The chef has built a seven-course tasting menu and the owner has asked you to match a wine to each plate. You have a cellar, a notebook and about two hours. Guessing will not survive contact with a scallop in beurre blanc. What you need is a method for describing a wine and a method for matching it.
Tasting with a structure
Professional tasting is simply describing the same things in the same order every time, so that comparison becomes possible. The method below is our own, written in our own words, and is not a reproduction of any awarding body proprietary tasting system. Work through:
1. Appearance. Clarity, and intensity of colour (pale, medium, deep). Colour tells you a lot: a red rim turning brick-orange suggests age; a very deep purple suggests youth and a thick-skinned grape.
2. Nose. First the condition — is it clean, or faulty? Then aroma intensity, then the families of aroma:
- Primary (from the grape): fruit, floral, herbal, spice
- Secondary (from winemaking): oak — vanilla, toast, smoke; lees — bread, biscuit; MLC — butter, cream
- Tertiary (from age): dried fruit, nut, mushroom, leather, honey
3. Palate. Assess the structural components one at a time, each on a low–medium–high scale:
| Component | What you are feeling |
|---|---|
| Sweetness | Dry → off-dry → medium → sweet |
| Acidity | Does your mouth water? High acid = mouth-watering |
| Tannin | Drying, grippy — gums and tongue, not taste |
| Alcohol | Warmth at the back of the throat |
| Body | Overall weight |
| Flavour intensity and finish | How much, and how long |
4. Conclusion. Quality, readiness, and — for us — who on board would enjoy this?
Pairing: the principles that actually work
| Element in the food | Effect on the wine | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| Sweetness | Makes wine seem more acidic and less fruity | Wine must be sweeter than the dish |
| Acidity | Makes wine seem softer and fruitier | Choose a high-acid wine; acid loves acid |
| Salt | Softens tannin, lifts fruit | Sparkling and high-acid whites shine |
| Umami (mushroom, aged cheese, cured fish) | Makes wine seem harsher and more bitter | Add salt or fat to the dish; avoid very tannic wines |
| Chilli heat | Amplifies alcohol, bitterness and tannin | Low-alcohol, off-dry, low-tannin — off-dry Riesling |
| Fat / richness | Coats the palate | Cut it with acid, or match it with tannin |
And two governing rules: match intensity and match weight.
Applied: a real yacht menu
| Course | Wine | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Oysters, mignonette | Chablis or Muscadet | High acid, saline, no oak |
| Scallop, beurre blanc | Oaked Chardonnay | Body and oak match butter and richness |
| Thai-spiced prawns | Off-dry Riesling | Sweetness tames chilli; low alcohol |
| Tuna tataki, soy | Pinot Noir, lightly chilled | Low tannin survives the umami and salt |
| Rack of lamb | Left Bank Bordeaux | Tannin cuts fat; classic |
| Blue cheese | Sauternes | Salt and sweetness |
| Chocolate tart | PX Sherry | Sweeter than the plate |
Onboard Notes
- If you take one rule to sea, take this: the wine must be sweeter than the dessert, or both will suffer.
- Sparkling wine is the great emergency pairing. Its acid and bubbles cut through almost anything fried, salty or rich.
- Write your tasting notes down. Six months later they are the cellar knowledge nobody else on board has.