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This article describes basic tips for planning a menu with complimentary food and wine pairings.
Basic Guidelines
- In general, dry wines are served prior to sweet wines.
- White wines are served before red wines.
- Red Bordeaux is served before red burgundies, but white burgundies are served before white Bordeaux.
- Young red wines are served before older red wines.
- Lower alcohol wines are served before higher alcohol wines.
- Consider the food and the wine to be one dish. Rich foods are best served with full-bodied wines, while light or tangy dishes are best served with a wine of similar characteristics.
- Generally speaking – light bodied wines go best with steamed or poached foods and full bodied wines go best with roasted or baked dishes.
- The wine served with dessert should be as sweet as the dish, or sweeter.
- Acidic wines go best with salty or fatty foods.
- Salty foods obscure the sweetness and emphasize the fruitiness of sweet wine.
- Do not serve only white wines with fish and chicken, or only red wines with beef. This is an outdated rule.
- You cannot judge how a wine will taste with a meal by tasting it alone.
- Try to choose foods and wines from the same geographical region.
- It’s easier to plan a menu once you’ve chosen the wine than it is to try to find a suitable wine for an existing menu.
- Sometimes it’s best to just forget all of the rules and choose your favorite wine.
Pairing Food and Wine
- Salads go best with dry Rose or Riesling.
- Shellfish and rich fish dishes are good alongside Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc.
- White meats and chicken are complimented by light red or dry white wine. Good choices include Bordeaux, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Burgandy, Pinot Blanc, Merlot, Chardonnay, Vin Gris, or Riesling. Chicken dishes are versatile, and wine pairing should take other ingredients present in the dish into account.
- Italian food should, obviously, be paired with an Italian wine. Most Italian dishes go well with Chianti or Pinot Grigio. Dishes that include cream sauce as a main ingredient pair nicely with an Italian Chardonnay. Pizza goes well with Barbera or Sangiovese.
- Red meat is best served with a full red wine, such as Bordeaux, Merlot, Cabernet, or Burgandy wines. Pinot Noir or Zinfandel also go well with roast beef.
- Duck and goose are accompanied well by Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Rioja, or Merlot. Some professionals feel that duck goes excellently with Rose sparkling wine.
- Ham pairs well with Asti Spumanti, Vin Gris, or Beaujolais. Most other pork dishes should be served with Chardonnay, Chianti, or Merlot.
- Spicy food is good when coupled with Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Vin Gris, Chenin Blanc, Merlot, or Gruner Veltliner.
- Sweet desserts are complimented by a semi-sweet or sweet white wine. Chocolate goes well with Cabernet Savignon, Syrah, and Zinfandel.
Copyright Elaine M. Koontz. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.
Elaine M. Koontz - Elaine Koontz is a registered and licensed dietitian in the state of Pennsylvania, and is a graduate of Seton Hill University located in ...
