Jelly beans and wine? Now that's weird

Who would ever have dreamed of holding a wine tasting at the Carnegie Science Center? Deb Mortillaro and Mike Gonze of Palate Partners, that's who. This dynamic duo of wine and food in Pittsburgh continues to come up with exciting new concepts to make wine education fresh and fun. Last Thursday evening at the Science Center was their latest triumph. A sold-out crowd of 75 wine-lovers gathered in the Works Theater to hear about food and wine pairing from visiting lecturer Laurie "The Wine Coach" Foster, author of "The Sipping Point: A Crash Course in Wine" (TWC Press, 2008).

The first half of Ms. Foster's presentation was a very basic lesson in sensory evaluation of wine, using nontechnical terms any neophyte would understand. The "Weird Science" portion of the program began after each participant was served a plate containing potato chips (salt), slices of sopressata and a piece of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (protein), a thimble of vinaigrette (acid), a Slim Jim Stick (spicy) and jelly beans (sweet). Each food was tasted with two whites and two reds.

The wines paired with the food assortment were:

• Yunquera Albillo, a crisp white from the Ribero del Duero region of Spain. The albillo grape is native to that region and is normally blended into red wines of that appellation to add acidity.

• Eberle Chardonnay from Paso Robles on California's Central Coast. With good body and full flavors of pineapple, pear and citrus on top of buttery oak and vanilla, this is a white with fine balance and a long finish.

• Babich Pinot Noir from the cool Marlborough region of New Zealand is a light-body red with aromas of red berries enrobed in spice and earthiness. Tannins are soft and light.

• Chateau du Trignon Gigondas 2004, from France's Rhone Valley. This powerful red made from grenache, mourvedre, cinsault and syrah grapes exhibited strong aromas of black fruits, tobacco, chocolate, earth and licorice. Ample tannins have been softened with bottle age but add to this wine's big profile.

The audience experimented with each wine, tasting it first before and then after sampling each food on the plate to test the effect the food had on the wine and vice versa. What they learned was that salt lowers the perception of acid and that was clear after sipping the albillo following a bite of potato chip. Suddenly the crispness had disappeared and that previously appealing wine tasted flabby and unbalanced. The chardonnay, a heavier and richer wine, suffered less. The pinot noir lost a lot of pizazz when paired with the chips while the Gigondas was unaffected. The albillo and pinot noir worked well with salad dressing. In their case, the "weird science" element is that two acids neutralize each other and one improves the taste of the other so these wines with a high-acid profile paired well with the acid in the vinegar. All of the wines worked well with the protein foods, although I personally preferred the acidic albillo with the sopressata and the tannic Gigondas with the cheese. This is not surprising since the lacto-proteins in cheese tend to create a barrier on the gums that reduces the harshness of any tannin in red wine. That is the reason for the old saying in wine circles: "Buy with bread but sell with cheese." Cheese has a way of improving faults in wine.

All of the wines were undrinkable with jelly beans and that was no surprise. Although a few big red wines can be paired with bittersweet chocolate, none of the wines in the tasting had the requisite sweetness for jelly beans. Desserts and sugary preparations require wines that are as sweet or sweeter than they. A semi-sweet sparkling wine such as Moscato d'Asti or a fortified wine such as port are normally safe choices. The Slim Jim, a smoky and spicy meat stick, in my opinion did not improve the taste of any of our wine samples although I expected it to marry well with the Gigondas.

For the audience, it was a beginning lesson in wine and food pairing. After uncovering some of the "weird science" of wine firsthand, they moved on to some of the science experiments in the Work Station where they could experience the un-weird science of lightening, oxygen, fire, electricity and a panoply of other fascinating scientific experiments. Many of the adults had never visited the center and were delighted to discover that it's as much fun for grown-up as it is for kids.

Palate Partners Deb and Mike continue to present useful and interesting classes for our local wine enthusiasts. Those coming up in April and May include a wine component tasting, a blind tasting, a chocolate and wine and a three-session class in all things wine that they call Wine 101.

There is even a chance to taste a wide range of balsamic vinegars. The partners recently were in Italy and toured the vinegar producers in Modena to meet the men and women who make the classic aged vinegars. To see the full calendar of their classes, go to dreadnoughtwines.com and click on "class schedule" at the top of the page.