Some New Names? Dornfelder and Blaufränkisch 134

4. Your Wine and Food Pairings: White Wines 140
France 140
Chardonnay: A Popular, Versatile World Traveler 140
Sauvignon Blanc: Tart, Citrusy and a World Traveler 145
From the Loire to Bordeaux: Chenin Blanc, Semillon and Muscadet 150
Alsace and Beyond: Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris 158
Gewürtztraminer: At Home on Both Sides of the Rhine River 162
Italy 169
Way Up North: Whites in Piedmont: Gavi and Arneis 169
Ancient Grapes Make Great Modern Wines: Falanghina, Greco di Tuffo and Vermentino 174
Wines by Name, Grapes Not So Much: Trebbiano and Friuliano 181
Spain 186
Some Spanish Whites: Albariño, Treixadura and Godello 186
German-Austro-Hungarian Wines 191
Grüner Veltliner and Welschriesling 191
Hungary: Furmint—Old ­Wine-Making Traditions 197
Germany and Riesling: The World’s Greatest Grape? 199

Appendix: Grape Varietals 205
Works Cited 209
Index 211