We hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s series on food trends and the impact they have on wine. The series has been based on an article by John Mariani that appeared in Celebrated Living.
Here’s a recap of the top eight trends:
- Slow Food Movement
- Farm to Table Eating
- Olive Oils
- Pizza
- Pork Rules
- Charcuterie
- Cheese Service
- Raw Food
You can catch up with those posts and observations in the Food & Wine Pairing and Editor’s Journal archives.
And now, we conclude the series with trends 9 and 10…
9. Upscale Comfort Food
“Old-fashioned comfort food is now being refined by some of the best chefs in the world, demonstrating that even prole food can be stunningly delicious.”
Never thought about serving wine with macaroni and cheese or wings? You might if you were noshing on mac ’n’ cheese bites with truffle dipping sauce, or “lollipop” chicken wings with blue cheese dressing—as prepared at the Society Café at Steve Wynn’s Encore resort in Las Vegas.
10. Desserts
“Even a small restaurant with 50 to 80 seats, just about anywhere in any city, now has its own pastry chef who turns out stunning, original creations that often come hot to the table.”
Pairing wine with sweet dishes can be tricky, but a wine-focused restaurant will take care to include complementary (mostly sweet) wines for their special desserts. And keep in mind that a well-made sweet wine can, in itself, make a great dessert.
