Perfect Pairings, Like with the Like

Latin Food and Wine Summit brings a taste of the world to Columbia

“Fay-jwa-da” — spelled Feijoada. It took me a while to say but no time at all to enjoy. This Brazilian stew is divine, and I had the chance to sample it recently at the University Club’s Latin Food and Wine Summit. This two-day event, sponsored by the University Club and partnered with the American Culinary Federation, was the second installment of its kind. The goal of this year’s summit was to educate UClub staff and members of the Missouri Chapters of the American Culinary Federation through seminars and food demonstrations. The concept for the event was based on the Culinary Institute of America’s World of Flavor Conference held in California.

I’m there for the wine portion of the event, which pairs international varietals with Feijoada and fresh salsas. Golden Barrel, along with importer Kysela Pere et Fils, set up various wines to showcase during the two sessions.

The room is set up like a test kitchen from on old PBS cooking show, with students in chef whites and monitors on either side of the cooking area — perfect for up-close viewing.

The first chef is Adauto Rodrigues, a consultant chef from Sao Paulo Brazil. He is a soft-spoken man — no Emeril Lagasse, that’s for sure — and quietly starts frying his pork belly. Feijoida is a typical Portuguese dish made with black beans and smoked pork and beef. Normally the stew is prepared over a slow fire in a thick clay pot and served with rice, collard greens, sliced oranges and toasted cassava flour. Cassava is a root and is usually processed into meal and flour. Brazilians use it as a condiment, much like the Italians use Parmesan cheese. A fresh vinegary salsa goes on top. The layers of flavors are smoky, salty, meaty, spicy and fatty delicious. Chef Rodrigues tells everyone that the locals typically drink rum with Feijoada because they think it helps with digestion. I, however, am dying for some sparkling wine to go with my sample, so off I go to the wine table to see if my idea of pairing works.

Guillome Portalellet of Kysela Pere et Fils mentions to the crowd that when pairing wine with foods, there are no boundaries. However, he does have personal recommendations for the stew that are similar to what I have in mind — sparkling wine, off dry Rieslings or spicy reds.

My first pick is a sparkling white from Lonko out of Patagonia, Argentina. The crisp and refreshing bubbles are exactly the type of palette cleanser I am looking for. It has a great citrus nose that also pairs well with the orange peel in the stew.

The next wine I try is the off-dry Riesling from Matheus Piesporter. It’s a fine wine, and I can see this pairing nicely with seafood or cheeses, but I don’t like it so much with the stew.

I then go to like and like — spicy wine with spicy stew. This pairing almost always works well. The Thorn-Clarke, Terra Barossa, Shiraz from Australia is a typical big, oaky spicy wine that holds up well against the hearty stew. But the sparkling wine is still the best, in my opinion.

The students take a break and then a few minutes later come back for the salsa demonstration. Chef Chadwick Isom, president of the Springfield/Branson ACF chapter, presents five salsas that students had developed during their weekend of classes.

The first salsas are the roasted green tomato salsa, Vera Cruz cucumber salsa and the mint ginger pineapple salsa. All are very fresh and delicious with lime, cilantro and cumin being the dominant flavors. Pairing wine with these flavors can be difficult, so I go with the two most obvious to me. First is the Wolfberger Pinot Blanc from Alsace, France. This wine is clean and crisp and just acidic enough to stand up to the lime.

The second set of salsas features smoky ingredients such as the smoked heirloom tomato squash and the grilled corn, pinto bean and ancho salsa. It’s smoky flavors, smoky wines — like with like.

I’ve said it before; I love Malbec, and the Tiza Malbec from Mendoza, Argentina, is killer. Aged in new French oak barrels for 12 months, this wine is complex, smoky, subtly spicy and still fruity. I love the wine with both salsas but frankly would love this wine with just about anything. Yum!

Also on hand from Golden Barrel is the 2006 Mi Sueno Winery Chardonnay. Rolando Herrera, owner and winemaker, worked at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars for 20 years before launching his own brand. His wines have won numerous awards and are befitting of the Latin theme of the weekend. I try this toasty chardonnay with the corn salsa and love the combination. The velvety texture of the wine goes perfectly with the corn.

The demonstrations wrap up, and some people linger around the wine table to sample the wines. A few days later, still impressed with the Feijoada, I end up buying a Latin cookbook with its version of Feijoada included. Aproveite! (Portuguese for enjoy!)

For more information on how to be a sponsor or attend the 2010 Wine and Food Summit, contact the University Club at 882-2586.