Procedure for Serving Food and Wine
Aperitif
The function of the aperitif is to draw out the special moment in a mundane day, to stimulate the sense of expectation before the arrival of the next anticipated event, to tantalise the taste buds, tune the company, but not to satiate. On a hot day: wine spritzer with mineral water or else well-chilled sweet wine. On a chilly day: dry white sparkling wine or a dry white wine with a higher alcohol content.
Soup
Soup, unsweetened, spicy - old mature wines or grape brandy
Spring vegetable soup - light, fruity wines, such as Müller-Thurgau, Sylvaner, Grüner Veltliner
Cream Soup - mature Neuburger, Pinot Blanc
Starter
A starter should prolong the anticipation of the main course and retain a certain sense of suspense. It should not be too hearty and so one should serve light, white wines - most suitable are dry white wines to quench the thirst, which is usually greater at the outset of the meal. The exception here is a heavy starter such as foie gras. This we would associate with an aperitif and serve with a naturally sweet wine (special selection of berries and so on).
Main course
Fish
- baked, braised – dry white wines
- smoked, or in cream sauce – white wines of late-harvest type
- grilled, fried, or with a distinctive-tasting sauce – mature dry white wines or lighter red wines
- eel – light red wines
- sea fish – white wines (since sea salt and red wine would give a bitter taste)
Meat dishes
The old rule "white wine with white meat and red wine with dark meat" is valid WHEN the meat is cooked in a very delicate manner and the taste of the dark meat is highly pronounced. BUT the combination may vary depending on the way the dish is cooked:
- meat without a sauce – wine to suit the taste of the meat
- meat with a sauce – wine to suit the taste of the sauce
- braised or boiled meat – dry white wine
- meat on the grill, lean – white late-harvest wine
- meat on the grill or roasted in the oven, fatty – very full white wines, blush or rosé wines, light red wines
- mutton, game – deep red wines, richly tannic
- meat with a rich vegetable garnish – lighter wines than those paired with the type of meat itself
- smoked meats on a wooden platter – rustic white or red country wine
Cheese
fresh – light white wines, for example Müller-Thurgau, Sylvaner, Grüner Veltliner
buttery cheeses, cheese patés – Neuburger, blush or rosé wines
cheeses with white mould – light, dry wines from Pinot Gris
sliced cheeses – very full and round white wines, blush or rosé wines, light Pinot Noir
cheeses with dark mould – mature red wines, though not too tannic, special selection of berries
cheeses having a very distinctive taste – rich and well-structured tannic red wines
Food is a necessity, but matching it with wine is an art. Creativity is on your side. We wish you many wonderful ideas, plenty of inspiration and a fortunate hand in your wine selection. Do not, though, forget our fine Moravian and Bohemian wines.
Author: Professor Vilém Kraus, CSc.