How To Pair Food And Wine

As someone who worked in the restaurant industry I became almost annoyed with the lack of education people had in wine tasting. I became even more annoyed with the fact that people clearly don?t know how to pair wine with food. It can be assumed that some people agree that the wine should be paired with the person. I disagree. Certain characteristics of wines react with certain characteristics of foods on a very sophisticated level. Below is a quick general breakdown of which wines pair well with certain foods.

For the ease of reading I will list the major varietals of grapes separately and pair them. In the red wine group I?ll start with Pinot Noir. Pinot Noir is best paired with poultry, beef, fish, ham, lamb and pork. It also complements creamy sauces, spicy seasonings, and may be the most versatile food wines. Merlot is best paired with beef and lamb meals, but it can also work with venison, antelope, elk, duck, goose and squab. A nice fish dish that may be blackened will complement merlot fabulously. A stronger meat would want to be avoided such as moose. Cabernet Sauvignon is a heavier bolder wine and following such should be paired with a heavier bolder food. Cabernet is a very versatile wine that breaks down the fats in foods wonderfully. This would be a great wine to pair with red meat, including steak, roast lamb, and game. Try enjoying a Cabernet with a nice Prime Ribeye steak. Next I?ll move onto the white wines and start with Riesling. Rieslings can be very dry to a very sweet dessert wine. They carry a very fruity nose. Rieslings pair well with crab, shellfish and other fish. Try a nice light garlic butter sauce. The next grape is the Pinot Grigio. Pinot Grigio is a very light and approachable wine that offers a refreshing after taste. Try with smoked Atlantic salmon, a nice chicken salad, mushroom and scallop risotto, or a pasta dish with a light cream sauce. Sauvignon Blanc is a very versatile white wine that can be combined with any of the other white wine foods. Particularly this wine should be pared with asparagus, chicken salad, chilled fruit soups, and fresh tilapia or other light fish. The last wine grape I will cover is the chardonnay grape. Chardonnay is the boldest of the whites. It will go well with a chicken dish with cream sauce, shrimp with a heavy cream sauce, crab cakes, oysters, smoked salmon, and any heavy cream sauce dish.

This was a very brief overview with pairing food with wine. So hopefully now you can go to a restaurant and choose wisely. My recommendation is to order your meal first then your wine. For tips on how to taste wine check out my other articles.