Fancier way of saying "paired with" for Italian wine menu?

May 10, 2009 11:28 AM

In the context of an Italian-themed wine & food pairing menu, is there a more elegant way to say or express the phrase "paired with"?

My pairing menu currently has a bunch of entries that go like this:

Food X
paired with
Wine X

For whatever reason, the "paired with" is really clunking in my head. Every dish and wine on the menu has an Italian name, so maybe I'm finding the banal English phrase too incongruous.

Any any rate, can you suggest something better? Bonus points for something with some Italian verisimilitude, but anything more elegant or old-world would be appreciated.

It would totally ideal if there was some sort of symbol that communicatess this, like a fancier version "w/".

Thanks in advance for any ideas you can share.

(Also: more/better tags for this post?)

posted by chudmonkey to media & arts (12 comments total)

Drop "paired"?
posted by A Terrible Llama at 11:38 AM on May 10

....or substitute 'and' or 'with' -- maybe don't create a distinction between the food and the wine; like you're creating a dichotomy when you say 'pair' when really it's more of a single experience. Mussels with a sauvignon blanc, calamari with a spicy pepper sauce and a sangiovese--or whatever.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 11:41 AM on May 10

For variety you could say "complemented by" since the wine complements the meal.
posted by amyms at 11:45 AM on May 10

You could use 'con' (Italian for with) or the Italian for 'paired with' - which I think would be 'accoppiato con' but I'm not positive that's right in context.
posted by macfly at 11:46 AM on May 10

Drop the "paired with" phrase completely? The menu at my favorite wine bar uses this format:

Name of dish: description of key ingredients; preparation techniques; price
Wine pairing on next line, indented and italicized to set it off from the food description

If the whole menu is called a tasting or pairing menu, then the pairing will be implied for all of the food/wine pairs you list.
posted by rhiannon at 11:52 AM on May 10

If you think about the food and the wine as a single experience, why not use a simple "and" or ampersand? Or, in Italian, "e."
posted by HumuloneRanger at 11:55 AM on May 10

No need to have "paired with" or anything really. Just list the food and then list the wine either a space below or on the far right side of the menu, where you might put a price traditionally. And maybe italicize the name of the wine.

Roasted Meat with Something Delicious and a Good Sauce

2003 Blah Blah Blah Pinot Noir

on preview, seconding rhiannon's advice.
posted by kurtroehl at 12:00 PM on May 10

nthing the 'drop' option.

People will grok a menu that looks like:

Steak Frites
2006 Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 12:03 PM on May 10

if it matters, you could write it in Italian "accompagnato da", meaning exactly that.
posted by madeinitaly at 12:38 PM on May 10

Thanks, all! I indeed decided to drop the phrasing, and replaced it with a large, styled ampersand (which also happens to look like a styled "e", so it's extra-Italian). You can see an example here, if you like.
posted by chudmonkey at 3:41 PM on May 10

That's not an e, that's an et. So: Latin.
posted by aubilenon at 4:04 PM on May 10

It's Lambrusco with an "s" and "Emilia", but I like the look if it! Feel free to send a copy for proofing at the email address in my profile.
posted by _dario at 4:18 PM on May 10