After an exhausting day we tend to rely on two things to console our weary souls: comfort food and a glass of wine. So why don’t we ever combine those remedies into one magical experience? We often discuss wine in terms of notes and complex flavors, while comfort food evokes a sense of well-being through scent and taste as well. Luckily, the county has plenty of yummy, nostalgia-inducing home-style favorites, so if you’ve been looking to maximize your soul-soothing try a few of these comfort food and wine pairing recommendations.
For an even heavier dose of comfort food and boozy blessings, look ahead to our Wine & Food Festival this coming June, where we welcome you to celebrate the best gourmet food, exceptional wines, beer, spirits, mouth-watering burgers, and award-winning chefs our county has to offer. Our beloved Burger & Beer Blast is going down on June 6, and if burgers aren’t the ideal comfort food, we don’t know what is.
Grilled Cheese or Mac and Cheese
As a rule of thumb, we recommend always going with a wine you really enjoy. Basically you shouldn’t go out of your way to try a superfluous pairing when it could ruin the point of eating comfort in the first place.
However, if you’re looking to pair a wine with a cheesy dish, like mac and cheese, look for a white that will cut through the fat. Something high in acidity to cleanse your palate, leaving you refreshed and ready for the next bite of cheesy goodness. We’d go with a dry Pinot Gris.
Fried Foods
The crisp, deep-fried breading of foods like fried chicken or crab cakes is possibly one of the most satisfying comfort foods around, but they can also be pretty greasy. We recommend going for something oaky to cut through the grease, like a Pinot Noir. If you’re looking for a white, try to find a buttery Napa Chardonnay.
Meatloaf
It’s almost as if everyone’s mother has a unique way of constructing this, well, sauce-or-gravy-drizzled loaf of meat. But it always finds away into your heart, so pair meatloaf with a big and juicy red. In particular, give a California Zinfandel a try.
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We recommend trying the meatloaf at The Cabin Restaurant in White Plains
Ramen
Soup is often the go-to comfort food on a rainy day. And ramen, loaded with noodles and other tasty bites, leaves you filled and satisfied like no other. However, because we love ramen so much, we think you should stay away from recommending a wine to pair with it. Hold tight to this piece of advice: Keep pairings within a style. Instead try sake along with your bowl of ramen, particularly an aged, high-quality daiginjo.
Shepherd’s Pie
Having juicy chopped meat like the meatloaf, we recommend going for a red. With a shepard’s pie, try a Côtes du Rhône, which is typically very food friendly, even for beginners.
Interested in all things Wine & Food? Learn more about Westchester Magazine’s Wine & Food Festival, June 4-9, 2019.
