“Siri, what wine goes with a supreme pizza?” Why even bother knowing a few basics of Wine-Food pairing when you have your own personal sommelier on your phone? Well, Siri, Alexa, and Google were put to the test. Could they pair the perfect wine for our lunch, or would my picks come out on top?
The challenge: pick two wines, a red and a white, to have with a full assortment of street tacos and two different pizzas! The tacos included four different meats cooked in five different styles. The pizzas were a supreme and margherita. We would be using the basics of Wine-Food pairing taught by all of the accredited wine programs along with my own knowledge of wine against the best the A.I. web had to offer.
The lunch audience included myself and some elite runners from Running Wild. Each A.I. was asked for the best wine pairing with each individual food and then for the best wine pairing with all the food together. Results varied yet after sorting them a few similarities emerged. The A.I.s took a more targeted approach, and on the whole, picked a Chianti Classico and a Sauvignon Blanc.
Our food had a lot of big flavors, so we needed a red and a white with a little bit of everything. Everything includes a balance of everything good in a wine; fruit, earth, minerality, and acid; great flavors and texture. The picks; A high-end red Douro blend and a playful white blend from Puglia.
The A.I. choices did very well, but everyone agreed that the “everything wines” did better. So, there still is some art involved with good wine and food pairings. Knowledge, experience, and creativity matter! Use A.I. as a guide, but don’t be afraid to think for yourself and experiment, you will have much more fun in the end. Cheers to that!
*A special thanks to Tuscan Oven and Tacos Mexicanos for the great food!