Q&A: Wine & Food Questions
brunch wine pairing
I will be hosting a brunch in Sept. and am considering offering a sampling of sparkling wines for comparison. Do you have any suggestions or \"rules of thumb\" to help in selecting the wines? The menu will lean toward Italian brunch items like smoked salmon bruchetta, crab cake benedettina (crab cake with poached egg over focaccia with lemon basil butter sauce and parmesan polenta), as well as fresh fruit.
Answer From Expert Becky Sue Epstein
A fun way to do this would be to choose sparkling wines from different areas of the world: Champagne from Champagne and Cremant d'Alsace from France; Prosecco from Italy; Sparkling wine from Napa, New Mexico and New England in the US; Cava from Spain; sparkling wines from other areas of the world.
Another way, if budget is not an issue: simply choose several different Champagnes from France.
But be aware that after two or three "tastes" most people forget there's a program and just drink and eat, so it's best not to be too strict with your comparison tasting.
About The Expert
Becky Sue Epstein is an experienced lifestyle writer and editor, concentrating on wine and spirits. For the past twenty years she has provided food, wine and spirits coverage for local, regional, and national publications including Art & Antiques, Food &
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Answer From Expert Roger C. Bohmrich, MW
This is a fun project! Since this is a buffet and you have a mix of foods, it doesn't make sense to try to make specific food and wine pairings.The best approach is simply to serve an assortment of sparklers from around the world. In these situations, there will always be favorites, and favorite matches - and there will be many opinions!
One idea that I have found is a hit is to have a "wine bar" where the wines are presented, perhaps with a simple "wine list" with descriptions, standing in a plexiglas frame next to the bottles. You can use a shallow tub of some kind filled with ice for the bottles, since you will want to keep the sparklers chilled.
A fun assortment might include some or all of the following:
Prosecco spumante (full pressure version)
A good quality Cava from Spain - Juve Y Camps or Cristalino (great value)
California classic method - Gloria Ferrer or Roederer Estate, or, to really surprise
your guests, Gruet Blanc de Noirs from New Mexico (wrap the
bottle in foil and make them guess!)
Franciacorta from Italy such as Bellavista
Champagne non-vintage Brut - Roederer, Bollinger or Pol Roger
Asti Spumante for the fruit & other desserts (except chocolate!)
About The Expert
Roger has enjoyed a lengthy career in the wine trade as an importer and retailer, and at present he is an educator, speaker and consultant. He set up and managed Millesima USA, a New York merchant affiliated with Europe's leader in direct sales of fine wines to consumers. Previously, he served as senior executive of Frederick Wildman & Sons, traveling regularly around the world to visit wineries and taste the new vintage from barrel. Roger became one of America's first Masters of Wine in 1993.
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