A Guide to Pairing Wines With Delicious Dishes
Everybody knows that great food and good wine are a match made in heaven, they are a simple pleasure that can be enjoyed by pretty much anyone for any occasion. Whether it is a special event such as a birthday or anniversary, or just because you fancy treating yourself to something special, there are few pleasures as simple and joyful as tucking into a delicious meal that is accompanied with a well paired glass of wine or two.
You may well be aware that certain wines pair with certain kinds of food better than others, but having said that, there are no hard and fast rules about which wines go best with which food. As such you should treat this as a guideline, and should not be afraid to pair your favourite wines with your favourite dishes where they are traditionally a good match or not.
Regardless of whether your favourite is a white, a red, or a sparkling wine there are plenty of options out there to suit all tastes. If you would like to learn the basics of how to choose the most complimentary wine to go with your favourite recipes then read on.
The best food and wine pairings rely on creating a balance of flavours, textures, and acidity levels that bring out the best in the food and wine without overwhelming each other. The concept of pairing food and wine is pretty simple, so there are certainly some basic guidelines that will help you to make the best choice.
Finding the right balance
Whether you are completely new to the world of wine pairing, or have had some experience in the matter, you will be able to benefit from the below list of guidelines when it comes to matching a delicious wine with your favourite recipes. As you become more proficient in identifying the aromas and flavours in your food and in your wine, define that choosing wine pairings will become easier with time.
The first thing to remember when choosing wines to go with food is that the wine should always be more acidic than the food. Taking a sip of wine which is more acidic than what you are eating helps to act as a palate cleanser, which gives you a true sense of the flavour of the food.
Secondly, you should always look for wines that have the same or a very similar flavour intensity as the food you are pairing it with. This is because it is very easy for the strong flavours in either food or wine to overpower the other, which creates disharmony between what you are eating and what you are drinking.
Importantly, you should try and keep in mind that white wines such as Chardonnay pair with lighter foods, and red wines such as Merlot pair well with richer foods. For example, if fish, or a light salad is on the menu then you will more than likely find a white wine will be the best companion to this meal. However, if you are planning a dinner of beef Wellington with mushrooms and roasted root vegetables then you should look for a rich red to complement the deep flavours of this dish.
When creating a balanced food and wine pairing, keep in mind that wines that are high in tannins such as robust reds will balance out fatty dishes perfectly. Tannins are naturally present in wine and give it a characteristic bitter flavour, and are generally found in red wines at a higher concentration than in whites. Acidity is a completely different note in wine tasting, a highly acidic wine will generally be dry and refreshing, and usually white.
These are just a few of the considerations you need to make when matching food and wine together to create a balanced and delicious experience for yourself and your dinner guests. It may seem like a lot to remember, but once you have had a go at pairing wines with foods the concepts behind the process will become clearer and you will have a better understanding of what goes into it. Once you feel confident with your ability to pair wines with food, you can start taking calculated risks and think outside the box with your pairings.