Riesling food matches wanted

I'm hosting a Riesling tasting next week and have been asked for food matches. It's got be be finger food - as this is a tasting, not a dinner.

So can anyone help with
a. matches for the drier Aussie style
b. matches for the sweeter Germanic style.

Thanks in anticipation,
Sue

Dry Riesling is no problem - anything fishy except the most pungent, e.g. oysters which call for something less aromatic.

Sweeter Riesling - a real problem which explains why I have more than 150 bottles of German wine from various vintages and excellent producers which I rarely open. I have heard from some producers that they go very well with oriental food, Japanese, Chinese and even Thai, but I eat oriental very rarely and have never risked the combination fearing that Riesling's elegant subtlety would be overwhelmed, particularly by the Thai. I am keen to read any advice you get here.

b. matches for the sweeter Germanic style.

Prosciutto or other cured meats might work? I at least enjoy them, but food and wine pairings can be very personal so I wonder if others enjoy this too?

-O-(who enjoys curry and Nebbiolo...)

b. matches for the sweeter Germanic style.

Prosciutto or other cured meats might work? I at least enjoy them, but food and wine pairings can be very personal so I wonder if others enjoy this too?

-O-(who enjoys curry and Nebbiolo...)

I agree about the prosciutto.

I find that with sweeter Riesling--and I don't mean as sweet as late harvested--smoked foods, salty foods, foods with some heat, and balsamic vinegar (and only balsamic--maybe balsamic fig vinegar is even better) do the trick.

b. matches for the sweeter Germanic style

Anything that will go with fruit or fruit-based sauces should work. Ham has already been mentioned. Also pork and duck. I'd add hard cheeses to that list too.

Hot-smoked salmon and an just off-dry Alsace Riesling (Rolly Gassman) has been one ofmy favourite pairings.

I like off-dry Riesling and spicy Thai, maybe some spring rolls with a tangy sauce would work.

There are no foods which do not match with Riesling.

None.

This is a fundamental, eternal, immutable law of the universe.

Sweeter Riesling - a real problem which explains why I have more than 150 bottles of German wine from various vintages and excellent producers which I rarely open. I have heard from some producers that they go very well with oriental food, Japanese, Chinese and even Thai, but I eat oriental very rarely and have never risked the combination fearing that Riesling's elegant subtlety would be overwhelmed, particularly by the Thai. I am keen to read any advice you get here.

Dude: http://www.smithfieldhams.com/fullsize/2/3

Even better if cooked in a casserole with potatoes & cream sauce [some people like to add onions but I'm not the biggest onion fan in the world]. A little cheese probably wouldn't hurt either.

Life doesn't get any better than that.

b. matches for the sweeter Germanic style.

Prosciutto or other cured meats might work? I at least enjoy them, but food and wine pairings can be very personal so I wonder if others enjoy this too?

-O-(who enjoys curry and Nebbiolo...)

I have served a medium style fruity riesling with ham and it works quite well. I haven't tried the other cured meats. Thx, Otto.

I like off-dry Riesling and spicy Thai, maybe some spring rolls with a tangy sauce would work.

Yes it should work, but perhaps a little fiddly to prepare.

There are no foods which do not match with Riesling.

None.

This is a fundamental, eternal, immutable law of the universe.

Um .... um .... but don't you find some foods match better than others? Any favourites?

Dry Riesling is no problem - anything fishy except the most pungent, e.g. oysters which call for something less aromatic.

Sweeter Riesling - a real problem which explains why I have more than 150 bottles of German wine from various vintages and excellent producers which I rarely open. I have heard from some producers that they go very well with oriental food, Japanese, Chinese and even Thai, but I eat oriental very rarely and have never risked the combination fearing that Riesling's elegant subtlety would be overwhelmed, particularly by the Thai. I am keen to read any advice you get here.

Like Nathan has just said - ham. I serve a medium style riesling with a glazed ham for a Christmas or New Year lunch (keeping in mind it is summer in December/January where I am). It goes well with the salty ham and the fruitiness of the brown sugar / pineapple glaze that I use.

But I'm not doing a glazed ham for this tasting, possibly just shaved ham pieces. I'm wondering for this tasting what cheese would go best with the ham. I could wrap a piece of ham around a piece of cheese - perhaps feta - and secure with a toothpick. I wonder if a piece of pineapple would add to the combo. Or maybe another type of cheese would be better with the ham?

