Wine and veal food pairing: serve your favorite dishes well

Wine with veal: find the right bottle

The perfect wine pairing does exist, and it depends on what you like to eat and drink, but also their attributes. While there's no exact science to pairings, some simple guidelines can help you choose the perfect bottle for a dish . Likewise, there's a way to directly find a great wine with expert recommendations on what to serve it with. No need for a wine consultant to guide you!

wine with veal

The basic principles of food and wine pairings

Although the taste differs from person to person, there are some basic principles that one can follow when pairing certain dishes with wines . There are well-known classic wine pairings , such as serving red wine with red meat, and white wine with fish, poultry, or white meat. But today's multitude of dishes and flavors, as well as the wide range of bottles available, make wine pairings more complex.

The harmony sought during an agreement depends on your menu, its dominance, its preparation and, of course, what you are going to drink. Drinking a wine and pairing it perfectly is not that simple. The idea is to ensure that the wine and the dish complement each other when consumed together, to create an explosion of flavors in the mouth. There are simple principles and rules that you can follow for better taste pleasure.

Before examining these principles and rules, you should know that there are many more parameters to take into account other than the only color of the wine or the type of meat or vegetarian dish to associate. You must first consider the dominance of each element, i.e. their key ingredients, their sugar, iodine, acid, tannin, etc. contents. It is partly because of this analysis that the red wine-red meat rule often works. However, this rule may no longer work if, for example, you cover red meat with a spicy sauce, or if you mix it with a salad. As far as vegetarian recipes are concerned, know that each wine goes well with your dishes. If you cook a spicy dish , you can pair it with a red wine , if your dish is based on coconut cream or a sweet and light dish , you can pair it with a white wine for example. And if you need advice, write to hello@oeforgood.com .

The principle of complementarity

The principle of complementarity is one of the most used. It applies for example when you take a light wine to go with a light dish , a medium-bodied wine to go with a fuller dish...

You can go further by looking for similar aromas and flavors, such as: earthy flavors for earthy ingredients like mushrooms , citrus flavors for fruity ingredients like pear, herbal flavors to go with ingredients like fresh herbs, spicy flavors to go with ingredients like chilli etc.

The principle of opposition or the marriage of constraints

The marriage of constraints is also widely used in food-wine pairings. It aims to harmonize two different flavors, so that they taste better together on the palate. This is the case, for example, when you pair an acidic white wine with a dish containing a creamy milk-based sauce.

A few rules to consider as well

Once you have mastered these two basic principles, you can deepen the quality of your food and wine pairings with these other rules:

The balance of densities

The densities or materials in the mouth of the wine and the dish must be balanced. If your dish is too dense compared to the drink, the latter will not be well savored during the tasting, and vice versa. You must therefore master the characteristics of certain vine varieties, and know the thickness of their wines.

The importance of sauce

If you have veal on the menu, that doesn't mean it's flavor that's going to dominate. Think about the overall composition of your dishes, the strongest flavors . Is your meat served with a lemon sauce? Is your dish sprinkled with cheese? These sauce flavors sometimes matter more than that of the main course.

The balance of flavors

Prefer a complex wine to serve complex dishes, and a simple wine for a simple dish. The richness of the drink in flavors and tastes must be balanced with that of the meal, otherwise it risks having a taste disagreement.

The regional wedding

This rule is very simple to apply and saves you time in finding the right bottle. Just pair a typical meal from a region with a wine from the same region . For example, a white from Alsace goes well with sauerkraut.

Some examples of veal wine pairings

The veal wine pairing requires the consideration of several elements. The peculiarities of cooking the meat, its sauce and its garnish play a crucial role . Similarly, the dominance of the drink requires special attention. The following examples illustrate two cases of successful food and wine pairings.

Wine pairing: Blanquette of veal

The French are very fond of blanquette de veau . It would be, according to a survey of “Notre Temps”, their favorite dish. The ingredients that accommodate it and which are decisive for its flavor are generally pearl onions, button mushrooms, carrots and a white sauce.

Don't forget the rule about the importance of the sauce on the final flavor of the meat! In the case of the Blanquette de veau, the sauce is made from blond, elongated roux and mainly fresh cream. Therefore, the choice of wine is facilitated.

So a tannic and powerful red wine should be ruled out, while delicate whites and reds go very well with it.

For the whites, prefer those that come from less exuberant vine varieties. Precisely, Chardonnay from Burgundy , Marsanne from the Rhône Valley and Pinot Gris from Alsace are the best pairings for blanquette de veau. As for the delicate reds, those from Pinot Noir are also good pairings.

Wine pairing: almost roast veal

The principle is the same as before. Here, for example, when you serve almost roast veal as a “truffle Viennese” , with a winter or autumn garnish, you will have to take into account the particularity of the veal. This is why you must opt for a semi-powerful, light wine, which does not imply that it is necessarily without tannins.

On the other hand, when you serve almost roast veal with bacon and cheese (“Orloff style”), a Pinot Gris from Alsace, a white from the Rhône Valley or Burgundy (premier cru or not) would be better. adapted.

Thomas' favorite

Le Côtes-du-Rhône

11,10 €

Grenache blanc • Roussanne

Wine pairing: veal chop

Veal chop tends to be very rich whether pan-fried or barbecued. This is because the meat is eaten close to the bone. For a successful veal wine pairing, you will therefore need a wine that resists the rich flavor of the chop. And as you know, you have to take into account the other ingredients of the dish.

Thus, for a veal chop with mushrooms and cream, choose a dry red wine . When made with the clove of garlic, you should opt for powerful white wines with a fleshy texture. They will contain the flavors and textures of garlic and cream.

These three examples may not be suitable for the wine or meal you want to pair. Anyway, if you want to know other original veal wine pairings, or if you need good wines to accompany your favorite dishes, theOé wine site will meet your expectations.

Wine and food pairings: Oé combines all its wines

The preceding rules and principles sometimes require great rigor in their application. This can get you lost in the quest for the ideal bottle, especially when you don't master all the subtleties of certain dishes or wines. In any case, if you encounter difficulties in making good agreements , if you don't know where to start, the Oé site will be of great and double use to you.

Indeed, you will find on this site a selection of wines all accompanied by the dishes to match them. For example, if you start with a bottle that you like and look for what dishes to pair it with, Oé offers you several dishes compatible with your wines.

With Oé, you will find good, healthy and organic labeled wines, chosen by our oenologists and produced by responsible winegrowers.