Toby Kwan, aka Chinovino in the wine trade, provides the following color in response to my question on tannins, more specifically when is too much or too little tannin good? What kind of dishes are tannic wines good with? I personally have a bias against tannins given my preference for lighter, fresher wines although there are some nice tannic cabernet francs from the Loire which come across as light wines.
"I prefer tannin to be generally not too noticeable, but lurking in the background to provide some grip. Tannin is pretty bad for fish (brings out the fishiness) and too much tannin numbs the taste buds, so it’s not good for lighter tasting foods. Some people may differ, but I also don’t like tannic wine with cheese. So for me, the question is the other way around, i.e. when to have more tannin in a wine. Tannins works well with high protein meat (i.e. dark meat), as meat proteins soften the perception of tannins in the mouth. Grilled meats, too, are good, as tannins are usually present in red wine with a perception of toastiness or smokiness (from the oak barrels). One of the most problematic wines for food pairing based on my palate is over-oaked white wine (usually new world chardonnay) with lots of tannins. Too overpowering for seafood, too weak for red meat, you can only really pair them with poultry or woody-tasting vegetables like artichokes, preferably grilled.
Fatty dishes need either a “fat” wine (with lots of body) or conversely a wine with pronounced acidity (not unlike how oil & vinegar can go better together than on their own). Personally I don’t think alcohol is the big issue for fatty dishes, rather I think wines with too much perceptible alcohol interferes with the food tasting (again, numbs the taste buds). Yes, it’s true that alcohol is more perceptible in younger wine which has yet to gain complexity or mellowness."
