Pairing Food and Wine For Dummies

Introduction 1

Part I: Appreciating the Marriage of Food and Wine: The Nose Knows 7

Chapter 1: The Whole Is Greater Than the Sum of the Parts 9

Chapter 2: How People Smell, Taste, and Touch Food and Wine 19

Chapter 3: Introducing Food and Wine: A Classic Couple with Ups and Downs 37

Part II: The Nuts and Bolts: Developing Strategies for Food and Wine Pairing 47

Chapter 4: Food and Wine Pairing 101: Getting It Right (Most of the Time) 49

Chapter 5: Focusing on the Food: Flavor, Aroma, and Taste Harmony 67

Chapter 6: Considering Regional and Historical Angles for Pairing Food and Wine 85

Chapter 7: Age Isn’t Just a Number: Age and Pairing Rules 93

Chapter 8: Serving Wine: Essential Strategies to Follow 103

Part III: Sorting Out the World of Wine 119

Chapter 9: Going with Dry Whites and Rosés 121

Chapter 10: Turning toward Dry Reds 131

Chapter 11: Scoping Out the Sparkling with Bubbles 141

Chapter 12: Perusing Off-Dry, Sweet, and Fortifi ed Wines 151

Part IV: Uncovering the Best Wine Bets with World Cuisine (and Cheese)  163

Chapter 13: Heading to the Mediterranean: Land of Olive Oil 165

Chapter 14: Staying Close to Home: North America Food 189

Chapter 15: Warming Up To Northern Europe: Land of Butter and Animal Fat 211

Chapter 16: Venturing to Eastern Europe: Those Lovely Light Dishes 235

Chapter 17: Bringing On the Spice: Asia 245

Chapter 18: Visiting the Land of Chiles: Mexico and South America 281

Chapter 19: Sampling the Flavors of the Middle East and North Africa 297

Chapter 20: The Classic Pairing: Wine and Cheese 309

Part V: Party Time! Pairing with Friends . . . and Professionals 317

Chapter 21: Dining Out: Finding Places That Appreciate Wine 319

Chapter 22: Dining In: Becoming the Perfect Host 333

Chapter 23: So You Want to bBe a Sommelier 341

Part VI: The part of Tens 351

Chapter 24: Ten Food-Firendly Wines 353

Chapter 25: Ten Foods That Flatter Wine 357

Index 361