A discussion on Wine Pairing
With Chef Leonard Ruiz Redé

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In the period of an hour I will attempt to explain why certain foods and certain wines make for good pairings and illuminate the simple things that one can do to make your food more wine friendly.
Over the period I will discuss the five basic tastes-Sweet,
Sour, Salty, Bitter and Umami.
I will demonstrate the interplay of these flavors in food and how wine influences the overall flavor and pleasure potential of the food and wine pairing.
I will also discuss the Fundamentals of Wine Preferences
&Understanding Wine Perception, Preferences and values

Understanding Wine Perception,
Preferences and values

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People are having completely different experiences
Also explains contradictory messages on wine you hear
 Why don’t I like the wines I am supposed to like?

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People are having completely different experiences
Also explains contradictory messages on wine you hear
 Why don’t I like the wines I am supposed to like?

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How you interpret the experience
Your personal preferences
Having the wines you enjoy with the foods you enjoy
 It’s all up to you

Sensory
Sensitivity
Learning
Observation
Life
Experience
Culture &
Environment
Personal
Preferences

 Sensory Hardware
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Reception and transmission of sensations
The range and intensity of sensory information sent to our brain
 The sensations you may experience can occur differently to other people

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People have vastly different taste anatomy…
HYPER-SENSITIVE TASTERS (left)
SENSITIVE TASTERS
TOLERANT TASTERS (right)
HYPER-SENSITIVE TASTERS HYPER-TOLERANT TASTERS
Dr. Bartoshuk’sTest
More than 12,000 3000 is average less than 500

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The Taste Bud Continuum
The EXACT SAME THING may taste completely different to any two people:
Hyper-sensitive
Have more taste buds – up to 1,100/cm2
VERY sensitive to bitterness
25% 50%
Tolerant
Have fewer taste buds – as few as 11/cm2
Less sensitive to bitterness
25%
Sensitive tasters:
Open to a wider range of styles

HYPER-SENSITIVE TASTERS HYPER-TOLERANT TASTERS
More Sensitive
Less Sensitive
Hyper-Sensitive Sensitive Tolerant
Coffee = Yuk!
Salt = Love salt!
Artificial Sweetener = Yuk
High Alcohol = Burn
Coffee = cream and sugar
Salt = likes salty snacks
Artificial sweeter = ok
High Alcohol = Irritating
Coffee = black & strong
Salt = No issue
Artificial sweeter = OK
High Alcohol = OK

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HYPER-SENSITIVE TASTERS HYPER-TOLERANT TASTERS
More Sensitive
Less Sensitive
2
Hyper-Sensitive Sensitve
3 4 5 6 7
Tolerant
8 9 10
Sweet Wines Delicate Wines Smooth Wines Intense Wines

HYPER-SENSITIVE TASTERS HYPER-TOLERANT TASTERS
More Sensitive
Less Sensitive
Hyper-Sensitive Sensitve
Wine Types and Flavors Categories
Tolerant
Sweet Wines
White Zinfandel
Riesling
Dry Rose
Moscato
Delicate – Smooth
Chardonnay
Sauvignon Blanc
Pinot Noir
Merlot
Intense
Cabernet Sauvignon
Shiraz
Zinfandel
Malbec

Taste Sensitivity Groups and
Wine Preferences
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Hyper-sensitive
• Favor delicacy over power
• Live in a “vivid” taste world
• Sweet wines and fruity cocktails
• ‘100 point’ wines often suck!
Sensitive
• Intensity and balance are key
• Can go many directions
• Love aromatic wines
• Moderate tolerance for oak
Tolerant
• Love intensity and power
• Alcohol tastes sweet
• ‘100 point’ system makes sense
• Oak Bombs!
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Barry Goff,
President &
CEO
TAVISTOCK
RESTAURANT
S, LLC
Tim Mondavi
Chef Lenny
Jancis
Robinson
MW
Jean-Michel Valette, MW
Bob
Parker?
Bill Harlan,
Harlan Estate
Jim Laube?

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Imagine trying to sell shoes not knowing people have different size feet!

