As the old Italian proverb goes, “Una cena senza vino e come un giorno senza sole – A meal without wine is a day without sunshine.”. Pairing that bottle of wine you have been dying to share with your friends with the perfect meal is a lot easier than it may seem. Food and wine pairing is not an exact science, but rather an art form. It is much like a conversation, while one speaks the other listens.
Pairing Food With Wine Vs Wine With Food
The first step is the decision of which one you want to take the starring role. If you are trying to show off a particular bottle of wine the food should play a supporting role. In contrast, if you are trying to show off those shortribs that you have spent the last 24hrs braising let the wine play the supporting role. Choose a wine that will bring forth the flavors in your food without dominating them.
Finding that perfect food and wine pairing requires a basic understanding of both the wine and food it is to be paired with. When it is achieved it can be an experience not long forgotten. Certain wines have a natural affinity for certain foods. There is a marriage between the elements, one bringing the other up. It’s not just happenstance that this marriage came to be. There is a set of basic guidelines to follow when considering your next food and wine pairing.
Don’t Let One Over Power The Other
This one is pretty straight forward. Match the weight of your wine with the weight of your food. If you are serving something like a delicate white fish with a simple sauce it’s probably not the best idea to pair it with a big bold Cabernet. Think about the outcome, a few bites in I bet you don’t taste your fish anymore. Now, take that same white fish and pair it with a French Sancerre the outcome will be entirely different. The soft mineral elements of your Sancerre will enrich the fish without overpowering it. Each one makes the other better.
The perception of a wine’s alcohol content will be amplified by the food you pair it with. For this reason, light to medium-bodied wine is far easier to pair with food. Look for a wine that has an abv under 13% to ease your food and wine pairing.
Wine Pairing Using the Mirroring Effect
For me, this is one of the easiest ways to ensure that your wine pairing will be successful. Find two similar elements in the wine and dish and mirror them. Let’s say you have a peppercorn crusted Lambchop, a spicy Zinfandel is going to make an excellent pair. One of my favorite examples of this is butter-poached lobster and rich Californian Chardonnay (like the Mer Soleil Chardonnay in my Top 30 Under $30). The butteriness of your Chardonnay is going to complement that of your lobster. The addition of butter also helps to mask the presence of oak in your wine.
Another way to mirror wine in your food is simply to use the wine you will be drinking in the preparation of the dish. You’re making a white wine beurre blanc for those shrimp. Use the same wine you will be drinking with it. The same goes for braising, use the wine you will be drinking in your braising liquid. This ensures without a doubt that the elements will complement each other.
Use The Elements in the Wine to Fight Elements in the Dish
Tannins
I love me a fatty Ribeye, however halfway through a Ribeye without a wine my palate is just straight exhausted. We’ve all heard the first bite is always the best when it comes to steaks, and there is a reason for that. As you take bite after bite the layers of fat coat your tongue. These layers lessen the receptors on your tongue, making it more difficult to taste your food. Don’t worry, there’s a cure, Cabernet Sauvignon. Okay, so it doesn’t have to be Cabernet, I chose it because it has one very special element, Tannins.
Tannins, which I describe in more detail in my Wine Basics article, are your savior when it comes to fat. They settle your tongue’s surface and block the fat from being able to develop on your tongue. It should be mentioned that this does not pertain to fish fat. In fact, fish fat and tannins are like natural-born enemies, the combination causing a sensation similar to sucking on a penny. If you want a red to go with your fish try something lighter like a Pinot Noir with its natural acidity and subtle tannins.
Tannins are also an excellent pair for bitter foods. Accompaniments like arugula and broccoli rabe are excellent pairs with tannic wines. Try a wood-grilled ribeye with sauteed broccoli rabe with a Cabernet Sauvignon.
Acid
The acid in your wine works with fat in a different way than tannins. Acid works by cutting through fatty, oily, salty, or rich elements in your dish. Think of a lemon wedge. When you squeeze it over a fatty piece of fish, it accents the fish cutting through the fatty oils. Use acid-driven wines to pair with dishes containing butter sauces, strong oily fish, or fried foods.
Acid also works as a sort of exclamation point for the ingredients in your dish. The acid will help bring forth the flavor in your dish. In the same way, the fat in your dish will neutralize much of the acid in the wine, balancing the elements. A wine that may seem too tart or acidic on its own will often work perfectly for a wine pairing. The food will help to tone down the acid in the wine.
Saltiness
The relationship between salty and sweet is one that many of us enjoy. Think of a snickers bar, the saltiness of the nuts with the sweet chocolate. The same relationship can happen in your food and wine pairing. Sweetness in wine can help to counterbalance the salt in a dish. In the opposite way if your wine seems to be falling flat with your dish, try adding a dash of salt.
Salt can be lessened by acid, for this reason, sparkling wines and white wines tend to be better paired for salty dishes. Red wines contain tannins which salt in a dish can be exaggerated by. Salt will also bring forward the alcohol in your wine. If you are thinking of pairing briny oysters with a wine go for a brut sparkling, something that will degrease your palate while pairing well with the salinity of your oyster.
Oak
The element of oak in your wine can be difficult to work around when it comes to food and wine pairing. Oak is often exaggerated by food, often dominating the flavors in the dish. If you have an extremely oaky wine your food needs to be tailored to it. Try using cooking techniques that match the flavor of the oak in your wine. If you are pairing and oaky Cabernet with steak, try oak grilling the steak.
What Grows Together Goes Together
This was one of the first things I learned about food and wine pairing. Wine has been around dating back to the Mesopotamian age, long before you or I were even a thought. The cuisine famous in regions around the world has been designed over thousands of years for the grapes grown there. If you are making a regional dish, think about that region’s wines. It’s a good bet that if it grows together it goes together.
What To Do About Spice
Spice can be a tricky element to work with. