lemon-flavoured dishes

[cabsauvignon]

What wine would go well with lemon-flavoured dishes?

I usually love my garden salad with Italian/Vinegrette dressing(s), but it's not very easy for me to find the suitable wine to enjoy with those kinds of dishes.

Any recommendation?
:-)

[Innkeeper]

If you're still sticking with light reds Anela, stay with pinot. My personal preference would be riesling.

[wondersofwine]

Some rieslings have citrus notes and so do some chardonnays. One French chardonnay that I found to have lime accents was Verget Chassagne-Montrachet "Les Chaumes." It would go nicely with dishes with lemon or lime juice.

[Botafogo]

Sounds like a job for Prosecco, Tocai Friulano or maybe a nice Arneis....

[Thomas]

I've found that a semi-dry (Auslese maybe) Riesling does quite well with dressed salads, especially when the balsamic is fine and sweet.

[Thomas]

Here's another to start some trouble: we eat our salads at the end of the meal, so my wife and I tried a glass of Port. It was a good idea, especially since we had some fine blue cheese and walnuts in the salad.

[Innkeeper]

Sounds like a plan. We, at least I, eat salad at the end too. That is why I have to take a time out on any low acidic wines until after the salad is gone. Then I sip on the wine until it is gone, and then let mother bring in the dessert. The sweet Port would go great with the salad you describe. Hope they followed it with chocolate cake.

[cabsauvignon]

Thank you for your sharing.
I wonder Gewurztraminer will do or not? How about some red or rose wines?

[Randy Caparoso]

Gewurztraminer would be a disaster because it has relative low acid and a slight bitterness. When you use lemon or vinegar, you are introducing an acidic component to the dish. This is why Rieslings (dry or half-dry), Sauvignon Blancs, Pinot Gris or Pinot Grigios would do better. These are all wines which have a moderate to high acidity (i.e. tart sensations). When you drink lower acid white wines (Chardonnay, Marsanne or Viognier), lemony or vinegary dishes tends to make the wine taste flatter while the wine makes the dish taste, well, lemony.

Salads, however, cannot just be thought of in terms of vinaigrette. You are also talking about slightly bitter greens, and any type of component ranging from sweet/tart tomatoes to smoky, oily bacon, buttery croutons, salty/lactic blue cheese, etc., etc. So this is where you can become adventurous. In spite of their relatively lower acidity, most dry pink wines, for instance, are a great match for certain salads because they give a slightly denser feel than white wines on the palate, particularly when you are using a good mesclun mix. If you throw slivers of meat on your salad, soft red wines (like Beaujolais and Pinot Noir) can be delightful. I think Foodie mentioned enjoying a light Port when the salad is loaded with blue cheese. Why not? Dense, sweet, dark colored Port matches up royally with salty/rich blue cheeses -- a combination that can be reinforced by introducing slightly sweet balsamics into the mix.

It's always a matter of matching up components. Of course, the trouble is getting to know wines as much as foods. But when you think of it, there is far more variety of foodstuffs than wines. So it's not a difficult thing to learn if you put your mind to it, beginning by tasting and remembering as much variety as possible.


[This message has been edited by Randy Caparoso (edited 05-11-2002).]

[Botafogo]

Randy, just WHICH Gewurztraminers are you talking about? Most of the ones we carry are from the Alto Adige or New Zealand and are zinging with refreshing acidity (and relatively low in alcohol)....

[Randy Caparoso]

I wouldn't exactly call it "zinging," but it's true that cooler climate Gewurztraminers tend to have decent acidity. Just like, say, Chardonnay based whites from Chablis in France tend to have slightly elevated acidity in comparison to the rest of Burgundy and the world. By and large, though, Gewurztraminer is a "low acid" grape that just doesn't do well in food contexts requiring more naturally "zingy" wines such as Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling.

Let me give you an example how the most commonly found, commercial brand Gewurztraminers (i.e. from Alsace, France and the U.S.) interact with food. A slightly acidic cheese like chevre tends to match up better with an acidic white like Sauvignon Blanc. But put that chevre together with Gewurztraminer, and the cheese starts to taste a little sour and the Gewurztraminer dull and bland. Then take a lush, creamy/milky, soft ripened cheese like a classic Epoisses and try serving that with Sauvignon Blanc. All of the sudden the Sauvignon Blanc tastes sour and the cheese bland and flat. However, a softer acid, densely flavorful Gewurztraminer absolutely sings with a well ripened Epoisses; and for that to have happened in the first place is because Gewurztraminer is basically a lower acid wine type than Sauvignon Blanc, no matter where it's grown.

[This message has been edited by Randy Caparoso (edited 05-11-2002).]

[Botafogo]

>> Let me give you an example how the most commonly found, commercial brand Gewurztraminers<<

No one is talking about those, we are talking about seriously crisp and refreshing, high altitude, cool climate, low yield, hand made wines from family wineries that still only cost $12-15...and are great with just this sort of food (and some of them have a dollop of Kerner or Sylvaner in them for extra zizz).

Roberto

[This message has been edited by Botafogo (edited 05-11-2002).]

[Cheftel]

Sauvingnon Blanc is the classic choice to go with anything one would add lemon to.

Nuff' said

[vinman]

Cheftel,
Life can be simple. Perfect! Bet you can find a couple around Marlborough!

[Bucko]

NZ SB or Sancerre would dress my table. I agree with RC and Foodie that blue cheese and walnuts demand a nice Port, maybe a 10 y/o Tawny.