10/04/07 Chardonnay with Food

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran. Today is food and wine pairing day and to keep with our theme I want to make some suggestions for you as to the best foods to serve with Chardonnay. What many people like is not the taste of Chardonnay but the taste of oak. So thanks to that extraordinary 1980's Chardonnay boom we developed a taste for gooey vanilla butter bombs. Unfortunately I find these wines are a better accompaniment to a cigar than to a meal. Seriously! The lighter bodied crisper more delicate Chardonnays are suited to appetizers, soups and shrimp salads. They are also quite pleasant with simple roasted chicken. Now when you get into the medium bodied slightly more oak influenced Chards add some Dijon mustard to roasted chicken or pork tenderloin. It will also be lovely with fish that is accompanied by a slightly rich sauce. Now, when it comes to those big rich full bodied richly oak bomb Chardonnays, I must admit that in addition to a cigar they can be good with steamed lobster. You see you won't need to dip the lobster in the butter. Unoaked Chardonnay is my choice with food and softer or riper cheeses. If you're grilling fish that nice chard flavor from the grill seems to work well with barrel fermented Chardonnay. A good rule of thumb is - the richer and more intensely flavored the food is so should the Chardonnay be richer and more intensely flavored. If you're having friend over try a few different styles - Have fun with it! And thanks for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.