Beverage Matching: Heavy Reds

Heavy, or full-bodied, red wines can generally be characterised that have the volume turned up on all the components. The flavour is intense and the weight (overall feel in the mouth) is full, tannins (an astringent component of the wine) are more noticeable and the alcohol is in between 14% to 15%.

The varieties that you can expect to be full bodied are: Touriga Franca, Nouriga Nacional, Petit Syrah, Zinfandel Mouverdre, Shiraz, Montepulciano, Nero D’avola, Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon.

The range of styles within these varieties can vary enormously and can be influenced by a lot of factors like climate, soil type, season and winemaking and there is also a range of fruit flavours. You can expect to see blackberries, black cherries, blackcurrants, plums, cassis and blueberries.

So what happens to make a heavy red? Apart from the attributes of each variety, a few things can be done to make a wine full-bodied. The first thing is ripeness. When grapes ripen, the flavour builds and the sugar component of the grapes goes up. When the grapes are then crushed, pressed and fermented, the level of alcohol is directly attributed to the sugar as the yeast converts sugar into alcohol.

Wines with higher alcohol levels taste and feel richer a viscous element to the mouthfeel. The second is tannins. The juice from a grape is white except for two varieties that have a red-tinged juice when crushed called Alicante Bouchet and Garnacha Tintorea. The grape skins are left on the juice pre or during fermentation to extract the colour from the skins into the wine. 

One of the things that come with that is polyphenol compounds that are called tannins. Tannins add astringency texture, bitterness and to wine and the longer the skins stay in contact with the juice, the more tannins get extracted into the wine. Generally the more tannins there are the drier the wine becomes.

Another factor is oak. After the wine is fermented, the wine is aged in oak barrels for anywhere up to 2 years and during that time, the oak characters and textures are extracted into the wine. The more time on oak, the oakier the wine can become. And like tannins, the more oak character in the wine, the dryer the wine can be.

So what about matching with heavy reds? There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to matching as taste is so personal but here are a few things to consider when matching:

Fruits

A great place to start. Think about the general fruit descriptors for the wine and then consider the flavours in the dish look for components that might compliment. For example, black-fruited wines go great with savoury dishes and sour fruited wines love a little sweetness. Try it with Indonesian Braised Lamb Shoulder and Sweet and Crispy Korean Fried Chicken (Dakgangjeong)

Weight for weight

If you have big flavours in your wine you will need big flavours in your food so that the wine does not dominate. Pair it with foods like Chicken Red Curry with Pumpkin (Gaeng Phed Gai Sai Fak Tong), Red Braised Lion’s Head Meatballs (Hong Shao Shi Zi Tou) and Black Pepper Beef Stir- Fry.

Acidity

Younger wines generally can have a higher level of acidity. This can sharpen the flavours and can affect the flavour of the food. Acidic flavours can clash with some flavours but the acidity in wine is great for cutting through and balancing out fatty, creamy components of dishes like Massaman Lamb Shanks, Grilled Short Ribs (Galbi Gui) and Char Siu Pork Belly Strips.

Tannins

Tannins can have a drying effect on the mouthfeel of the wine, so maybe think about the texture of the dish so that the dish and the wine can complement each other. For example, try oily or creamy and rich dishes with wines with pronounced tannins. Best paired with Spicy Korean Fried Chicken (Yangnyeom Chicken), Stir-fry Beef and Veggies or Japanese Beef Curry.

To learn more about wine and wine pairing, visit Wine Selectors for more information.