 Sensory Software
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How your brain processes the sensory information it receives
The emotions and judgments strongly connected to your personal experiences and memories
 Our INTERPRETATION of sensations can vary dramatically and change over time

 Why you like what you like
 Immediate sensations are compared to our past experiences and allow us to evaluate and form opinion
 Your Opinion : YOUR Experiences and how you interpret wine sensations

The Grassy smell of Sauvignon Blanc may vary depending on your own personal experiences with lawns or grass.
Your reaction can easily change over time as you have new experiences. Some may never get over the Kitty Litter.

 What You Experience (taste SQ)
 How You interpret your experiences determines YOUR personal preferences and wine values
 There are no right or wrong answers, only better.

Smell
Sight
Hearing
Sensory
Perceptions
Taste
Mouth feel
Touch

Lifestyle
Beliefs &
Religion
Culture
Social Influences
Values
Family &
Associations

Nostalgia
Memory
Imagination
Psychological
Factors
Knowledge
Recognition

“ A visionary is somebody who sees something that nobody else sees and is absolutely sure it exists, which almost makes it synonymous with delusional”
–Tim Hanni M.W.
Self-proclaimed “Swami of Umami”

 IN WINE : It is generally recognized as the relationship between Sweetness,
Alcohol, Acidity, and Tannin.
 IN FOOD: It is generally recognized as the relationship between Sweetness,
Salt, Acidity, and Tannin.
 Each of these elements adds to the harmony or perception of BALANCE in a wine.
 An understanding of these elements can then be used to compliment or contrast their presence in both the food and the wine.

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Salt
Sweet
Bitter
Sour

鲜
味

鲜 味
“delicious” “essence”

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Difficult to translate, commonly described as meaty, tasty, deliciousness, richness, and savory.
In the east it is not limited to just taste, umami is described as using all of the senses, including emotion.
 The perfect quality of taste
Taste vs. Flavor
The Chinese have acknowledge umami for over 1,200 years

 Identified by researchers at the University of Miami in 2000
 Identified Glutamate as a neurotransmitter
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Metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR4)
Receptor associated with protein rich food

 Protein rich foods such as eggs, cheese, meat, fish and shellfish contain high levels of glutamate.
 Glutamate rich foods also include seaweed, soy sauce, tomatoes, peas, mushrooms, truffle oil, green tea, bonito flakes, miso, worcestshire sauce, meat extracts and fish sauce.

With the five basic tastes in mind, sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami:
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Sweet and Umami flavors make wine taste drier, less fruity, more acidic, bitter and tannic
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Acid and Salt make wine taste more mild, more fruity, less dry, less tannic and less bitter
If you balance Sweet/Umami and Salt/Acid, in any food, the dish will have little effect on wine flavors and you can drink anything you want.
If your food is balanced, you will love your wine.

The plate:
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Sweet Apple
Roast Chicken
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Unseasoned steak
Salty potato chip
Tomato
Slice of lime
Prawn squirted with lemon and a sprinkle of salt
Salt for sprinkling
Piquant Sauce
The Wines:
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A Riesling
A Nice chardonnay
A robust Cabernet Sauvignon

Take a bite of the apple and a sip of the Cabernet.
 Should make wine harsh and unappealing.
Taste the beef.
 Should also make wine unappealing
Now squirt the apple with lime juice and try the wine again.
 Better?
Now sprinkle the steak with salt and take a sip of the wine again.
 Should taste entirely different
Next take a bite of the potato chip and a sip of the wine.
 The wine should taste juicy and delicious
Add a drop or two of your lime and then taste the wine,
 Again, you will find a great match
Now try the shrimp with lime juice and salt
 You should get a great match dispelling the myth about seafood and red wine

Now add a bit of Piquant sauce to the shrimp
 Should make wine harsh and unappealing.
Taste the shrimp with the Riesling.
 Should be a better match
Now try the chicken with the Reisling.
 Bland?
Now sprinkle the chicken with salt and a bit of tomato and take a sip of the wine again.
 Should taste entirely different
Next take a bite of the chicken and a sip of the chardonnay.
 How does that work?
Add a drop or two of your lime to the chicken and then taste the wine,
 Again, you will find a great match
Now try the chicken with lime, tomato and Piquant
 You should get a great match because your dish should be balanced

Umami does not need to be paired to separately, just
respectfully. It isn’t just one flavor profile but a composition of many.

What Kind of Taster are you?
Remember there are no right or wrong answers, only better ones.