How to: pair wine and food

The sauce is simmering, the food is in the oven, and the table is set. The only thing left to do is fill the wine glasses. But with what? FavorFlav to the rescue! Because with a few simple guidelines, you can learn how to pair them. 

There are roughly three ways to choose a suitable wine for a dish. 

You want the dish to be in the spotlight

Then pour neutral or fruity, unoaked white wines that don’t interfere with the flavor of the dish. (Off-)dry Riesling, Pinot Blancs, Champagne and Sauvignon Blanc from France (less aromatic than the famous Sauvignon from New Zealand) are all suitable neutral accompaniments. 

You want the dish and the wine to complement each other

Look for similarities in flavor, texture or intensity. Creamy and rich sauces therefore pair especially well with wines that have been aged in oak. Think pasta in a cream sauce with a Chardonnay (rich and full-bodied), or how about goat cheese with a Sauvignon Blanc (acidic and fresh)?

You’re going for a true flavor explosion

Good idea! Choose a wine that contrasts with the dish, so they both enhance each other. Instead of looking for similarities between wine and dish, look for opposites. It’s easy to apply this to dishes with a pronounced flavor. Roquefort with a dessert wine such as PX sherry, for example: the wine’s sugars soften the cheese’s intense saltiness. 

What should you watch out for when pairing wines and dishes?

• The aromas of a dish can be so intense that they completely overshadow the aromas of the wine. With dishes that have a very pronounced flavor, such as a spicy Thai curry, don’t serve a refined wine but rather a lightly sweet, aromatic white wine, such as Gewürztraminer or (slightly sweet) Riesling: fresh, fruity wine that embraces the dish while tempering it a little at the same time. 
• Powerful wines with lots of tannins completely overpower subtle dishes. This happens, for example, when you drink a rich (heavy) red wine, such as a Cabernet Sauvignon, with sole fillet. Or an oaked wine with asparagus. The asparagus’s subtle flavor is then completely dominated by the wine.
• Combining a dish with a wine can create a completely new and undesirable aroma that was present in neither the wine nor the dish. Cause they just don’t fit. Eating white turkey meat with a glass of red Bordeaux? Better not, unless you enjoy a metallic taste in your mouth…
• The dish can amplify a particular element in the wine. Walnuts, for example, which already have an astringent, puckering mouthfeel, are best not eaten with a tannic wine such as a Bordeaux. It makes the wine undrinkable, and you won’t be able to swallow those walnuts anymore…
• Herbs, baking, roasting, stir-frying, steaming, deep-frying, grilling: the cooking method affects the final flavor experience. While steaming produces delicate flavors, so you should pour a ballerina of a wine, with a grilled piece of meat (smoky and slightly sweet) you should choose a powerhouse of a wine instead, such as Syrah/Shiraz.
• If it grows together, it goes together. Regional products often work well with wines from the same region. An Italian Barolo with truffle risotto? A match made in heaven!

And hey… not cooking but getting takeout? Here’s how to choose the best wine for your takeout.

Also read:

• Must-have: this wine cooler that chills wine in 15 minutes
• 7 sommelier secrets, part 1
• Buying wine online: what to look out for