Wine And Food Pairing
The Lowdown

It goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway) that having wine with food is the ultimate culinary experience - one of the finer things in life. Find the right wine and food combination and your palate will experience true tasting delights. How’s that for flowery language? Or as Forrest Gump would say, wine and food go together like peas and carrots. However you want to say it, it’s certainly true.

My memory of what the pairing was escapes me (I should have written it down), but there was a time that neither the wine or the food was outstanding on its own. But when paired together, it was overwhelmingly good. And so thought every one else who tried it. It was truly amazing. It doesn’t happen often but when it does, wow!

Please note that there are no rights
or wrongs in pairings.

Only matches and mismatches.

Only what you like and what you don’t.

It’s all an inexact science and quite subjective. It will take experimentation and experience. Still, to repeat myself again, if it tastes good, go for it. But, I will try to increase the odds of it tasting good.

As we all know, wine and food have many types of tastes and characteristics. We know that some will hook up like star struck lovers. Or put another way, 1 + 1 = 3. Others will not give each other the time of day.

Consider wine as a condiment. It can draw out different flavors that you didn’t think were there. Or enhance other flavors.

Wine and food complement each other in three ways:

• Flavors
  • What flavors do each of them have?
  • Which flavors dominate? In the food? In the wine?
  • Are the flavors of each similar?
  • How intense are those flavors?
  • Will the wine bring out particular flavors in the food?
  • Will the food bring out particular flavors in the wine?

• Textures
  • Are the textures of the food and wine similar?

• The body of the wine and food

Which Foods Will Go
With The Following Wines?

• Rich and flavorful wine and food will often complement each other. An example is the classic steak and a strong red like a cabernet combo. Similarly, light wines and light foods also work well. Another classic example would be a light chardonnay with a filet of sole.
• Is the wine high in alcohol? It will go with very flavorful and slightly sweet foods. Avoid spicy foods unless you want to breathe fire like a dragon. Salty foods don’t work well either. Ditto delicate foods which will be overwhelmed by the alcohol. What does work is flavorful and fatty foods like cream sauces.
• Is the wine highly acidic? It will go better with salty foods. The salt will ease the acidic bite. It will also go with heavy cream sauces and fatty foods.
• Believe it or not, acid will go with acid. This kind of wine can work with some salad dressings or the lemon juice you put on your fish. Some vegetables like tomatoes, onions, and green peppers fall into the acidic group. So now you know why some white wines are often paired with salads. Another good acidic pairing is Italian red wines with tomato based pasta sauces.
• Does the wine have a lot of tannins? Yes? Good for steaks and fatty foods. Tannins do not work well with spicy or sweet or delicate foods. By the way, here is a technical tidbit. Tannins love protein. And red meats have protein. A match made in heaven. Also, your saliva has protein. So that’s why tannic wine straight up makes you pucker.
• Is the wine slightly sweet like some German wines? Have that with your spicy food instead of the cab. No creamy foods with these, though.
• Is your wine really sweet? That’s the one to have with salty foods and stronger cheeses. The salt cuts the sweetness of the wine.
• Is the wine oaky? Since oak is heavy duty, so should your food be. And avoid salt unless you really adore oak since salt will enhance it.
• Is the wine a fine and aged wine? Since these wines have a lot of complex and distinguished flavors complements of the aging, it’s important not to allow your food to overwhelm it. Thus, stick with a balanced food.

Which Wines Will Go
With The Following Foods?

• Is the food fatty? Try a more acidic wine because the fat in the food will coat the tongue and you need the acid in the wine to cut through it. No, I’m afraid it won’t cut the calories! But, this is another reason why white wine usually works better with fish or cheese. It’s the same principle as squeezing lemon juice on your fish. Or just pour a little wine on it instead. Just kidding!
• Is the food salty? Same as the fatty foods, acidic wines work better. Avoid the tannic and oaky wines since salt accentuates the oak too much.
• Is the food spicy? Then a sweet and crisp wine is needed to cool down the spice. Avoid heavy tannic, high alcohol wines since they will dry out your tongue and make the food taste hotter. So if your mouth is on fire, just chug down some cool and crispy wine instead of water!
• Is the food sweet? Then a moderately sweet acidic wine may work. I emphasize moderately because if the wine is too sweet, it will be sweetness overkill. If the wine is too dry, the dryness of the wine and the sweetness of the food will be emphasized.
• Balance is the key. Again, avoid heavy tannins. One exception is cabernet and chocolate. That’s a real odd couple in the wine and food world but for me it works. I was really surprised when I tried that combo for the first time. By the way, it is best with dark chocolate - not milk chocolate.
• Is the food bitter? Try a younger tannic red. The bitterness of each will cancel each other out.

Breaking With Tradition

We’ve all heard of the classic “do not have red wine with fish” or “you can’t have white wine with steak” caveats. Well, they’re not true - if you pair them correctly.

First, you can serve white wine with steak. On my "About Me" page, I referred to this as a one-time faux pas. No more. So the worst that can happen is not embarrassment but a poor pairing. A good pairing would be with strong wine like an oaky chardonnay (mostly from Napa or Sonoma) or a viognier. What makes this work is the oak. The oak adds some tannin and complexity and thus it will stand up to steak. Most red wines are normally aged this way so that’s why there usually is no problem with this pairing.

A poor pairing would be with the lighter, fruity wines (white or red). They will be overwhelmed by the steak. But, if you don’t mind that, then go for it. You could have that combination. You might not care. You may even like it. That’s OK. But in general, you may be disappointed in the pairing.

The opposite is also true, you can serve red wine with fish. This works best if the wine is lighter with little tannins like some sangioveses, beaujolais, merlots, or pinot noirs. A strong red wine like a cabernet or zinfandel won’t work because they will overpower the delicate flavors of the fish. A possible exception is a grilled fish with some stronger flavors like swordfish, salmon, or tuna.

So with the right combination, you can get away with a faux pas and still look good.

Wine And Food Matches Made In Heaven

So here we go with the cheat sheets:

Wine And Food Matches From Hell

• Turkey white meat with a red Bordeaux. This will taste metallic.
• Tannic wines with spicy foods. Call the fire department.
• Tannic wines with seafood. Not only does it kill the delicacy of the fish, it sometimes strongly enhances that bitter “fishy” taste.
• Tannic wines with walnuts. Pucker up.
• Like tannic wines, high alcohol can also overwhelm delicate seafood.
• Acidic fruits (except sweet dessert wines) will make the wine taste metallic.
• Sweet desserts with dry wine.
• Chocolate (except dark chocolate with Cabernet)
• Raw tomatoes (except maybe with acidic wines)

Some foods do not pair well with wine at all:

• Asparagus. Although one wine lover swears this works with some Austrian wines.
• Bitter greens
• Extremely spicy foods
• Artichokes
• Spinach
• Yogurt
• Very sweet desserts

Tip: If you are eating these foods with wine and they clash, cleanse your palate with a piece of bread or a cracker. Do this between tasting the food and tasting the wine.

Also see

Wine and cheese - the best pairing since Adam & Eve.

Please, don’t get too bogged down in the intricate details here. Sometimes I just order food that I want and wine that I want and that’s it. These are only guidelines and if you don’t get it right, don’t worry. Just enjoy.

So, armed with this knowledge, you won’t be able to wait to go wining and dining.

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