Sommelier Diaries: Pairing Wine with the Mediterranean

The first rule I give myself: forget the rules. Every wine book will tell you white wine with fish, red wine with meat. But when the fish comes with pomegranate reduction and charred lamb fat, and the meat is lightened by sumac and lemon, those categories fall apart immediately.

The Perfect Pairing

The most successful pairing I've found at MINA is our slow-roasted lamb shoulder with a ten-year-old Barolo from Serralunga d'Alba.

The tannins have softened to something almost silky; the tar and roses speak the same language as the lamb fat and the za'atar. When a pairing works at that level, neither the food nor the wine feels complete without the other. That's the only benchmark worth chasing.