Pairing Food and Wine: The Romance and the Chemistry
William Schragis lectures at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley and is the Chief Product Innovation Officer at Barrell Craft Spirits. A graduate of Wesleyan University and the Culinary Institute of America, he previously worked as a sommelier in Eli Zabar’s family of restaurants and wine shops, and at Zachy’s Retail and Auction — one of the world’s leading fine wine and spirits retailers — where he managed sales and purchasing for the spirits department.
Overview
The history of wine and the history of food are wonderfully and intrinsically intertwined. In modern America, we see the finest cuisines from around the world. Many have wines that were developed to complement them, and those pairings have wonderful, historical, and romantic histories. In fact, there are some chemical explanations for why certain wines make certain foods taste better and why certain foods bring out the best in certain wines.
In this class, we will dive into the science of matching the building blocks of flavor, including acid, tannin, fat, spice, and salt. We will talk about some of the classic food and wine pairings and why they work. Finally, we will discuss some modern cuisines and what wines are being chosen to complement them by today’s top sommeliers and wine professionals.
This class will prepare you to take a deeper look at a wine list or ask more nuanced questions at the wine shop.