A Different Pairing Challenge

You decide to go out for brunch and you've made the decision that you are going to enjoy some wine with that brunch. Both of you look at the menu and sensing the warm spring day ahead of you and the bright sunshine coming in the window, you both order the same thing from the brunch menu -- bagel and lox with all the trimmings. It's got cream cheese, red onions, and capers on the toated bagel with fresh lox (smoked salmon for the unknowing). How do you choose a wine to go with this, usually a breakfast item?

Salmon gives you interesting options. While we typically think of fish as wanting white wine to go with it, the color of the salmon (that color would be called salmon if you were to ask the good folks at Crayola) moves you toward red wine. But, it's noon. Unless you're touring wineries, red wine just doesn't feel right. 

To complicate matters, you've got the cream cheese which would ordinarily ask for white wine, red onions with their acidity, and the capers that are a blend of salty and acidic. We really have a quandary here. We need to give this some thought.

Thankfully, the beverage manager, frankly by dumb luck, had our problem solved for us. While nowhere near the saltiness nor the price, capers share a number of characteristics with caviar. And, with caviar, as long-time readers might recall, nothing pairs as well as the bubbly. The interaction of the Champagne or other sparkling wine made from the methode traditionelle with the salty little food produces a highly sensory pop when they meet. It's an explosion of flavor.

But we still need to handle the lox. It too is salty and since it is smoked, a bit smoky as well. Looking down the list, I spy what seems like an excellent pairing. A Loire Valley estate, Charles Bove, in addition to the traditional white grapes of the area, also produces both Cabernet Franc and Gamay. Blending typically about 75% Cab Franc with about 25% Gamay and fermenting the blend in the methode traditionelle, they produce a sparkling wine that is fresh, gives the capers that explosive pop and pairs well with both the smokiness and saltiness. And to add to the sensory experience, the light shining in the window striking directly on the bubbles in the glass made for a visual spectactle as well.

Three cheers for thinking through the process for midday success.