A wine lover will always take some time to study what kind of dish needs to be paired with what wine. On a day-to-day basis, they have several questions crossing their minds like for instance, "If I am preparing chicken for my next meal, does it matter whether it is baked, grilled, or fried when I’m deciding what wine to serve with it?’’ Practically there are few wine choices that will ruin a meal, but good choices can raise the experience of a meal making it more enjoyable. If you're a wine lover too, here is a complete list of rules you need to follow when pairing food with your favourite glass of wine.
- White wines tend to pair better with lighter foods such as green veggies, fish, and chicken.
- Red wines tend to pair better with bold flavoured meats such as red meat.
- Sparkling wine pairs with a wide variety of foods because it acts as a palate cleanser.
- Sweetness in food should be less than or equal to the sweetness in wine or else there's a chance of stripping the wine of its sweetness leaving a bitter taste.
- Like sweetness, acidity in food should be less than or equal to the acidity in wine. If it is not, the wine will taste flat and lifeless.
- Highly salty food work well with wines that have high effervescence. Salty shouldn’t compete with acidity in wine. Use sparingly as necessary to keep sharpness in the meal.
- When it comes to matching textures, think alike. Match the texture of the food with the texture of the wine. Light food is best paired with a light wine and heavy food with heavy wine.
- The wine should have the same flavour intensity as the food. Wine overall body should be equal to the food overall body. Ideally the flavours in the wine should not overpower those in the food.
- Match aromas and flavours.
- Match the wine with the sauce than with the meat.
- Pair grilled or charred foods with wines that have been aged in oak as these foods will tame that oaky intensity and to bring out the fruit flavours of the wine instead.
- Pair fried or fatty foods with wines that are high in acid or tannin.
- Pair sweet wines with salty foods. The combination makes sweet wine taste less sweet and more fruity, and salty food taste less salty and more savoury.
- Pair foods of a particular region with wines from the same place. For instance, if you want to pair with an Indian wine, try to find one from the same region as the food.
- Avoid pairing acidic wines with creamy sauces. This combination will usually clash. You can think about it this way, if you squeezed lemon juice into a cup of milk, would it taste good?
- Avoid pairing spicy food with highly alcoholic or tannic wine. The reason is that the heat of the food will actually intensify the alcohol and the tannins in the wine, which in turn will make the dish seem even spicier. Instead, pair it with wines that have some residual sugar or off-dry, acidic white wines. Doing this will cool down spice and creates balance between the food and the wine.
- Avoid wines heavy in tannins(bitterness), but medium or mild bitter wines can be balanced with fat or sweet food.
- When in doubt, sparkling wine goes with everything. Some of its traditional favourites are caviar and soft cheeses like Brie. So trust the bubbly. It won’t be wrong with anything.
- More often than not, White, Sparkling and Rosé wines create complementary pairings.
- Wine tannin levels should be equal to non-vegetarian food fattiness levels.
- Wine acidity levels should be equal to vegetable-based food fattiness levels.
For those of you who think that's a lot of information to digest, we recommend you to follow your personal preferences. For most rules, there’s always an exception, so experiment with different food and wine combinations to see how your taste buds respond to a particular pairing. Remember that no pairing recommendation will ever be successful unless you actually enjoy what’s in your glass!
- White wines tend to pair better with lighter foods such as green veggies, fish, and chicken.
- Red wines tend to pair better with bold flavoured meats such as red meat.
- Sparkling wine pairs with a wide variety of foods because it acts as a palate cleanser.
- Sweetness in food should be less than or equal to the sweetness in wine or else there's a chance of stripping the wine of its sweetness leaving a bitter taste.
- Like sweetness, acidity in food should be less than or equal to the acidity in wine. If it is not, the wine will taste flat and lifeless.
- Highly salty food work well with wines that have high effervescence. Salty shouldn’t compete with acidity in wine. Use sparingly as necessary to keep sharpness in the meal.
- When it comes to matching textures, think alike. Match the texture of the food with the texture of the wine. Light food is best paired with a light wine and heavy food with heavy wine.
- The wine should have the same flavour intensity as the food. Wine overall body should be equal to the food overall body. Ideally the flavours in the wine should not overpower those in the food.
- Match aromas and flavours.
- Match the wine with the sauce than with the meat.
- Pair grilled or charred foods with wines that have been aged in oak as these foods will tame that oaky intensity and to bring out the fruit flavours of the wine instead.
- Pair fried or fatty foods with wines that are high in acid or tannin.
- Pair sweet wines with salty foods. The combination makes sweet wine taste less sweet and more fruity, and salty food taste less salty and more savoury.
- Pair foods of a particular region with wines from the same place. For instance, if you want to pair with an Indian wine, try to find one from the same region as the food.
- Avoid pairing acidic wines with creamy sauces. This combination will usually clash. You can think about it this way, if you squeezed lemon juice into a cup of milk, would it taste good?
- Avoid pairing spicy food with highly alcoholic or tannic wine. The reason is that the heat of the food will actually intensify the alcohol and the tannins in the wine, which in turn will make the dish seem even spicier. Instead, pair it with wines that have some residual sugar or off-dry, acidic white wines. Doing this will cool down spice and creates balance between the food and the wine.
- Avoid wines heavy in tannins(bitterness), but medium or mild bitter wines can be balanced with fat or sweet food.
- When in doubt, sparkling wine goes with everything. Some of its traditional favourites are caviar and soft cheeses like Brie. So trust the bubbly. It won’t be wrong with anything.
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| Caviar pairs well with a white or a sparkling wine. |
- More often than not, White, Sparkling and Rosé wines create complementary pairings.
- Wine tannin levels should be equal to non-vegetarian food fattiness levels.
- Wine acidity levels should be equal to vegetable-based food fattiness levels.
For those of you who think that's a lot of information to digest, we recommend you to follow your personal preferences. For most rules, there’s always an exception, so experiment with different food and wine combinations to see how your taste buds respond to a particular pairing. Remember that no pairing recommendation will ever be successful unless you actually enjoy what’s in your glass!
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