FOOD & DRINK
New year, new wines - enjoy and experiment
H
ONBOARD’s wine guru Brad Mitton gives his five top tips for choosing wine for this year’s dinner parties
ave you ever wondered which wine to buy for which occasion and how to serve that wine and with which
food? Surely we all want to impress our guests and by serving the right wine with the right food, the whole evening can do nothing but improve. And if you really want to pull out all the stops, think about serving a separate wine as an aperitif, before going in to the wine during the meal. It really isn’t that intimidating so here are some tips from Brad to make this easy for you.
1. REGION AND COUNTRY - COOL AND WARM CLIMATES Generally wine growing countries have cool climate wines and warm climate wines. If you want fresh, crisp styles of wines you would look at northern more cool climate regions (opposite in Southern hemisphere) and if you wanted richer, heavier more fruity wines, you would choose from the southern warmer regions. Cool climate means less ripeness and more freshness, warmer climates produce big, fruity and sometimes jammy styles of wines. So go for Sicily for something big and fruity and go for Australia and Germany (Northern France) if you want something light and crisp.
2. WINE STYLE - LUNCH OR DINNER For a light lunch, choose light wines perhaps whites and rosés but if you’re having a dinner party you might want to take heavier styles of wines that fit dinner dishes and then you can go to light whites for desserts. So, lighter styles of wines for lunch with your pals and heavier wines for dinners. But you can always finish off with a light white (it’s almost cleansing on the palate).
3. GRAPE VARIETAL You could start with Sauvignon Blanc as a light aperitif and move on to richer Chardonnays with a fish or light meat starter. For reds, you can generally start with Pinot Noir (which are light and sometimes best served chilled) through to Merlot and Malbec which are soft medium-bodied wines and then for something with more character you might look at Cabernet Sauvignon
or Shiraz, more tannin and more spice. Those heavier reds are sometimes good with chocolate, desserts and cheeses (although light whites are also good with cheeses too).
4. CORK OR SCREW CAP Number one, don’t be a snob and think that screwtop wines are just cheaper, they aren’t. Specific wines are now developed to be drunk straight away, so the reason for the traditional cork is lost, plus let’s face it, the screw top is just a little bit more sustainable. If you are buying a good wine from a good winery for drinking straight away, it should not matter whether the wine is under cork or screw cap. The wine will not have been long enough in the bottle to be affected, so screw cap is easier, and you save the wine from perhaps being corky.
5. FOOD PAIRING If you are serving salad or fish, then stay with white and light reds and if you’re cooking a smoky and peppery barbecue, then go for fuller styles of red wines and try to balance those characters of the food and the wine on your palate. Fresh, spicy light dishes fit light styles of wines - smoky, peppery foods fit peppery wines.
This is not rocket science, wines are naturally made and really fit well with food, and it is all about experimenting for your own personal preferences. Most of all, enjoy and keep experimenting with different wine regions and countries of origin to find that perfect match. Don’t forget, drinking wine (in moderation) is meant to be fun.
To find out more visit
www.mittonwines.com
With over 25 years of professional experience in the wine industry, Brad Mitton imports selected international wines for leading sommeliers in Central Europe. He is based in the South of France and travels throughout Europe running gourmet events with Club Vivanova.
Brad Mitton is the founder and owner of Mitton International Wines (www.
mittonwines.com) based in Berlin and Club Vivanova (
www.clubvivanova.com) based in Monte Carlo. Bradley recently launched the start-up Brad’s Wine Subscription (
www.brads-wine.com) after demand for monthly wine deliveries from his clients.
ONBOARD | WINTER 2022 | 155
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