Food Pairing Help - '71 Riesling Auslese

Good afternoon.

I’m opening up a few bottles of '71 JB Becker Rielsing Auslese Walkenberg and need some help with food pairings.

Safe play would be a mild, buttery blue cheese or a mineral driven goat, but I’d prefer pair with a hot course.

Was thinking a spicy or poached salmon could work too.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

-DB

We always bring Riesling, especially aged Auslese, when eating Indian food. It pairs very well with that brown tamarind sauce and naan plus plenty of other Indian dishes, particularly the ones with chicken.

Yes!

I was going to suggest yellow curry!


[cheers.gif]

Thank you Dennis

I had a couple of 71’s last month. Rather than leaving for the cheese I served them first as an aperitif. Worked well as

  • they were not alcoholic, so a couple of glasses each did not impact the rest of the dinner
  • they were fruity rather than sweet
  • they were the the wines I was most looking forward to and it was good to drink them while the palate was fresh

Not a bad idea, although I do like some Rieslings (usually Spatlese) with Emmentaler or Jarlsberg.

How about some German sausages? I’ve got knackwurst and sauerkraut on deck and am debating whether to open an old Becker or a younger, sweeter Riesling.

Most Indian dishes will be too intensive for the wine. Bratwust and Sauerkraut are too rustic for the wine. Drinking quite a lot of aged off-dry Rheingau Riesling with food, I have made the experience that they work well with a) game dishes like a venison saddle or a wild boar stew where you include some sweet components in the dish (like a venison saddle “Baden Baden”), b) raw marinated fish like salmon, mackerel or pike perch, best raw marinated with some spices and herbs, c) roasted root vegetables like carrots, parsnip or red beetroot and d) very hard cheese like aged Parmesan.

No food at all is the best choice by far. German wine of this tradition is not intended to be served with food. But you could do (in order of my preference):

  • game, German style
  • duck breast with orange sauce
  • Steak (no joke)

Steven and Charlie, thanks for the guidance. I don’t cook game very frequently - and when it does happen, there’s a long queue of “great with game” wines waiting. Other suggestions are intriguing and I can mentally taste how well the roasted root veg would work.

It is a great wine that I have had several times. It is more on the savory side for an Auslese. I would say it would be perfect with some sort of roasted game or on its own.

Indian could also work as long as it is not to hot/spicey.

I think Charlie’s last three suggestions are on the right path.
Was it Theise that said pair older Auslese with the sauce, not the protein?
So, don’t concern yourself whether its vegetarian, beef, chicken or fish - think more about the preparation.
Pepper steak wouldn’t work, but beef in an orange sauce would be great.

I was hoping you would chime in.
I would not expect this JB Becker to be very sweet.

+1000

Any Indian food would completely overwhelm this wine and make it almost impossible to detect any nuance on the palate. If I had to have food with it, I’d go with something prepared very simply.

Thank you everyone for the feedback.

Thinking roast Chicken or Squab with couscous and a golden raisin glaze.

Keep in mind that it likely won’t be as sweet as you think of for a younger Auslese, and acidity may have softened a fair amount as well. I would enjoy it by itself to start, then maybe something lighter and not too strong, like mussels, lobster, mild fish, something like that.

I’ll be sure to try some suggestions here. However, if you haven’t had Riesling with tamarind sauce you’re missing out on a great pairing. They have a synergy that makes them much more than either are alone.

Smoked salmon.