Make mine wine: take the guesswork out of pairing wine with our global buffet table holiday menu - includes information on dessert wines

Vegetarian Times, Dec, 1996

Take the guesswork out of pairing with our Global Buffet Table holiday menu.

Wine and food ... food and wine. The Europeans understand how both taken together create great meals. While the hustle and bustle of daily life in the United States regrettably makes the European-style dining experience less commonplace, there are certain times of the year to take advantage of it. And the holiday season is the one time when almost everyone has the opportunity to relax, create the proper ambiance necessary for a great meal and enjoy this experience to the fullest.

Wine is much more than a handmaiden to great food. Today, people commonly select a wine first, then choose food to match, instead of the other way around. Wine is no longer an afterthought, no longer a junior player in the total cuisine experience. Increasingly, people have come to understand wine and food are meant to go together; wine and food play off against each other to create an experience that is greater than the individual parts. If you've ever experienced a great wine at a wine tasting absent food, and that same wine with food, you'll understand. Many wines are made to be had with food, when their subtle qualities and character can stand out.

And the selection of fine wines has never been better, constantly expanding to offer a world of choice. Consumption of so-called premium wines from small producers in the competitive middle-and upper-price ranges has increased over the past several years, while consumption of wines as a whole has remained constant. As they learn about wines, people simply are becoming more discriminating and more demanding. The consumer standards have become more rigorous; the wine producers have listened and responded.

While much is known about the wide range of major varietals (a word meaning wines made chiefly from one variety of grape) of wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, more and more people are attuned to how these wines can vary significantly from country to country, from region to region and from winemaker to winemaker.

A rapidly emerging segment of the fine wine field is wine produced according to the principles of organic farming and the classic traditions of winemaking. Here, winemakers with their own vision of how wine should be made organically, are making their presence felt through the outstanding quality of their offerings. Many would be classified as boutique wineries, because their output is quite small, generally no more than several thousand cases and as few as several hundred per year. By the standard benchmarks of the business,

Organic wines are produced using organically grown grapes. Synthetic fertilizers or pesticides are not allowed on the vines or in the soil. In France, for example, a country that produces outstanding organic wines, the soils have to be declared free of pesticides (which typically takes years to establish) before the wines can be certified organic.

Strict rules also govern the winemaking process and storage conditions. Many chemical substances that are used to stabilize wine are avoided by organic winemakers. Sulfites, which are used to stabilize wine and ensure consistency of shelf life, are used only minimally, if at all by winemakers. And in France, only pure sulphur dioxide, not chemical powders is used, and then only in amounts that are far less than commonly used in conventional winemaking. Several wines get all the sulfites they need from the grape itself, which contains enough naturally occurring sulfites to suffice during the winemaking process.

In the United States, wine can be sold with up to 350 parts per million (ppm) of sulfites. Organic standards limit sulfites to 100 ppm or less, and most European organic wines are even lower. Many are so low, less than 10 ppm, that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms' mandatory "contains sulfites" warning on each label is not even required.

Some people have little tolerance for sulfites: They experience headaches or other side effects when the amounts in red wine are too high. The Food and Drug Administration estimates up to 5 percent of the population is allergic to this substance. For them, organic wines are an especially good choice, specifically those with minimal amounts of sulfites. But for others, who are just interested in a fine wine, organics can effectively compete for the business. Today, in contrast to years past, interesting and exciting full-flavored and well-balanced wines are being made in the organic manner, including a number from Europe and some from the United States. Some highly acclaimed wines are produced using organic principles, even though they are not marketed or advertised that way, for fear of limiting the breadth of their market. In certain circles, a stigma is still attached to organic wines, but that is rapidly changing.

A wonderful occasion to sample organic wines (and others as well) is during a special holiday meal. When people come together for a multicourse meal,it affords a rare opportunity to experience several wines at one meal, each being matched to a specific course. One can rarely do this on a routine basis: There aren't enough people gathered around the kitchen table to finish off several bottles of wine and the so-called shelf life of opened, unfinished bottles of wine is limited. But, enough of the formalities. Let's discuss our wine choices for a wonderful and festive holiday buffet. Our wines were chosen to present a cross-section of varietals and winemaking techniques.