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White wine with fish, red wine with meat - are usually some general rules to follow. But there’s so much more to consider than just the color! Take into consideration the sugar, acid, salt, spice, etc. The idea is to match wine with most prominent elements of the dish, and Parade Magazine helps us with some simple pairing rules to help - excerpt below:
RULE 1: SWEET WITH HEAT - Pair spicy foods with wines that have some residual sugar (example: German Riesling). Residual sugar actually cools down spice and creates balance between the food and the wine.
RULE 2: SMOKE WITH OAK - Pair grilled or charred foods with wines that have been aged in oak (example: California Chardonnay). Because oaked wines are often more intense, they can overwhelm the flavors in a dish, so they need to be paired with foods that match that intensity.
RULE 3: MATCH FLAVORS AND TEXTURES - Pair foods with wines that have similar—or complementary—flavors and textures. An easy way to do this is to match mildly flavored wines with mildly flavored foods and big, flavorful foods with big, flavorful wines.
RULE 4: ACID AND TANNIN WITH FAT - Pair fried or fatty foods with wines that are high in acid (example: French Sauvignon Blanc) or tannin (example: California Cabernet Sauvignon). Acid and tannin cuts through richness in food and rounds out the flavors in your mouth. They also acts as a palate cleanser, which helps create balance so you’re not overwhelmed. Just avoid pairing acidic wines with creamy sauces. (Think of squeezing lemon into a cup of milk!) This pairing will clash, so you’re better off pairing cream-based dishes with a complementary wine instead.
RULE 5: SWEET WITH SALT - Pair sweet wines with salty foods. If you’ve ever had chocolate-covered pretzels or kettle corn, you know firsthand that salty and sweet can be a magical pairing. A classic example of this is pairing blue cheese with Port.
RULE 6: SWEET WITH SWEET - Pair dessert with wine that is at least as sweet as the dessert itself, if not sweeter. Sweet wines showcase the sweet flavors in food, but if the food is sweeter than the wine, the wine will just taste flabby.
RULE 7: WHAT GROWS TOGETHER GOES TOGETHER - Pair foods of a particular ethnicity or region with wines from the same place (example: Spanish food with Spanish wine). Ethnic/regional pairings are typically a match made in heaven because the agriculture and grapevines share the same terroir, so they naturally have flavors that complement each other.
RULE 1: SWEET WITH HEAT - Pair spicy foods with wines that have some residual sugar (example: German Riesling). Residual sugar actually cools down spice and creates balance between the food and the wine.
RULE 2: SMOKE WITH OAK - Pair grilled or charred foods with wines that have been aged in oak (example: California Chardonnay). Because oaked wines are often more intense, they can overwhelm the flavors in a dish, so they need to be paired with foods that match that intensity.
RULE 3: MATCH FLAVORS AND TEXTURES - Pair foods with wines that have similar—or complementary—flavors and textures. An easy way to do this is to match mildly flavored wines with mildly flavored foods and big, flavorful foods with big, flavorful wines.
RULE 4: ACID AND TANNIN WITH FAT - Pair fried or fatty foods with wines that are high in acid (example: French Sauvignon Blanc) or tannin (example: California Cabernet Sauvignon). Acid and tannin cuts through richness in food and rounds out the flavors in your mouth. They also acts as a palate cleanser, which helps create balance so you’re not overwhelmed. Just avoid pairing acidic wines with creamy sauces. (Think of squeezing lemon into a cup of milk!) This pairing will clash, so you’re better off pairing cream-based dishes with a complementary wine instead.
RULE 5: SWEET WITH SALT - Pair sweet wines with salty foods. If you’ve ever had chocolate-covered pretzels or kettle corn, you know firsthand that salty and sweet can be a magical pairing. A classic example of this is pairing blue cheese with Port.
RULE 6: SWEET WITH SWEET - Pair dessert with wine that is at least as sweet as the dessert itself, if not sweeter. Sweet wines showcase the sweet flavors in food, but if the food is sweeter than the wine, the wine will just taste flabby.
RULE 7: WHAT GROWS TOGETHER GOES TOGETHER - Pair foods of a particular ethnicity or region with wines from the same place (example: Spanish food with Spanish wine). Ethnic/regional pairings are typically a match made in heaven because the agriculture and grapevines share the same terroir, so they naturally have flavors that complement each other.
