Wine & Food Pairing

Our newsletter goes out today and we always have a few questions regarding how we come up with our wacky food and wine pairings. I found this online a few weeks ago. Its a handy guide. Shrink down, make a condensed version and keep in your wallet!

Food and Wine Magazine’s - Food Pairing Information

• Match the texture of the food with the texture of the wine. A light wine, whether white or red, will be overpowered by a rich dish like steak. A rich wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, will balance it perfectly.

• Match aromas and flavors. “If you have a highly spiced dish, you need a wine that’s not going to get trampled by that,” says Sbrocco. Riesling is a complex, spicy wine, so it works well with cuisines like Chinese and Thai. An earthy pinot noir with cherry notes pairs beautifully with a duck dish containing mushrooms and dried cherries. (Though pairings certainly don’t have to be that literal.)

• Use acidity in the wine to balance the dish. With a high-acid dish―say, a salad with vinaigrette or something tomato based―you want to complement that acidity with a high-acid wine, like a Sauvignon Blanc. In the same way that a spritz of lemon balances and brightens fried seafood, so too does a Sauvignon Blanc.

• Pair with the sauce, not the meat. As Sbrocco explains, chicken in cream sauce demands the same wine as pork in cream sauce.

• Follow your personal preferences. For most rules there’s always an exception, so experiment with different food and wine combinations to see what your particular taste buds respond to.