INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

A major problem in pairing salad and wine is the high acid levels of
most vinaigrettes, which wreaks havoc on wine, making it taste flat
and flabby. You can avoid this conflict by making dressings that are
less sharp but still vivid, with some of the following techniques:  ~
Replace part or all of the red-or white-wine vinegar in a recipe  with
balsamic, sherry, or rice-wine vinegar, which have fuller,  mellower
flavors.  ~ Use fruit juice instead of vinegar. Obvious choices might
be lemon  or lime juice, but think also of orange juice, apple cider,
cranberry  juice, or any fruit juice with a bright flavor.  ~ Replace
acidic ingredients with other liquids that are intense but  not sharp,
such as rich chicken, veal, fish, or vegetable stock,  worcestershire
sauce, soy sauce, juices from roasted ,eats or  vegetables, or roasted
garlic pure.  When designing a salad, be sure to include ingredients
that have a  natural affinity to wine. They'll create the link that
makes the  combination work.  ~ Herbs: Lots of wines have herbal notes,
including Sauvignon Blanc,  Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot.  ~ Greens:
Strong or peppery greens will want a wine with some  spiciness to it,
like Zinfandel or Petite Sirah.  ~ Vegetables: Roasting vegetables
concentrates their flavor and  brings out their natural sweetness.
Vegetables in this mellow state  work well with deeper, richer wines
like Zinfandel and barrel-aged  Sauvignon Blanc. Grilled vegetables
want a wine that "seen some oak:  to link the toasty, woody flavors, so
try a barrel-fermented  Chardonnay. Mushrooms in particular make a
salad more full-bodied and  earthy, making a red wine, such as Pinot
Noir welcome.  ~ Fruit: So many fresh and dried fruit flavors and
fragrances are  found in wine that fruit is a natural bridge
ingredient. Apple, pear,  melon, and even tropical fruit flavors are
common in Riesling,  Chardonnay, Gewrztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc, or
Smillon. Rip fresh  berries and cherries dominate many Beajolais and
Pinot Noirs, and  even hearty Cabernets can have similar flavors. Dried
fruit, like  figs, dried cranberries, apricots, and raisins will link
to wine with  bright fruit notes, such as Grenache or Gamay.  ~
Croutons: Toasted or grilled bread in a salad also works nicely with
slightly oaky wines.  ~ Nuts: Toasted nuts complement slight oaky,
toasty wines.  ~ Cheese: Wine and cheese is almost a clich, but why
does it work so  well? One reason is that the milk proteins in cheese
tame the tannins  and acidity in wine, making the combination smoother.
If the cheese  is very salty, like a blue cheese, pair it with a
slightly sweet  wine, such as an off-dry Riesling. Dry aged cheeses
like Parmesan or  Asiago, with their toasty, buttery flavors, link
wonderfully to  barrel-fermented and aged Chardonnays.  ~ Meat,
Seafood, Poultry: These ingredients can tame tannins and  acids in the
same way cheese does, and their fuller flavors and  textures make a
salad bolder and more substantial. Think of grilling  these ingredients
and going for an oakier wine.  From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster
collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini

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