I agree about the prosciutto.

I find that with sweeter Riesling--and I don't mean as sweet as late harvested--smoked foods, salty foods, foods with some heat, and balsamic vinegar (and only balsamic--maybe balsamic fig vinegar is even better) do the trick.

how would you serve this as finger food, Thomas? The sweetest wine is a Spatlese, so lots of acidity to balance the sugar.

Um .... um .... but don't you find some foods match better than others? Any favourites?

Sue, you've already received some good advice. I have my own doubts about matching foods to very sweet (e.g. BA, TBA and Eiswein) Rieslings, though I know of others who feel quite differently, but off-dry and semi-sweet Rieslings are amazingly versatile with food. A lot of Asian-inflected cooking goes well, so how about Thai fish cakes or chinese-style BBQ ribs, a traditional gambas al ajillo, ebi shu mai, cha siu bao, fresh fruits, some sharp cheeses? Salmon with Riesling is also a favorite of mine, but not easily made into finger food, unless you get some smoked salmon for service on bread or crackers.

Mark Lipton

b. matches for the sweeter Germanic style

Anything that will go with fruit or fruit-based sauces should work. Ham has already been mentioned. Also pork and duck. I'd add hard cheeses to that list too.

Hot-smoked salmon and an just off-dry Alsace Riesling (Rolly Gassman) has been one ofmy favourite pairings.

Interesting. I haven't tried duck with riesling. Although I do like duck cooked with 'five spices' to matched to gewurztraminer. Actually, duck is a very versatile wine matching food when you think about it.

Do you serve the hot smoked salmon on a cracker, or what? The one Alsace Riesling I am putting in the tasting is fairly dry. But I'm guessing the oiliness of the salmon and the oiliness of Alsace Rieslings is what works here?

Oops, just realised the Alsace Riesling has food match suggestions on the back label. It has symbols for a pig, a chicken, a fish, a lobster and a Chinese character. But it doesn't say how to prepare them.

Sue, you've already received some good advice. I have my own doubts about matching foods to very sweet (e.g. BA, TBA and Eiswein) Rieslings, though I know of others who feel quite differently, but off-dry and semi-sweet Rieslings are amazingly versatile with food. A lot of Asian-inflected cooking goes well, so how about Thai fish cakes or chinese-style BBQ ribs, a traditional gambas al ajillo, ebi shu mai, cha siu bao, fresh fruits, some sharp cheeses?

Pretty good list there. And with earlier posters mentioning salty food.

We did a German Riesling tasting last month, some of the successful matches were:
Thai chicken curry in papadum
shrimp with alfalfa sprouts wrapped in diakon
king crab stuffed mushrooms
crisp thin latkes with apple-braised pork with an apple shallot sauce
lobster-mango spring rolls.

As to the dry Rieslings, how do you make choucroute a finger food?

Um .... um .... but don't you find some foods match better than others? Any favourites?

Sue, you've already received some good advice. I have my own doubts about matching foods to very sweet (e.g. BA, TBA and Eiswein) Rieslings, though I know of others who feel quite differently, but off-dry and semi-sweet Rieslings are amazingly versatile with food. A lot of Asian-inflected cooking goes well, so how about Thai fish cakes or chinese-style BBQ ribs, a traditional gambas al ajillo, ebi shu mai, cha siu bao, fresh fruits, some sharp cheeses? Salmon with Riesling is also a favorite of mine, but not easily made into finger food, unless you get some smoked salmon for service on bread or crackers.

Mark Lipton

More good advice from you too Mark but uunfortunately ribs would be far too messy for the wine tasting. Fish cakes sound good. No idea what a gamba is - or those other foreign language suggestions. Sharp cheese - any particular one. Something I could match or stuff into apricot, perhaps?
I'm thinking perhaps I could spread smoked salmon onto a rice cracker.

Cheers,
Sue

[James Roscoe]

We drink a lot of qba riesling with chicken casseroles of various sorts. We drink riesling with roasted chicken. We drink riesling with crab dishes. We drink riesling with shrimb. Well, you get the idea. It's not meant to be hard.

I agree about the prosciutto.

I find that with sweeter Riesling--and I don't mean as sweet as late harvested--smoked foods, salty foods, foods with some heat, and balsamic vinegar (and only balsamic--maybe balsamic fig vinegar is even better) do the trick.

how would you serve this as finger food, Thomas? The sweetest wine is a Spatlese, so lots of acidity to balance the sugar.

