WHAT | Wine TASTING and FLAVOR Pairings
At LXV Wine, we have reframed the art of wine tasting by pairing each wine with a curated spice blend, designed to enhance or contrast the wine’s inherent qualities. This unique approach creates an immersive sensory experience, transforming a traditional tasting into a dynamic exploration of flavor, texture, and terroir.
Our pairings draw inspiration from global herbs and spices, integrating flavors such as hibiscus, fenugreek, Persian lime, and Lapsang Souchong tea to either amplify the wine’s characteristics or introduce complementary contrasts. Each sip reveals new nuances, inviting guests to engage with the wine in a way that feels both familiar and adventurous.
WHY | TO DEVELOP A PERSONAL LANGUAGE FOR TASTING WINE
By incorporating familiar and evocative spices, we tap into memory and emotion, making the wines not just more approachable but more intriguing. These flavors spark connections, encouraging a deeper dive into the wine’s nuances. It’s not just about tasting—it’s about exploring, questioning, and discovering. The interplay between wine and spice invites a more thoughtful, intuitive understanding of both. This approach transforms the tasting into an immersive, intellectual experience that fully engages the senses.
Traditional tastings can often feel one-sided, like a monologue. But with our spice pairings, we turn that into a lively dialogue, creating a sensory language that speaks directly to modern, curious palates.This experience meets the evolving desires of younger wine lovers who crave more than just a passive tasting—they want a rich, engaging experience.
HOW | MIRROR, COMPLEMENT, CONTRAST
At LXV, our spice pairings are built on three core principles: mirroring, complementing, and contrasting. Each of these techniques allows us to deepen the sensory experience of wine tasting, creating an engaging and multi-dimensional journey. While all three elements are present in every pairing, one principle tends to take precedence based on the nature of the wine.
I like to compare these pairings to different styles of dance:
- Mirroring pairings are like a waltz, where the wine and spice glide in harmony, echoing each other’s movements and amplifying shared qualities.
- Complementing pairings are like a tango, where the wine and spice interact with a push and pull, enhancing each other’s characteristics in a dynamic, balanced way.
- Contrasting pairings are like a Bollywood dance—vibrant, lively, and full of contrasts, creating excitement through opposing flavors that highlight different dimensions of the wine.
This structured yet creative approach brings a new layer of depth to the tasting experience, allowing guests to not just drink the wine, but to fully engage with it on multiple sensory levels.
Mirroring
Mirroring pairs flavors that share similar characteristics, amplifying the core qualities of both the wine and the spice, creating harmony and intensity.
Example: Our Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon blend, with its vibrant acidity and herbal nuances, is paired with Khmeli Suneli, a Georgian spice blend featuring fenugreek, marigold, and coriander. The herbal and citrus notes in the spice mirror the zesty, grassy freshness of the wine, highlighting its lively acidity and green undertones.
Effect: Mirroring reinforces the primary attributes of the wine, enhancing its natural flavors and bringing greater focus and clarity to the tasting experience.
Complementing
Complementing pairs flavors that work together without being identical, subtly enhancing different aspects of the wine. This approach reveals new layers and complexity by bringing balance to the wine’s profile.
Example: Our interpretation of Ragu—featuring mushrooms, nutritional yeast, chickpea flour, tomatoes, and herbs—is paired with Sangiovese. The earthy, umami flavors of the mushrooms and nutritional yeast complement Sangiovese’s moderate tannins and bright acidity. The tomatoes, with their natural acidity, echo the wine’s fruitiness and freshness, while the herbs add a layer of aromatic complexity that harmonizes with the wine’s floral and herbal notes.
Effect: Complementing elevates the wine’s complexity by drawing out subtle notes, creating a more nuanced and harmonious tasting experience.
Contrasting
Contrasting brings opposing flavors together to create an intriguing interaction, highlighting different aspects of the wine through balance and tension.
Example: Our Syrah from Bien Nacido Vineyard is paired with Smolder Notes, a spice blend featuring Lapsang Souchong tea, fennel, rosemary, sarsaparilla, and black pepper. The bitterness of the tea contrasts the Syrah’s bold, tannic structure while elevating its dark fruit notes, such as blackberry and plum, making the fruit seem even more vibrant. The sarsaparilla adds a subtle sweetness and earthy depth, which provides a unique counterpoint to the Syrah’s peppery intensity, while the herbs like fennel and rosemary enhance the wine’s savory elements, rounding out the tasting experience.
Effect
Contrasting creates a vibrant tension on the palate, drawing attention to the wine’s depth and structure. The interplay of spice and wine sharpens the perception of the Syrah’s layers, offering a rich, well-rounded, and exciting tasting experience.
THE SERVICE | THE MISE EN PLACE
Serving the Pairings
The spices are lightly dusted on neutral cheese cubes, allowing the flavors to come through without overpowering the palate. This neutral base ensures the spice enhances the wine without altering its inherent qualities. Each wine is presented alongside its spice pairing, with insights into how the flavors were chosen to either complement (like acid with acid) or contrast (like sweet against spice) the wine.
Creating a Dialogue
As guests taste the wine with the spice pairing, they’re encouraged to engage with the experience, drawing on their own flavor memories. This approach turns the tasting into a conversation about how the pairing transforms or elevates the wine, leading to a deeper, intuitive understanding of the balance and structure of both the wine and its pairing.
By applying the fundamentals of food and wine pairing—balancing acidity, complementing richness, and contrasting intensity—we craft spice pairings that both highlight and enhance the nuances of each wine, making every tasting a refined, sensor
PERFUMED GARDEN | THE EXPERIENCE IN A BOX
The Perfumed Garden Kit encapsulates LXV Wine’s philosophy of wine and spice pairings, offering a multi-sensory journey inspired by everything we’ve discussed about engagement, discovery, and deep connection to flavor. Featuring four distinctive wines paired with curated artisanal spices, this kit transforms tasting into a dynamic exploration of balance, contrast, and harmony. It includes wine samples, spice blends, tasting guides, and sensory elements that immerse the taster in a full-bodied experience.
