Food & Wine Pairing Made Easy
Food has changed, wines have changed. We have come a long way from white with fish and red with meat. That is not to say that anything goes – it doesn’t. But our ten simple guidelines will help you make the most of your culinary experience. The basic idea is that the fusion of two flavors creates a third, as simple as that.
The only wrong choice with food and wine is serving no wine at all!
- 1. Balance the weight of the food with the weight of the wine. The bolder the flavor of the dish, the bolder the wine must be to stand up to it.
- 2. The wine must be at least as sweet, or sweeter, than the food. The other way around and your wine will taste tart and thin.
- 3. Whatever the primary flavoring of the dish; that is the key component to matching the wine. Fish that is lightly poached with lemon is a far cry from one grilled with a zesty puttanesca sauce.
- 4. An acidic wine will cut through fat and make a dish seem less rich (think fried chicken). And a dish packed with acidity (think citrus) needs a wine with equal acidity or it will taste flat.
- 5. There is only one true partner for a chewy, tannic wine – meat. It smoothes out the tannins like a dream. (*The same goes for a meaty fish like tuna or salmon!)
- 6. Cheese and wine? Remember the stronger the cheese, the sweeter the wine. Think Brie with Riesling or Dornfelder, and Gorgonzola with Muscat or a sweet Merlot.
- 7. When cooking with wine – quality matters! The basic characteristics of the wine will be passed on to the finished dish. While it is not worth using your best bottle, don’t use the cheapest bottle either!
- 8. Enjoying some take-out? Pizza = a light red like Blaufrankish or a German Cabernet. Chinese = Gewürztraminer or Dornfelder.
- 9. Having a dinner party and serving several courses? Remember light-bodied before full-bodied. Dry wines before sweet wines. And sparkling wines whenever!
- 10. Drink what you love. Love what you drink. Ignore all these rules!
