Two sommeliers, four courses, one delicious debate over the art of food and wine pairing
Though it’s moved far beyond the “white wine with fish, red wine with meat” debate, the whole “which wine with which food” conundrum generally falls into two camps: “Critically Important” vs “Who Cares?”. The pendulum seems to swing between “be very careful” to “have whatever with whatever.”
For me, experience has proven that extremes are best avoided (as with most aspects of life). Some combos work amazingly well. Salty food and sweet wine; sauvignon blanc and goat cheese both come immediately to mind. Others totally flop (a young red Bordeaux with raw oysters anyone–go ahead and try it… I dare ya).
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So, it was with a certain degree of trepidation (but a good appetite) I entered into Round 1 of the “Sommelier Showdown.” Thankfully as a judge as opposed to a contestant. Staged in conjunction with Really Good People, Glowbal Restaurant Group and Fine Vintage (a respected provider of wine education in North America), the “chowdown” challenged two expert sommeliers–Heather McDougall of Sips Toronto and Certified Sommelier Clement Poirier–to pair the perfect wines with a four-course menu prepared by Black + Blue Executive Chef Morgan Bellis at Toronto’s Black + Blue luxury gastro arena.
Oysters with a ponzu/scallion dressing.
After a “palate prep” glass of Cava and some superb Steak Tartare Bites, we dove into the first course: Oyster. When it comes to the bivalve, I’m a bit of a purist, with the best combo revolving around a freshly shucked oyster and my mouth (with a squeeze of lemon, maybe). This serving was “decked out” with a ponzu/scallion accoutrement.
First libation up to bat; Poirier’s Yuzu-flavoured sake selection. The Tsukasabotan Yama “Yuzu Shibori” Sake was tasty stuff, but a bit too sweet for the oyster (though the wasabi hit smoothed the ride out a bit). The better match (in most of the room’s opinion) was McDougall’s choice of the sparkling rosé Cantina di Soliera “Lambrusco di Sorbara” from Emilia-Romagna. A bit of bubble and refreshing acidity combined nicely with the rather exotically dressed oyster.
The second dish was a melt-in-your-mouth tender slab of Roasted Halibut, served with–literally–peas three ways and topped with a beer emulsion. Both somms threw in interesting choices: McDougall with a Juwel “Weissburgunder Trocken,” 2023 (a pinot blanc from the Rheingau) and Poirier with the Hirsch “Reid Gaisberg Kammern 1 ÖWT’” 2021 Grüner Veltliner from Austria’s Kaptal region. A close call for sure, but in the end, McDougall’s Weissburgunder got the nod, having just a shade more complexity and weight, which worked well with the rich slab of fish and cut through the beer emulsion.
The Hirsch “Reid Gaisberg Kammern 1 ÖWT’” Grüner Veltliner and the Juwel “Weissburgunder Trocken,” Pinot Blanc were both excellent choices to pair with Halibut.
We started dinner with beef tenderloin cold and got the hot treatment for the third course of a perfectly done Beef Tenderloin accompanied by potato rösti, creamed spinach, truffle red wine jus, and dusted with foie snow.
Poirier came out swinging with a Château Maucamps 2010, an Haut Médoc from a warm vintage, while McDougall countered with a Poggio Foco “Sesa” 2009, a “super Tuscan” from Maremma (the French-grape enclave in Tuscany). In truth, both wines paired admirably, but McDougall’s Maremma offering got the nod largely, I would think, due to just a tad more complexity (the Bordeaux perhaps still being a bit too young). Personally, I wouldn’t have said no to either.
Finally, dessert: a dense and decadent Chocolate Mousse garnished with almond dacquoise, sesame cocoa nib crumble, and caramelized marshmallow ice-cream. Here the competing somms took very different approaches. McDougall opted for a Kortaki “Mavrodaphne de Patras” from the Peloponnese region of Greece. Though sweet, it had substantial acidity that cut through the richness of the dish without (seemingly) adding even more sweetness.
Poirier countered with an equally interesting choice: the Bodegas Toro Alabala “Don PX” 2012 from Spain’s Sherry (Jerez) region. “PX”–aka Pedro Ximinez–is a grape variety that is used to make what might arguably be the world’s most syrupy sweet wine, oozing with aromas of sultana raisin pie, and serving up similar flavours.
Unfortunately, it is possible to have too much of a good thing (in this case, sweetness). Both the dessert and the PX were delicious on their own, but together they steamrolled the palate with just an insane amount of high-calibre sweetness. In this case, McDougall’s contrast won over Poirier’s complement (though hats off to both for digging into the wine world’s “nether regions” for some inspired choices).
In the end, McDougall may have taken the competition, but the real winners were the judges. And I was more than happy to have wielded a gavel.
The Fine Vintage Sommelier Showdown Round 2 will take place October 20 at Black + Blue featuring two new competitors and a different featured chef. The Final Showdown (winner vs. winner) is November 17. Click here for more info.
