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Five questions with Alan Kerr

Deputy editor Meagan Kashty chatted with Alan Kerr, chef professor at the Canadian Food and Wine Institute at Niagara College, about the basics of wine.

Why are some kinds of wine more expensive than others?

Wine is more expensive because of the real estate it’s grown in — because of its prime growing location. It’s also dependent on whether the wine is grown mechanically or hand harvested. Some wineries have manual labourers that go through the grapes and pick out the ripest ones grape by grape. Wineries which limit the wine they grow also makes for more expensive wine.

How should we go about serving white or red wines at a dinner party?

One thing we tend to do is over-chill our white wines. You want to serve most white wines between about 10 to 12 degrees.

On the opposite side, a lot of people serve reds too warm. Generally, you want to serve red wine at room temperature. But this changes depending on where you’re drinking it. I’d recommend generally serving reds at about 17 to 18 degrees.

What do you recommend to someone who wants to choose some quality wine for a dinner party?

There are a tremendous amount of websites that can give you advice on matching. An ideal circumstance is when the food and wine enhance each other, and to do that you need to have a basic idea of what wine is going to work with your specific food. I’d recommend getting the food item and then talking to an LCBO consultant.

What should someone be looking for when trying to match wine with a meal?

When you’re matching, the ideal is to look at the weight and balance of the meal and trying to get an even scale with the wine.

You would generally start a dinner party with white wine, because red wine is more full-bodied and would trash your palette for the meal. Don’t start the menu with something big and heavy, because your meal will most likely start with a lighter appetizer. Riesling is a good example of a lighter wine.

What would you say to someone who is looking to become more educated about wine?

Sometimes when we start tasting wines, we have an initial shock [because our taste buds aren’t used to]. But it’s something you need to pursue, and it can take quite a while for your palette to become accustomed to it. But once you’ve gotten into the world of wine, it’s addictive.

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