How to Pair Food and Wine

How to Pair Food and Wine

The right wine can enhance a dish to perfection.
While there are no hard and fast rules on
matching food and wine because it's ultimately a
matter of personal taste, there are basic
guidelines on what wine connoisseurs and food
lovers consider make good choices. In this
article, you'll learn about how to make wine
choices that will complement the flavors of a
meal.

!! Steps !!

_ Start with an open mind. Whatever you read,
this article included, is guidance not a rule. If you prefer
different combinations, nothing is stopping you from enjoying this.
The principal purpose of guides on pairing food and wine is to
enlighten your understanding on commonly agreed matches, and the
reasons behind these. It's about taking some of the guesswork out of
matching food and wine until you're comfortable enough to rely on
your own experience. Ultimately you'll learn to tune into your own
palate as the best guide to what wine works with what food.

* Be aware that some wines can be spoiled by the introduction of
certain food flavors, just as they can be enhanced. If you find
that a wine you've always loved suddenly tastes less desirable,
track down the food you paired it with, and try drinking it
without food, before dismissing the wine outright.

* Know how to taste wine before embarking on the journey of pairing
wine and food. Read How to taste wine to learn more.

Understand what matters when assessing the
affinity of a wine with a food. It is important
to seek a balance in the wine's components
(fruit, acid, alcohol, sweetness, and tannin),
and the food components (ingredients, manner of
cooking, and the resulting tastes). It is about
more than just the flavor. Also to be taken
into account are the texture, weight,
structure, and bouquet of both wine and food.
For instance, delicate food requires a delicate
wine, while richer and more robust food will
match best with heavier, fuller flavored wines.

* The manner in which a food is cooked will impact the
appropriateness of a wine. The nature of a food changes according
to whether it is roasted, baked, poached, steamed, marinated,
seasoned, cooked in sauce, or left in as near to its original
state as possible. This is why generalizations of suitability are
too simplistic – the flavor, texture, weight, and composition of
the food needs to be considered individually, regardless of the
principal component of a dish.

* While similarities attract, opposites can do so too. What is most
important is that the food and wine complement one another in such
a way that your attention can be drawn from the wine to the food
and back again without losing the essence of either.

* Keep the food flavors simple. If the flavors of the food are too
complex, it will be hard to match it with any wine because the
food becomes so dominant. If you have a particularly complex or
rich food dish, it's recommended that you don't try matching your
prized wines but rely on cheaper, more readily available wines in
case the match is unpleasant or even terrible.

Know how to taste food and wine together. To
enable you to branch out beyond the
generalities, being aware of how to taste the
food and wine together is vital. It is
suggested that you do the following:[1]

* Take a mouthful of wine and roll it around your mouth. Swallow.

* Ask yourself what you taste and smell. Look for familiar fruit,
berry, and wood flavors.

* Decide whether you find the wine light or heavy.

* Consider the sweetness or acidity of the wine.

* Take your summation of the wine and try to match it to similar
characteristics in food. Find at least one aspect that corresponds
with the food, such as the sweetness, the flavor, the texture,
etc.

* Try the food. Eat a small piece, chew, and swallow it. As with the
wine, consider how it tastes, as well as the aftertaste. If it's a
pleasant experience, you've hit on a winner; if not, the pairing
isn't made in heaven and it's time to try a different wine.

Know your taste experience. There four to five
tastes - saltiness, bitterness, acidity,
sweetness, and the Japanese umami. These are
the tastes that you'll be combining together in
the same way an artist combines paint on the
palette:

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

* _ *Acidity*_: Highly acidic foods are not
ideal with wine because they tend to cancel out the wine's flavor.
As such, leave the vinegars, vinaigrettes, and dressings to a
minimum when pairing food and wine. Acidity is a taste that
lingers, it can hide tannin and bitterness and make wine seem
sweeter. An acidic wine should be paired with a dish that is of
lower acidity to prevent flattening the wine. For example, add a
little sugar to take the edge off a vinaigrette.

