Food & Wine Pairing Tips from a Chef
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Loading... - bethany maria
- 25 Apr 2023
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Food and wine matching can be very intimidating. But it is essentially a matter of individual taste, so rule number one is: if it tastes good and balanced to you, it is a good choice.
Before you choose the wine to go with a dish, ask yourself what the character of the dish is: full flavored, creamy, mild, lean, spicy fatty, or acidic?
A few ground rules on pairing food & wine
Match flavorful dishes with full bodied wines and creamy mild dishes with mild, mellow wines. Fatty and fried dishes are best with crisp, lightly acidic wines or wines with a good amount of tannins. Acidic dishes can only be matched with acidity.
Spicy dishes are best matched with mildly sweet wine, and when in doubt remember that regional dishes are always best served with the wines from the same region.
For example, Italian food pairs well with Italian wines. “You can dig a little deeper on this though“, says Michele Gargiulo, certified Sommelier and Wine and Beverage Director of the Fearless Restaurant Group. “A nice fresh Italian seafood dish will pair well with a wine grown close to the beach. The salinity in the air will make its way into the wine, layering it with some minerality that will pair well with the food.”
On the other hand, Spanish or Portuguese seafood dishes pair well with local wines such as Albariño or Alvarinho, according to Ami Gangemella, a wine marketing consultant. “With a maritime climate and influence from the Atlantic Ocean, these vibrant acidic white wines pair well with local seafood cuisine.”
With the above in mind, here are some more guidelines on pairing food & wine.
Rich, Creamy Dishes
Rich dishes include those with creamy sauces, fish, seafood, pasta in cream sauce, veal pork and poultry dishes and chilled or warm cream soups. Generally speaking cream sauces do not match well with acidic wines.
For these dishes choose a rich, full bodied and heavily-oaken Chardonnay, young Merlot, Beaujolais, Gamay or Pinot Noir. Read More…
