2025 CabFranc Masters – Cabernet Franc Food & Wine Pairing Seminar
While attending the various events last weekend, one of the outstanding sessions was called the Versatile Franc Food & Wine Pairing Seminar put on by Sommelier Jason Santos and Chef Charlie Paladin Wayne of Cass Event Center.
When doing my food and wine pairing for my website, I always quote Andre Simon that “Food without wine is a corpse; wine without food is a ghost. United and well matched, they are as body and soul: living partners”. Every wine brings out the best in food and food brings out the best in wine! While some wines can be fully enjoyed by themselves, more often food heightens the experience. There are two distinct methodologies that I and chef, Susan my wife, have used for years. Jason highlighted and emphasized both during the presentation. They are Congruent meaning that the two are in balance and sympatico with each other. This is more akin to a peaceful accord between the food and wine sharing similar flavors or compounds. The other method is Contrasting. This is where a counterbalance effect takes place, more of a Yin-Yang effect, which showcases the opulence in the wine or the exotic flavors in the food.
The key in any food and wine pairing is to taste the food and take a sip of the wine. Repeat and repeat for three times to get the full effect to determine the symbiotic relationship between the two or does one intensify the experience of the other? A great food and wine pairing will result in being the two together are greater than the sum of the parts.
Jason broke down both the wine and food portions into the following categories:
Wine Food
Acidity Sweet
Tannins Sour
Alcohol Salty
Residual Sugar Bitter
“Dominate Flavors” Unami, Spicy
From there were treated to five wines and five foods. The idea was to pair the wines and food to find both a congruent and contrasting pairing. The wines were blindly tasted not knowing who the vintner was, but a full description of the food was given. All were Cabernet Franc or a Cabernet Franc blend. Then, if possible, use the flavor map to highlight the results.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
First up was a crostini with Taleggio cheese and roasted grapes. The toasted bread adds a touch of bitterness, balancing the richness of the cheese and sweet-sour nature of the of the roasted grapes. The sweetness in the dish can accentuate the acidity of the wine.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The next pairing was a roasted chicken with Portobello mushroom & farro. The description of loads of brown rice and the mushrooms provided earthy flavors for this dish, making it rich. The earthiness of the dish drives the wine choice – be it to compliment or to contrast it.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The third pairing was personally my favorite a Bee Bim Bop – Kimchi pork roll. While generally consisting of rice, carrots, spinach, soybean sprouts, mushrooms, Korean radish and Gochujang. The details were not fully given but I am working on them and will update this article when I receive them. The outside was coated with an incredible flavor. Some recipes can have up to 30 ingredients.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Next up was a seared lamb with dark cherries and Dijon. The description was that lamb’s gamey-fatty nature coupled beautifully with the cherries and mustard that counterbalanced the protein. The cherries serve to enhance the dish complimenting the gaminess of the lamb and the mission was to look for a wine that provided a similar experience. After all the tastings were completed, this was the crowd favorite by a show of hands!
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The final food pairing was a chocolate and salted caramel truffle. Bitter dark chocolate notes were quickly mellowed by the sweetness of the caramel, then the lightly salted offering perked up the taste buds. Desserts with “dry wines” are generally more difficult but following the bitterness of the chocolate one can generally find a complimentary wine. This was so rich and decadent!
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The five wines used were revealed at the conclusion as:
Photo ©Michael Kelly
#1 – 2021 Adeleida Cabernet Franc, Signature “Viking Estate” – 100% Cab Franc
#2 – 2022 Brecon Estate Cabernet Franc, 82% Cab Franc, 9% Cab Sauvignon and small percentages of Petit Verdot, Tannat, Syrah and Malbec.
#3 – 2022 J. Lohr Vineyards and Wines, Cuvee St E, 69% Cabernet Franc, 26% Cab Sauvignon and 5% Malbec
#4 – 2017 Justin Vineyards & Wines Justification, 65% Cabernet Franc and 35% Merlot
#5 – 2022 LXV Wines Reserve Cabernet Franc being 100% Cabernet Franc
Trying different wines with the five foods presented provided a great opportunity to find one or two which either complimented or contrasted beautifully with the foods.
My personal rule of thumb when trying different wines is to rely on my memory of what the wine tasted like from a prior experience and select one that should work. But as with all good plans sometimes it doesn’t necessarily work out that way. This is where one of my favorite anonymous quotes comes into play that I fully endorse “Adventure may hurt you, but monotony will kill you”. Experiment and don’t always go with the conventional thinking on wine and food pairings. And worse case, you can open another bottle wine!
Sláinte,
Michael Kelly
https://californiawinesandwineries.com
#CabFrancMasters