10 Food & Wine Pairing Tips

It's impossible to ruin a meal if you're having your favorite wine, regardless of what you're eating. However, there are some general guidelines you may find helpful when selecting a wine to enhance your meal.

• Think of wine as "the sauce you drink", essentially a condiment. It should complement the food.
• When pairing Food & Wine, the goal is synergy and balance; one shouldn't overpower the other.
• Balance flavor intensity. Pair lighter-bodied wines with lighter food and fuller-bodied wines with heartier, more flavorful, richer and fattier dishes. E.G. Try Sauvignon Blanc with fresh goat's cheese and a Shiraz with steak a poivre.
• How is the food prepared? Pair the wine with the sauce, seasoning or dominant flavor of the dish. Ex. Zinfandel will complement a chili-cheeseburger, spice to spice.
• When serving multiple wines during a meal: lighter before heavier-bodied, drier before sweeter, lower alcohol before higher, and the dessert wine should be sweeter than its complementing dessert with perhaps the one exception of chocolate.
• If you decide to bring wine to a dinner party, do not attempt to match the wine to the meal unless you've been requested to do so; however, do match the quality of the wine to the quality of the meal. A multi-course dinner party will command a different wine than when grilling out.
• Think about opposites! A cool, crisp and fruity Riesling pairs nicely with hot, spicy Thai food. The opposing flavors make for interesting tastes and help cleanse the palate of sweet, spicy flavors.
• Cheese and Wine. The English would say there is no such thing as serving red wine with cheese. In reality there are wonderful combinations with either white or red, but generally: dry white wines like goat cheeses; sweeter wines team with pungent and intensely flavored cheeses; milder cheeses pair with light, fruity red wines; and Camembert and Brie enjoy Zinfandels, Cabernet Sauvignons and Pinot Noir.
• Adjust food flavors to complement wine. The tail wagging the dog? Increasing sourness and saltiness in food will increase the sweetness and fruitiness of the wine, at the same time decreasing bitterness and astringency in the wine. A highly acidic food will decease awareness of sourness in the wine, making the wine taste richer and more mellow.
• What to do with Chardonnay. American's will employ this "#1" wine into more food situations than it is normally qualified. First of all, a dry Riesling (German or Alsace) is more food-friendly than the best Chardonnays, but if you do select it, then pair it with smoked or grilled white-meats, creamy sauces like alfredo, or tropical dishes found in Caribbean food.