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Basic answers to what food goes with what wine, in a nutshell, is rules are made to be broken. Consequently, there are no wrong choices.
With that said, here are a few general guidelines that you'll find helpful when selecting a wine to enhance your meal, snack or dessert:
- A light-bodied wine pairs well with a lighter food and a fuller-bodied wine goes with heartier, more flavorful dishes.
- Take into consideration how food is prepared. If it's grilled, roasted or fried, what type of spices or sauces are used? Chicken with a lemon butter sauce calls for a delicate wine. However, chicken cacciatore with tomato and Italian spices needs a full-bodied wine.
- Every food action results in a wine reaction. Drinking wine by itself tastes different than when you drink it with food. Different foods, different tastes. Elements of the wine interact with food producing different taste sensations. For example:
- Sweet Foods like Italian sauces, Japanese teriyak or honey-mustard glazes will make wine seem drier that it really is so try to pair these foods with a slightly sweeter wine to balance the flavors.
- High Acid Foods like salads with balsamic vinegar dressing, soy sauce or fish served with lemon go well with higher acid wines to provide a nice contrast.
- Bitter and Astringent foods like a mixed green salad of bitter greens, Greek kalamata olives and charbroiled meats bring out a wine's bitterness so a good pairing is a full-flavored forward fruity wine.
Wine Basics
Wine & Food Pairings
Wine and Food Pairing Basics
Cooking with Wine Basics
Pairing Wine by Food Types
Pairing Charts by Wine Color
Red Wine and Food
White Wine and Food
Champagne and Food
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