Comparing the Italian and American Approaches to Food and Wine Pairing through Sensorial, Cultural and Historical Perspectives

Food and wine pairings can be described as a combination of a food and a wine that when consumed together produce a positive sensory experience. When done correctly, pairings can enhance the overall dining experience and add enjoyment and appreciation to the meal. This thesis will identify the origins of pairings and define how they’re made today. The purpose of this work is to examine cultural, historical, and sensorial differences in the way in which food and wine pairings are conducted in both Italy and the United States, to determine which aspects play a role in forming a country’s style of pairing. To achieve this, multiple sources were reviewed and discussed. Various historical texts including ancient cookbooks were examined to locate the origins of food and wine pairings and winemaking in both countries. Many empirical studies, literature reviews, and research papers were used to understand the state of food and wine pairings today and to assess the current scientific findings on the subject. Several books, newspapers, official surveys, online articles, and industry reports were referenced to create a picture of the modern wine drinking consumption habits in both countries and observe the styles of food and wine pairings present in each. In looking at the combined factors from each country, a clear distinction was made between the two. The results are that Italy, a country with a long history of winemaking and a widespread dispersion of vineyards, is home to a large set of traditional regionally based pairings where the food and wine have evolved together, becoming a natural geographical pairing for each other. In contrast, the United States shows historical complications with maintaining a viable wine industry and the concentration of its vineyards in certain locations leads to an inability to possess the same form of traditional and regional pairings. Because of this, the American style of food and wine pairings is largely based off of sensorial principles and perceptual methods, unless they are borrowing geographical pairings from other cultures.