Elven Wine Pairings

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Elven Wines: Food and Wine Pairings

Suggested food pairings for elven wines

White Wines	Recommended Fare
Brut	The driest of wines, brut mates wonderfully with egg and/or mushroom dishes. The wine is accented by nuts, popcorn, and various cheeses, but also pairs quite well with meals of pasta or seafood, especially lobster.
Cuvee	Triple cream blends of cheeses, such as brie or mascarpone, and sweet bread will compliment cuvee nicely. Mushroom or egg dishes, as well as shellfish, salmon, octopus, oysters, and fish eggs all pleasantly pair with cuvee.
Malvasia	Dishes served with malvasia often depend on the age of the wine. With a younger malvasia, simple fish dishes are frequently served and compliment the nuance of apricots, peaches, and white lily flowers. As the wine ages, it tends to often pair with pasta with truffles, as age brings more of a nutty flavor.
Chardonnay	Shellfish or meatier fish, such as cod or halibut, often mingle pleasantly with chardonnay. Alternatively, lightly seasoned poultry or pork also make a nice fit.
Muscat	Known for the bouquet of tropical fruits and honeysuckle, muscat is often served alongside foods that will counter its sweet tastes. Spicy, sour, bitter, or salty foods will heighten the aroma of the wine. Surprisingly, some people will mingle the sweet of the wine with a sweet brunch or alternatively as a before-meal wine.
Riesling	Riesling, often associated with aromas of apple, honey, and light spice, is balanced by the high acidity in certain fruit dishes. It also pairs with spicy foods, seafood, and pork or other smoked meats. Rich cheeses and avocados can also bring out the sweet bouquet of the wine.

Red Wines	Recommended Fare
Burgundy	Mild and/or creamy cheeses are often served alongside burgundy wines, however, smellier cheeses will overwhelm the wine.
Grenache	Grilled, stewed, or braised meats, such as beef, veal, pork, chicken, and other courser game animals tends to pair well with the low acidity and deep black cherry and raspberry flavors of grenache.
Merlot	Beef, chicken, lamb, and duck are all often served with a glass or two of merlot. The wine is often considered a universal compliment to any non-seafood dish.
Shiraz	Grilled or roasted beef, especially when cooked rare or with a spicy pepper sauce, can be wonderfully complimented by a nice glass of shiraz. The wine can also quite nicely accentuate the flavors of beefy stew, including stews cooked in wine or with a smoky spice like chilli.
Berrywine	Another dessert wine, berrywine can also pair with succulent cuts of meat or be served with tangy cheeses.
Cherrywine	Often very sweet, these are considered dessert wines or savored alone. The cherrywine can, however, sublimely pair with a salmon based dish. The strong sweetness of the wine will match the higher flavored salmon.

General facts about wine and grapes

Grape/Wine Type	Information
Malvasia	Malvasia grape vines prefer dry climates in vineyards planted on sloping terrain of well drained soils. In damp conditions, the vine can be prone to various grape diseases such as mildew and rot. The rootstock is moderately vigorous and capable of producing high yields if not kept in check. With the high variations in malvasia wines, it is sometimes confused or misconstrued with other wines. The wine is characterized by its heavy body that is often described as "round" or "fat," and has a soft texture in the mouth.
Riesling	Riesling grapes are aromatic white fruits displaying a flowery, almost perfumed bouquet as well as high acidity. The grapes can be used to make dry, semi-sweet, and sweet wines, which usually have varietal purity and are seldom oaked. The more expensive rieslings are late harvest dessert wines, which is produced from grapes left to hang on the vine well past normal harvesting time. By removing the water from the mixture, either by freezing or by evaporation caused by a certain added fungus, the resulting wine is felt to offer richer layers on the palate.
Muscat	Muscat grapes are one of the varietal grapes most known. Many share the name but each can provide a different flavor to the resulting wines. Despite the closeness in name, however, the muscadine grape shares no other resemblance. Muscat grapes have very sweet aromas and high sugar levels, which often results in bees, flies, and other insects. This is often a problem for the unsuspecting vineyard harvester.
Chardonnay	The chardonnay grape is often quite neutral, with flavors frequently associated from the wine being derived from oak or the conditions and terrain features of the vineyard. Chardonnay is also a component of most sparkling wines. The grape and vine are considered one of the more malleable grapes, adapting to a variety of different conditions. With relative ease of cultivation and their hearty constitution, chardonnay might be considered an easy vine. However, with its vigorous vine and extensive leaf cover, most vineyards must exercise heavy pruning and canopy management. If the vines are allowed to grow too boisterous, they will compete for food sources and store energy sources in their grapes. This will produce a high yield but of much lower quality.
Cuvee	The term cuvee is used to associate a wine that has been stored in a vat or tank during some point in its production. Since this applies to most wines, cuvee is often misassociated with its original meaning: a wine produced from a mixture of several grape varieties. Higher quality cuvees are often referred to as reserve wines, while a cuvee lower in quality than that of the main is called a second wine.
Brut	Brut wines are the driest of wines, not named for the variety of grape used to make the wine but for the dryness itself. There are three scalings of brut variety, "Brut," "Extra Brut," and "Brut Nature." Of the three, brut has the most added sugar, while brut nature has no added sugar.
Burgundy	Burgundy is another wine with great variation. The taste and value of the wine often depends on the yield of the vineyard. Low yield burgundy vineyards often produce the most highly coveted, and thus more expensive wines. High yield harvests are often served as a second wine or among less wealthy wine drinkers. Among the more expensive varietals, a label can sometimes make its name based purely on the grapes from a single vineyard.
Merlot	A dark blue-colored grape, often used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. A quick ripener, merlot grapes are often blended with sterner, later-ripening grapes that are high in tannins. Merlot grapes thrive in cold soil, preferably ferrous clay. Due to its early budding and thin skin, the grape has some risk to frost and bunch rot. Pruning is a major component in the quality of the produced wine.
Shiraz	Shiraz grapes often grow best in terraced vineyards. Drier wines are meant to be drunk when the wine is young, while the sweeter wines are meant to be savored when aged. Drier shiraz grapes are often fermented with significant stem contact to produce a higher tannin wine.
Grenache	Characterized by its strong wood canopy, the grenache has good wind tolerance and is best suited for warm, windy climates. The vines bud early but require an extensive growing season in order to fully ripen, making grenache one of the last grapes to be harvested. Grenache grapes are often used as a blending component, adding body and sweet fruitiness to the wine. It can, however, cause issues for a winemaker as it easily oxidizes and loses color. To compensate for the grapes low tannins, some producers will use excessively harsh pressing and hot fermentation with stems to extract the maximum amount of color from the skins. This can, however, backfire to produce a green, herbaceous flavor and a course, astringent wine lacking grenache's usual vibrant fruitiness.