How To Start To Pair Food And Wine

One of the most common wine-related questions concerns what wine goes with what food. Many people mistakenly believe that they will ruin the whole meal if they make the “wrong” wine choice. The good news is that it’s impossible to queer a good meal if you select a wine that you enjoy regardless of what the “wine experts” say. But: How does one know which wine will compliment which dish?

There are some old rules about matching:

They say: red wine best with meat and white goes to fowl or fish. These rules is for braking them. Pinot Noir as a lighter red nice with salmon. Sometimes “white rules” has been broken, for example when Chardonnay goes with a liver pate or juicy grilled steak. As you can see there are general and non-usual directives about pairing. They definitively help you to select a wine for your fine meal.

If you follow my short description you will see how simple to make good pairings.

Let’s see them!

Select light-bodied wines to pair with lighter food, and fuller-bodied wines to go with heartier, more flavorful dishes. Using Crispy Salmon, the Montes Alpha Pinot Noir works beautifully with the fish because you are matching light to light.

Important thing how is the food is prepared. Grilled, roasted fried? Seasoned by sauce or spice? All can brings out different tastes. Grilled chicken breast or an Italian spicy food is great with Cabernet Franc or Carmenere, but sauce is very delicious with Chardonnay. Asparagus with Lemon Butter Sauce and Ridgeback Chardonnay.

There is a wine reaction for every food action.

When you drink wine by itself it tastes one way, but when you take a bite of food, the wine tastes different. This is because wine is like a spice. Elements in the wine interact with the food to provide a different taste sensation like these basic reactions:

Choose a sweet food. Japanese Teriyaki and honey-mustard glazes are good ingredients. They will cause a drier taste in your wine so you should use off-dry wine for matching. Flavor balance makers are: White Zinfandel, Riesling.

If you like salads, soy sauce or even lemony foods then you should consider their higher acid content. In these cases pair them with higher acid wines like Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio.

Astringent and bitter foods (high tannic content) like mixed green salad, Greek Kalamata olives are complement with full-flavored fruity wines. Choose a heavy Chardonnay or Cabernet Sauvignon to try it. If you have big tannic red wines (Syrah, Zinfandels) than use a fatty food like a steak or lamb chops, because fat will tone down bitterness in the wine.

Hopefully these some paragraphs will help you to start you food and wine pairing experience.

Enjoy your pairing!

Learn more about foods and wines. Stop by the suggested pairing site where you can find out all about matchings, travel tips and many articles what you will love.