Food pairing for new varietal wines

Posted by Darby on April 2, 2009 under General | Be the First to Comment

The world of wine is constantly changing. In Australia the past two decades has seen the proliferation of new varieties and the revival of a few others that were fading from fashion. The story of the changing varietal scene is told on Vinodiversity, the companion site to Albarino to Zinfandel.

As I was building Vinodiversity interest in new varietieties has grown among grape growers, wine makers and consumers. Many readers were asking me what to pair with these less familiar wine varieties. Wine makers were telling me that there was a hurdle to just get people to try new varieties.

My answer to both of these issues lies, at least partially in food pairing, hence for the idea of a guide. Food pairng for new varietal wines.

My good friend Geroge Biron of Sunnybrae came up with the name Albarino to Zinfandel. This fitted well, the name of two varietes which are relatively unknown but emerging in Australia, and their names neatly span the alphabet.