Common Food and Wine Pairing Techniques

Match & Complement

Some simple examples; bitter wine can be balanced with sweet food; high alcohol wine can be balanced with fatty food; acidic wine can be balanced with fatty and sweet foods.

Texture

• Take into account the texture, weight, and structure of both the wine and food. For instance, delicate food requires a delicate wine, while richer and more robust food will match best with heavier, fuller wines.

Taste

• Saltiness: This taste is the easiest to recognize and sweet dessert wines or very fruity reds go well with salty foods. Saltiness brings out sweetness, hides tannins and increases bitterness.


• Bitterness: Bitter foods include radicchio, olives, etc. Bitter foods do not go well with bitter wines and generally younger red wines go well when paired with bitter foods.


• Acidity: Consider the acid balance between the food and the wine. Highly acidic foods are not ideal with wine because they tend to cancel out the wine's flavour. Avoid vinegars and vinaigrettes when pairing food and wine. Acidity is a taste that lingers, it can hide tannin and bitterness and make wine seem sweeter.


• Sweetness: Minimizes bitterness and acidity in wines and is normally better to partner sweet wines with foods that are not overly sweet. If both are sweet, the flavours will cancel each other out rather than enhancing one another. It minimizes bitterness and acidity in a wine.

Pairing wine and food

• Beef and lamb: Select red wine for beef and lamb dishes such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrahor Pinot Noir.


• Chicken: White wine is popular for grilled or roasted chicken and many people like Chardonnays For chicken cooked in a rich sauce, try a Shiraz or a medium-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon.


• Fish and seafood: Select a white wine for fish and seafood. These wines would include Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc or Gewürztraminer.


• Spicy: A glass of a sweet wine like a Gewürztraminer can be quickly finished to offset the spiciness of the food. Avoid adding a Chardonnay to spicy food as it will taste bitter. Sangiovese, or Zinfandel pair well with tomato-based meals.


• Cheese: Full-bodied wines go well with hard cheese, such as a full-bodied Shiraz with cheddar cheese. Soft cheeses partner well with dry wines like a Riesling, Marsanne, or Viogner. Sweet wines are a good match for blue cheese.


• Dessert: Sweet wines are a good choice for a dessert as long as the wine is sweeter than the dish.

Origin

Consider pairing wine with the origin or region of the cuisine and plan the meal with wine. Where can I buy Paxil. Explore the different flavours and cultures of the world to get a new and compelling dining experience.