* _ *Bitterness*_: Bitter foods include
radicchio, olives, rocket, etc. It's a taste that outlasts all
other tastes. Bitterness is able to cover up acidity in a wine,
hides the tannins, and brings out the sweetness. Young red wines
work well with bitter greens, wild herbs, and olives.

* _ *Sweetness*_: Another easy taste for many,
although the ability to taste sweetness declines with age.
Sweetness doesn't last long as a taste. It minimizes bitterness
and acidity in a wine. Aim to partner sweet wine with food that
isn't overly sweet; to have both as sweet as the other will cancel
out the wine. If you have chocolate, enjoy a liqueur Tokay or a
Muscat rather than a sweet wine.

* _ *Umami*_: This is the taste that emanates
from broth style or earthy food, such as soups, miso, stock,
consommé, roast meats, mushrooms, etc. Umami takes off the edge
of tannins and brings out the sweetness, making it a good choice
for wines high in tannin.

_ Start pairing wine and food. It is possible to
make generalities, and you'll often find suggestions for pairing
food and wine at the wine store. However, as already noted, such
generalities are very broad and don't necessarily account for the
manner in which the food is cooked or what else is accompanying it,
such as spices or a cream-based sauce. As such, while the following
offers general guidance, it is still important to rely on your own
palate and to continue exploring the matching process lifelong (see
the following step after this section on developing nuanced
approaches to these generalizations):

* *Beef and lamb*_: Select red wine for beef
and lamb dishes. Usually a full-bodied red such as a shiraz or
cabernet/shiraz blend works well.[2] Suitable wines include
Barbera, Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Pinot
Noir, and Zinfandel.

* _ *Chicken*_: White wine is the usual pick.
For grilled or roast chicken, try a Chardonnay. For chicken cooked
in a rich sauce, try a Shiraz or a medium-bodied Cabernet
Sauvignon.

* _ Oysters are great with a sparkling wine or Sauvignon
Blanc*Fish and seafood*_: Select a white wine for fish and
seafood. These wines would include Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot
Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc and Gewürztraminer. Grilled firm-flesh
fish matches well with Chardonnay or an aged Semillon, while a
hearty fish stew is excellent accompanied by Pinot Noir. For flaky
fish, choose a dry Riesling or a Chardonnay.

* _ *Spicy*_: Choose Riesling and sweet
Gewürztraminer if your meal is spicy. The sweetness of these
wines can be drank quickly to offset the spiciness of the food.
Avoid adding a Chardonnay to spicy food as it will taste
bitter.[3]

* _ *Game*_: Choose a spicy red like Sangiovese
or Shiraz for game such as venison, bison, or kangaroo.

* _ *Tomato (acidic) based meals*_: Serve
Barbera, Sangiovese, or Zinfandel with tomato-based meals (for
example, spaghetti and pizza).

* _ *Duck, quail*_: Try a Pinot Noir or a
Shiraz.

* _ *Cheese*_: Full-bodied wines go well with
hard cheese, such as a full-bodied Shiraz with cheddar cheese.
Soft cheese partners well with dry Riesling, Marsanne, or Viogner.
Sweet wine is a good match for blue cheese.

* _ *Dessert*_: Sweet wines are a good choice,
provided that the dessert is not as sweet as the wine.

