The purpose of this food and wine pairing analysis is to help you identify the characteristic flavors of certain fruits and vegetables, and determine how they pair with certain wines. I believe the first phase in establishing a food and wine pairing match is to first determine the flavors in the wine and then experiment with how those flavors can be matched with flavors found in fruits and vegetables. I therefore took a random sample of fruits and paired them with two bottles of white wines, the 2016 MBali Chenin Blanc/Viognier priced between $2.00-$10.00, and the 2016 Halleck Vineyard Dry Gewürztraminer priced between $40.00-$50.00. For the red wines, I chose the 2014 Trade Joe’s Coastal Syrah priced between $2.00-$10.00 and the 2012 Mora Estate Valpo priced between $40.00-$50.00, and paired them with a random selection of vegetables.
I first indicated the fruit or vegetable and then stated whether it Was a Match with the wine, Not a Match, or Close to a Match. In conducting the analysis, I first tasted a small portion of fruit and vegetable and then consumed a small taste of the wine. To obtain a better analysis, I then tasted another small portion of the fruit and vegetable, but rather consuming another small taste of wine, I spit out the wine into a bucket. This is to not become intoxicated by the wine.
These were my findings…
MBALI CHENIN BLANC/ VIOGNIER
WHITE WINE
BUTTER – Not a Match – I couldn’t taste the buttery texture of the Chenin Blanc/Viognier in relation to the buttery aftertaste finish of the Butter. Here’s some amazing nutritional fun facts on Clover’s Unsalted Butter!
PAPAYA – Not a Match – The Papaya was a little to sweet for the Chenin Blanc/Viognier.
WATERMELON – Close to a Match – The Watermelon had a mineral taste comparable to the Chenin Blanc/Viognier.
CANTALOUPE – Match – The light fruity texture of the Cantaloupe blended well with the light fruity texture of the Chenin Blanc/Viognier.
HONEY DEW MELON – Match – The light fruity texture of the Honey Dew Melon matched perfectly with the light sweet texture of the Chenin Blanc/Viognier.
BANANA – Match – The light fruity sweet taste of the Banana blended well with the fruity sweet texture of the Chenin Blanc/Viognier.
STRAWBERRY – Not a Match – The Red light dry fruit texture of the Strawberry over-powered the fruity taste of the Chenin Blanc/Viognier.
BLACKBERRY – Not a Match – The dry aftertaste of the blackberries black dry skin over-powered the fruity sweet finish of the Chenin Blanc/Viognier.
BLUEBERRY – Not a Match – The dry aftertaste of the blackberries black dry skin over-powered the fruity Chenin Blanc/Viognier.
RASPBERRY – Match – The aftertaste of the fruity red skin of the berries blended well with the aftertaste of the fruity Chenin Blanc/Viognier.
APPLE – Not a Match – The fruity apple slightly over powered the fruity Chenin Blanc/Viognier.
CHEESE – Not a Match – The sweet silky cheese didn’t cut heavy enough into the fruity Chenin Blanc/Viognier.
My conclusion is that the MBali Chenin Blanc/Viognier is a superb wine that pairs better with lighter vegetables although everyone’s palate is different and your pairing analysis may different than minds.
HALLECK VINEYARD DRY GEWÜRZTRAMINER
WHITE WINE
BUTTER – Not a Match – The Dry Gewürztraminer was to dry for the butter.
PAPAYA – Not a Match – The Papaya was a little to sweet the Dry Gewürztraminer.
WATERMELON – Not a Match – The watermelon was a little to sweet for the Dry Gewürztraminer.
CANTALOUPE – Close to a Match – The dry texture of the Dry Gewürztraminer was comparable to the light dry finish of Dry Gewürztraminer.
HONEY DEW MELON – Match – Although semi-sweet, the Honey Dew Melon had a dryer texture that matched the light dry texture of the Dry Gewürztraminer.
BANANA – Match – The banana’s fruity texture blended very nicely with the Dry Gewürztraminer aftertaste.
STRAWBERRY – Match – The light dry fruity red texture of the strawberry match well with the dry finish of the Dry Gewürztraminer.
BLACKBERRY – Not a Match – dry fruity black skin finish of the blackberries over-powered the dry texture of the Dry Gewürztraminer. 
BLUEBERRY – Not a Match – The blueberries dark skin aftertaste overpowered the fruity Dry Gewürztraminer.
RASPBERRY – Close to a Match – The red skin fruity Raspberries came close to matching the dry soft Dry Gewürztraminer.
APPLE – Not a Match – The fruity apple really overpowered the Dry Gewürztraminer’s light dry finish.
CHEESE – Not a Match – The sweet silky cheese was to heavy for the Dry Gewürztraminer.
My conclusion was that the Dry Gewurtzatramier is an excellent wine with interesting food pairing matches with the vegetables I had selected. As you may conclude by my pairing analysis, the Dry Gewurtzatramier pairs better with heavier fruits although everyone’s palate is different and your pairing analysis may different than minds.
RED WINE PAIRINGS
MORA ESTATE VALPO
CHEESE – Match – The soft creamy texture of the cheese balanced well with the soft tannin structure of the Valpro.
CARROT – Not a Match – The carrot was to strong for the Valpo.
APRICOT – Match – The red fruity skin aftertaste of the Apricot balanced well with the soft tannin structure of the Valpo.
SQUASH – Match – The green pepper aromas of the squash balanced well with the soft tannin structure of the Valpo.
ZUCCHINI – Match – The spices of the Zucchini blended well with the spices of the Valpo in the aftertaste. The aromas of the Zucchini overpowered the Valpo initially, but in the finish the spices of the Zucchini matched the spices of the Valpo.
CUCUMBER – Close to a Match – The soft melon flavors and taste of the Cucumber almost stood up to the soft tannin of the Valpo.
SWEET POTATO – Match – The sweetness of the sweet potato balanced very well with the soft semi-sweet aftertaste of the Valpo.
CASHEW – Match – The buttery creamy sweet taste of the cashew balanced well with the soft tannin semi-sweet aftertaste of the Valpo.
My conclusion is that the Valpo matched well with many of the vegetables that I had selected for this pairing analysis although everyone’s palate is different and your pairing analysis may different than minds.
TRADER JOE’S SYRAH
(TASTED UNCHILLED)
CHEESE – Close to a Match – The soft creamy cheese almost stood up to the bold Syrah.
CARROT – Close to a Match – The strong aftertaste of the Syrah overpowered the Syrah just a little.
APRICOT – Match – The Apricot’s red soft skin aftertaste balanced well with the dark tannin structure of the Syrah.
SQUASH – Almost a Balance – The below green pepper aromas and taste pf the squash almost stood up to the soft tannin texture of the Syrah.
ZUCCHINI – Close to a Match – I did find much spice in the Syrah that could match with the Zucchini.
CUCUMBER – Match – The waterly melon taste of the cucumber balanced nicely with the soft tannin structure of the Syrah.
SWEET POTATO – Match – The sweet aromas of the sweet potato balanced well with the soft dark tannins of the Syrah.
CASHEW – Match – The soft creamy semi-sweet taste of the cashew balanced well with the dark soft fruit aftertaste of the Syrah.
My conclusion is that the Syrah matched well with many of the vegetables that I had selected for this pairing analysis although everyone’s palate is different and your pairing analysis may different than minds. The fact that it was tasted unchilled didn’t make a difference in how I perceived the pairing analysis.
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