Top 5 tips for combining food with wine

Pairing a wine with a particular food is a great skill, but once your palate develops, all it takes is practice, the task becomes easier. Expert advice on food pairings is a great place to start and get familiar with wine tasting terminology. An accurate description of a wine will make it much easier to pair it with a food.

1. Try to match the wine to the dominant flavor of the dish to find a good balance between the two. Here are some matching suggestions:
   • Foods with a naturally higher acid content, including many fruits and cheeses, will often go well with younger wines that have higher acidity, such as Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, or Zinfandel. These wines will also complement foods such as fish, chicken, or salads, which are often flavored with lemon or vinegar.
   • Highly seasoned dishes flavored with salt or spices will pair well with low-alcohol fruity wines such as Pinot Grigio, Riesling, Gewürztraminer, a dry rosé, or Pinot Noir rather than something very tannic.
   • Delicately cooked and flavored foods, such as steamed, smoked, or poached dishes, will require a delicate combination. Again, try Pinot Grigio, Riesling, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, or Gewürztraminer.
   • Rich and hearty dishes call for fuller-bodied wines like Merlot, Syrah / Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, or Chardonnay.
   • Sweeter and savory dishes, like honey-roasted ham or pork with a syrupy glaze, will suit a medium-sweet or dry style of wine like Riesling or Chenin Blanc.
   • Desserts and puddings will only be paired successfully with well-rounded sweet or dessert wines. The wine should taste sweeter than the dish you hope to complement. Serving anything else leaves the wine in danger of having a sour taste, try Muscat, Vespaiola, Frontignac or a Port.
2. Experiment with food and wine pairings.
   • Opposites often attract each other, so you can choose sweet wines to complement salty cheeses and spicy Asian food.
   • Know your geography and you will be able to match food and wine by place of origin, as regional pairings, which have developed together naturally, are often suitable.

   Important! When you are drinking very fine wine, remember to serve it only alongside neutral dishes that are lightly seasoned. You don’t want to overpower the delicacy of the wine.

3. If you find that the combination of your food and wine is not perfect, adjust the flavor of your food. With the careful use of the proper seasoning or cooking method, an unsuitable dish can be cleverly modified to better suit the wine, if you find that it feels too dry or too bitter.
   • Lemon juice or vinegar will sharpen the flavor of a dish and make it more compatible with sour wine. The wine, in turn, will have a richer and smoother flavor.
   • The salt will suppress the unwanted bitterness in the wine. It will also make sweet wines taste sweeter.
   • Fresh Pepper – Grind over a raw steak to add texture and juiciness and make a strongly tannic wine taste less tannic.
   • Unusual cooked meat will add texture and juices to food and can often make up for mediocre wine.
   • The sweetness in a plate will increase the awareness of bitterness in the wine, making it appear stronger and drier.
4. Use a ‘fork’ to cook! Wine can be an exceptional ingredient for marinades and sauces, but if you decide to add wine in your meal prep, make sure it’s of good quality – don’t cut corners just because you’re cooking with it. Try to use the same variety of wine that will be served with the dish and, if possible, the same wine.
5. For formal dinners, follow the label and serve:
   • Lighter wines before more full-bodied wines.
   • Drier rather than sweet wines (unless there is a particularly sweet early course).
   • Lower alcoholic wines before higher alcoholic wines.