F&W: Bread & Wine

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran and today is food and wine pairing day. There are so many more interesting types of breads in the market than there were say five or ten years ago. Today let's talk breads and discovering the wines that work well with them. I'm really encouraged by the selection in breads that are readily available in most markets. There is the olive bread or the nut breads and some of the best potato breads – the breads that incorporate cheeses like assiago and cheddar are fabulous served warm. I had a great bread which had figs, pears, and walnuts in it. All of these breads are interesting and certainly bread itself is a traditional match to wine. I have to admit that I can be perfectly satisfied with a good loaf and an agreeable bottle of wine. But there are a few bread and wine pairings that I would readily recommend. First of all calamato olive bread is equally sensational with two different kinds of wines. Either a very fruit forward Zinfandel or an earthy style of Italian Barbera. The fig, pear and walnut bread I mentioned was super with a semi dry Riesling. Now nut breads are fun to me because they are remarkably different, more aromatic and flavorful if you slice and toast them, as opposed to eating it at room temperature. Toasted the nut breads lend themselves well to a buttery Chardonnay. If it's simply served sliced at room temp, then I like a blended red - like a Meritage or even a simple Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. I am a bit of a purest when it comes to good bread, I don't spread things on top of it. Perhaps just a slight dip into extra virgin olive oil, and if that is the case, then I have a wine with just a touch crisper acidity. Seek out those great breads in your market, it's just so pleasant to have a glass of wine as a compliment. And thanks for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.