By Leigh O’Connor.
Growing up in the beautiful wine region of Orange, Louella Mathews was fortunate to be surrounded by good food and great wine.
She is now one of this country’s leading Sommeliers working with the Trippas White Group, which was awarded 11 Wine Glasses across five venues at Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards for 2023.
Originally studying psychology and working at a restaurant in her spare time, Louella was pushed by her bosses, Shaun and Willa Arantz, towards a career in hospitality, packing her bags and moving to the big city to start work at Rockpool on George as a waiter. She daily asked to be taught to become a Sommelier and finally got her wish.
Recently accepted into the Len Evans Tutorial, this year has been filled with a lot of wine judging and preparation for one of the best wine schools in the world.
Louella says the most common apprehension people have when trying to pair wines with each course of a meal is ego!
"People are intimidated into drinking something they should, instead of something they want to,” she tells AGFG. I never immediately recommend a particular wine with a meal, I will always ask what the guest enjoys drinking first and go from there.”
Her top five tips for complementary wine and food pairing are:
•Lighter dishes require lighter-bodied wine and vice versa.
•Sweet and spice – chilli and off-dry Riesling and you can’t go wrong.
•Fatty/fried foods need an element to cut through it. Think acid for white wines such as tempura prawns with a glass of Sancerre, tannin for red wines like Barolo or Cabernet with a heavily marbled steak.
•Always drink local wines at the local fair – especially when you have to travel.
•At the end of the day, my best advice is to pair wine with your vibes. Celebrating something – bubbles, if you feel like discovering something new, take a chance on an obscure wine match; and lastly, if you feel like a glass of red wine – just have it!
A definite no-no when planning a wine pairing for a menu is to offer oaked wine with spicy foods such as chilli as the oak accelerates the heat. Controversially, Louella also says never pair red wine and cheese.
"I do like how in Australia we tend to have our cheese as a snack before dinner, so perfect with a glass of Chardonnay, bubbles or even a fortified wine.”
The most sublime pairing she has recommended is Sercial Madeira with flambéed chorizo and more recently Muscadet from the Loire Valley with a freshly shucked oyster.
"At the moment, I am loving Corsican wines and how producers in Australia are using the same varieties to make their own individual interpretations.”
As to the future, Louella will be pushing the wine program at the Trippas White Group, building a Sommelier team and offering some of the best and unique wine lists in Australia.
