Lunch with Benoît Sinthon (Part I)

Lunch with the chef of the Cliff Bay hotel was another highlight during my trip to Madeira. Our aim was to try some of Cortes de Cima’s wines and to experiment with some wine and food pairing ideas, during a casual encounter. Benoît Sinthon, who had just arrived from his holidays, prepared various dishes which helped with the flow of conversation (it was my first encounter with the cooking of this Provencal chef). We chatted for a long time, well into the afternoon.

The first bottles which were brought to the table were white and red Chaminé 2007, and the dishes were crayfish with foie-gras and mushrooms, and a lobster salad with green asparagus, melon and mango, dressed with an orange vinaigrette. After a brief exchange of impressions we chose, without hesitation, the red for the crayfish, and Benoît spoke about the ideal accompaniments for a wine of this age: “The way I see it, red Chaminé is the perfect accompaniment to grilled meats; it is ideal for a barbecue. It is also a good option to serve with pasta, like a bolognese with bacon, for example”

The white wine on the other hand (not having spent any time in barrel) went well with the lobster with the fruit and vinaigrette dressing, but Benôit added that “it could also be served with scallops without cream sauce, seafood in general, fish like golden bream, but without sauce. I can also imagine this wine complimenting fresh vegetables, asparagus or even artichokes“. And so, we started lunch with a red, then moved on to the white and returned to the reds, without the batting of an eyelid. The type of cuisine that is created nowadays breaks down the classic rules of choosing a wine.

But could it be that fruit (grapefruit, orange, mango, melon) complicates the connection with wine? “In my opinion, I don’t think it does. If it’s a strong wine, it overpowers the taste of the lobster, which is very subtle; it isn’t intense like that of the snapper, for example. And so a heavy red wouldn’t go well with the lobster, but a white would. Seafood always demands a white. Mushrooms on the other hand, with their strong flavour, would possibly go better with a red. I’m thinking of a mushroom risotto, which is a rather heavier dish, which I wouldn’t hesitate in combining with a red.” So does the fruit of this dish which we tasted always demand a white? “I think so. The freshness and acidity of the wine go well with asparagus or mango. I think a red wine would make the taste of the asparagus disappear, as well as the melon, as it is very watery. Sometimes a bit of contrast in the wine is necessary to give freshness, and for the flavours to liven up the taste buds“.