We talk a lot about food & wine festivals in our blog but what are the best food & wine pairings? In this post, we share an intro to the basics of matching the best wine to different foods.
A few basics about wine pairings:
- Your wine should taste more acidic than the food.
- Your wine should also be as sweet or sweeter than the food.
- Your wine should try to match the same flavour intensity as the food.
- Red or heavy wines go best with bold flavoured meats (i.e. red meat).
- White wines go best with light meats (i.e. fish or chicken).
- Bitter wines (i.e. red wines) are best balanced with something fatty.
- Steamed, sauteed, or poached food work well with light-bodied wines.
- Grilled, roasted or baked dishes go best with medium to heavy-bodies wines as they’re usually stronger in flavour.
- High-tannin wines are best suited for meals with high fat content such as meat & cheese platters as those wines will cut through the ‘dry-mouth’ sensation.
Pairing by wine, Best With:
- Champagne – most Cheeses.
- Sauvignon Blanc – Chicken, Turkey or Fish.
- Chardonnay – Veal, Shrimp or Crab.
- Riesling – Smoked Sausage, Duck or Scallops.
- Pinot Noir – Lamb, Sausage or Filet Mignon.
- Merlot – Grilled Meats (beef, ahi tuna) and Steak.
- Cabernet Sauvignon – Venison, Rib Eye and Beef Stew.
- Sangiovese – Pizza.
Special foods…
- Spicy – Sparkling wines such as Rose are a good choice. Chill wine beforehand to counteract the heat from curries or other spicy dishes. Go for lower alcohol and higher acidity content.
- Desserts – The aim is to pair wine that is sweet or sweeter than the dessert. I.e Moscato with a fruit-based dessert.
What’s your favourite wine and food pairing?