Sue,

The smoked meats can be sliced and served on bread or crackers. You can drizzle a good balsamic over raw vegetables served on crackers or toast points. You can serve spring rolls, as someone else suggested. Cuts of sausages on crackers or bread. Spiced mushrooms on crackers or toast.

It is endless, and Riesling can handle even your seeming mistakes...

Pretty good list there. And with earlier posters mentioning salty food.

We did a German Riesling tasting last month, some of the successful matches were:
Thai chicken curry in papadum
shrimp with alfalfa sprouts wrapped in diakon
king crab stuffed mushrooms
crisp thin latkes with apple-braised pork with an apple shallot sauce
lobster-mango spring rolls.

As to the dry Rieslings, how do you make choucroute a finger food?

King crab stuffed mushrooms - sounds intrguing. Would also be a pretty good match to pinot gris (not grigio), I suspect. I find many kiwi pinot gris wines go well with both seafood and mushrooms. Alas, King Crab (or any kind of crab) is virtually impossible to find where I am.

Choucroute? Pickled cabbage? Would be interesting to try if I was doing an Alsace tasting, but for this exercise, I don't think so.

A lot of Asian-inflected cooking goes well, so how about Thai fish cakes or chinese-style BBQ ribs, a traditional gambas al ajillo, ebi shu mai, cha siu bao
No idea what a gamba is - or those other foreign language suggestions.

I'm not Mark, but gambas al ajillo are shrimp in garlic, classic tapas. Ebi shumai are shrimp dumplings. Cha siu is Chinese BBQ Pork, I assume bao are the filled buns.

We drink a lot of qba riesling with chicken casseroles of various sorts. We drink riesling with roasted chicken. We drink riesling with crab dishes. We drink riesling with shrimb. Well, you get the idea. It's not meant to be hard.

Absolutely, not meant to be hard. But it's a wine tasting and I want little 'bites' that people can pick up, pop in their mouth and try with the wine - without needing utensils and without getting sticky food all over their hand that is then going to smear the glass. And I want stuff that is absolutely simple to prepare. Anything that can be popped onto a cracker or stabbed with a toothpick.

Have you tried smoked chicken?

Cheers,
Sue

I like Spatlese and Auslese Riesling with fruit desserts--obsttorte, erdbeerentorte (mixed fruit tart, strawberry tart), etc. To turn it into finger food consider cookies with apricot preserves--Google for apricot cookies or apricot cookie bars for recipes on the Internet. Dried peaches and apricots might work too.

With the drier Riesling try chicken pieces in a Teriyaki marinade (chicken could be boiled first or broiled or grilled) and then cut them into tooth pick servings.
Again, pineapple chunks might be added (although I'm more inclined to use the pineapple chunks with ham rather than chicken.)

Can you get fresh white asparagus? Probably not. But that can be cooked until just tender and served cold with a dry Riesling (or Sauvignon Blanc.) People can pick up the asparagus spears by hand or can be cut into smaller pieces for toothpicks. Alsace is big on onion tarts. I don't know how Riesling with fried onion rings would pair but maybe that is a possibility. Here we can buy mini-quiches (frozen) for parties and pop them in the oven just before serving. These also could match with dry Riesling and maybe even the Spatlese.

A lot of Asian-inflected cooking goes well, so how about Thai fish cakes or chinese-style BBQ ribs, a traditional gambas al ajillo, ebi shu mai, cha siu bao
No idea what a gamba is - or those other foreign language suggestions.

I'm not Mark, but gambas al ajillo are shrimp in garlic, classic tapas. Ebi shumai are shrimp dumplings. Cha siu is Chinese BBQ Pork, I assume bao are the filled buns.

Dale's not me -- he's my alter ago. So, naturally, he's 100% right. Sorry for using foodie-speak, but I'm reading Anthony Bourdain's "Nasty Bits" right now, so I'm in full foodie-mode. To elaborate, gambas al ajillo are shrimp cooked in olive oil with plenty of garlic and chili pepper flakes. It's fast to make and usually a big hit. If you have a Chinese bakery in your area, you can usually find red pork buns (cha siu bao in Cantonese dialect and old-style transliteration) which make for nice finger food.

Have fun!
Mark Lipton