Pairing food with wine is a common problem among many people. However, not a lot of people realize that wine and food generally work together, only that there are a few combinations that just does not work and that individual tastes just differ. Here is your guide to knowing which wines go well with different types of food as well those that do not.
Red wine with Fish. Generally,red wines contain tannins, which leave an unpleasantly metallic taste when combined with a fish dish. It is also the same as with most red wine and cheese combinations as well. Red wines that are low in tannin such as Cabernet Franc, can work well for fish dishes such as rainbow trout or salmon.
Fresh, acidic and unoaked white wines like Sancerre, Muscadet and Chablis are excellent foil for many fish dishes and cheese because they do not contain tannin and their acidity blends into the dish's oils.
Dry wine with dessert. The effect of dessert is to coat and overload the palate with sugar. Pairing sweet foods with dry wine can inly counter its effect. Instead of pairing dry wine with dessert, leave the wine aside until your palate will have been off the sweet aftertaste.
Red wine with pasta. Cheap Italian red wine usually work well with simple pasta dishes. In fact, these wines also complement well with many other foods because of its higher acidity compared to other red wines. Also, rich Burgundy cuisine often goes well when paired with wines that have been used in cooking the dish.
This is also another important consideration when
pairing wine with food. If you can cook with it, then you can drink with it as well.
White wine with white meat/Red wine with red meat. You can combining different wines with different meats. For instance, try pairing a Mosel Riesling with beef, or Rhone or mature Claret for well done steak. Consider Cru Beaujolais for your meat instead of sweet acidic juice. Moreover, white meat such as roast turkey can go well with red wine too.
Sauternes with blue cheese. This is a classic pairing, especially when Sauternes is paired with Roquefort cheese. A lot of people swear by this combination, as the wine's sweet and rich texture works contrastingly well with the cheese's rather salty taste.
There are also some foods that are just so hard to pair with wine. One good example is chocolate. When serving chocolate dessert, pair it with coffee instead of wine. Other foods are eggs and egg dishes, in which you will have to find a good white wine that is neither too rich nor too acidic. Vinaigrette dressings and tomatoes, which are naturally acidic may be paired with acidic wine as well.
There are two important things that you need to consider here – contrast and complement. For instance, fresh, acidic white wine paired with rich, oily fish menu is contrasting yet they complement each other. On the other hand, dry wine and dessert may complement each other because both are sweet, but they may not actually work well together.
However, you need to keep in mind that there are actually no standard rules when making wine and food combinations. What works for the other may not work for you. Simply put, pairing wine with food is all about serving the pairings that work well for your taste.
