Chromatic pairing

Without wanting to offend sommeliers, the real pairing professionals, here follow a few simple rules to apply without stress, inspired to the principle of chromatic pairing

My long-time friend Silvano Prompicai, AKA the “legendary Prompi”, and I have been using chromatic pairing for years and it works fine for us. In short, chromatic pairing consists of very few and very simple and intuitive rules to determine the right pairing of wine and food. In no way should this be seen as an affront to all those sommeliers who have studied the subject for years and have almost made it into a science because our system is only based on experience and common sense and does not pretend to be infallible. The few rules are inspired by the principle of chromatic harmony which means that ‘white’ foods like fish, fresh cheese, risotto and white meats go best with white wine. Thus a Riesling is great with a fondue and Gavi with poached fish. ‘Red’ foods like pasta with tomato sauce, bouillabaisse and red meat, on the other hand, pair well with a young, ruby-colored wine. For example, a Gragnano with spaghetti with tomato sauce or a nice Chianti Classico or Valpolicella Classico with a grilled steak or a Bardolino with a bouillabaisse. Fried foods, which play on fragrance, ‘demand’ sparkling wines that are equally fragrant, including a Prosecco di Valdobbiadene. Try a Trentodoc ‘blanc de blancs’ or a Champagne with a burrata cheese and you’ll see how good a “white on white” pairing can be. The same rule applies to rosé wines. Lobster, salmon, Parma or San Daniele prosciutto thus pair well with, depending on the intensity of the color, a sparkling rosé or Chiaretto del Garda as well as Negroamaro or Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo. Strews, roasts and other dishes that cook long and have bold, almost brown colors go well with the great, aged wines that have a garnet, sometimes brick color. Aged cheeses like Parmigiano and grana, on the other hand, pair nicely with a fortified wine like Marsala or Sherry, not to mention balsamic vinegar and wines made using the Solera method. By the same token, yellow cheese and moldy ones go well with yellow and moldy wines, for example Gorgonzola and Sauternes. If you think about it, pairing by color is much easier to understand and do than trying to make sense of analyses of fat content and determining whether it is better to focus on tannins or acidity to cut the fat. This not to mention the role played by carbon dioxide and other factors. While our system may not be perfect it does work and, I can assure you, Prompi and I have a lot of fun using it to the dismay of pairing ‘experts’.