Deepen your pairing knowledge by discovering
the nuances. Build on the basic understanding
of what might match. It's easy enough to say
that chicken goes with white wine, or beef goes
with red wine but which wine exactly? And is
this choice clear cut? The wine that goes with
the food will depend heavily on the manner in
which the food has been prepared. For example,
it isn't as simple as saying that chicken goes
with white wine. If, for example, the chicken
has been poached, making it simple and
delicate, a simple wine such as a young
Semillon will be good. When roasted, the fat
makes the chicken richer, thus requiring a
heavier textured wine such as an aged Semillon.
If barbecued, the chicken becomes smoky, and
goes well with a wine aged in wood, such as a
light Chardonnay. When chicken has been cooked
in cream, it becomes really rich, a heavier
Chardonnay will pair well. When it's made into
a darker dish, such as by adding soy sauce, it
can take a light red such as a Pinot Noir.
Place chicken into a red wine marinade, and it
makes sense to pair it with red wine.[4]

* Learn the different flavors within each wine style and seek to
match these to the food ingredients. For example, fruity elements
and wood overtones impact the wine flavor and are important
considerations when partnering the wine with food. If you can
taste peaches, coconut, tropical flavors, smokiness, herbs,
grassiness, etc., then take those flavors and find their food
equivalents.

* Weight of the wine has an impact on pairing with food. Wines are
light, medium or full-bodied, referring to the depth of flavor on
the mid-palate. When trying to discern the weight of the wine,
either ask the retailer, or check the depth of color. Apart from
Pinot Noir, the darker the color, the heavier the weight.

* Use your sense of smell to help you pair food and wine. The two
senses are one, and you can trust your nose unless it's blocked.
Wine smells can be floral, perfumed, mineral, fruity (common fruit
smells are peach, melon, and fig), butter, nuts, earthy, truffle
or mushroom, meaty, or even like the barnyard. If the smell is
unpleasant, avoid it. An aging wine can have overtones of toast or
engine fuel.

* Consider pairing wine with the regional or
origin of the cuisine. For example, Provencal grilled lamb with
garlic and rosemary with red Bandol or Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Be
aware also that the same type of wine can have a very different
taste when it is sourced from a different region or country. For
example, an American made Sauvignon Blanc tends to have a grassier
flavor than a Sauvignon Blanc produced in New Zealand.[5] The only
way you'll know this is by tasting and contrasting the wine,
paying attention all the time to pairing it with the right food.

* Plan the meal and wine. When planning dinner,
many people opt for planning the food first and adding in the wine
according to the food. However, you might like to work from the
other way, and plan the meal according to the wine. Either way is
appropriate but will impact how you explore the flavors, and the
perspective gained by looking at the wine first, then the food,
can be quite a refreshing one.

!! Video !!

!! Tips !!

* Don't be afraid to experiment and try different wines.

* Try an online food and wine matching service.[6] Keep in mind that
these are mechanical guesses and you'll still need to put in the
human taste test!

* If you cooked the food with wine, serve it with the same. Just
don't use cooking wine for this!
Wines according to taste:

* Salty: Salt is not found in wine.

* Acidic: Riesling, young Semillons and Sauvignon Blancs,
Sangiovese, Montepulciano.

* Bitter: Young red wines.

* Sweet: Dessert wines, Moselle, Spatlese Lexia, etc.

* Umami: Chardonnay, Cabernet, Cabernet Sauvignon.

* Why not explore your favorite wine and food combinations with
fellow wine fans and food devotees? Having friends around to share
the experience makes it a whole lot more fun!

!! Warnings !!

* It can't be assumed that just because two different wines are made
from the same grape that both wines will pair well with the same
food. The style of wine also impacts the compatibility with food.

!! Things You\'ll Need !!

* Wine and wine glasses

* Food (recipes, ingredients)

* Serving items

!! Related WikiHows !!

* How to Pair Wine and Chocolate

* How to Choose the Right Glasses for Wine

* How to Taste Wine

* How to Acquire the Taste for Wine

* How to Open a Wine Bottle Without a Corkscrew

!! Sources And Citations !!

* The Sunday Telegraph, _Domestic Bliss_, p. 4/176, ISBN
1-740640-37-3 – research source

* Lyndey Milan and Colin Corney, _Balance: Matching Food and Wine,
What Works and Why_, p. 11, (2005), ISBN 0-7344-0824-2 –
research source

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