The wines of the Bordeaux region, red or white, dry or sweet, all have one thing in common….they are not wines for the faint-hearted. All are rich and deeply flavored, and so it goes without saying the regional cuisine is also rich and deeply flavored: it has to be to stand up to the wine! Bordeaux is a deep water port, so seafood is easily accessible, but it is backed by the Landes (a forest west of Bordeaux, protecting the vineyards from the worst of the cold) so game and fowl are also well- regarded regional cuisine.

Basic food pairings:

St. Estephe: Game, red meat, Edam and Gouda

Pauillac: Game, red meat, mushrooms, Edam and Gouda

St. Julien: Game, lamb, fowl and soft cheeses

Margaux: Game, fowl, duck, Edam and Gouda

Haut-Medoc: Duck, steaks, game and ribs, Camembert

Pessac-Leognan rouge: Game, lamb

Pessac-Leognan blanc: Rich sea foods, fish, oysters and Chevre

Sauternes: Foie Gras, lobster and Roquefort

St. Emilion: Game, lamb, red meat and earthy cheeses like Reblochon and Tomme de Savoie

Pomerol: Game, fowl, veal and Comte or Cantel cheeses

One brief note regarding the preparation…complex sauces are fine, but simplicity always lets the wine have center stage. A recent dinner at La Tupina, a wonderful bistro in Bordeaux, with an open firepit and a pot of boiling duck fat for the pommes frites, showcases this perfectly. The veal chops and steaks were perfectly prepared, without sauce, but with outstanding flavor which allows the wine to shine without being overpowered. Of course, anything cooked in duck fat rocks…and the flavor, much like the duck itself, is simply a match made in heaven.

Shayne Hebert, Central Florida Wine Supervisor

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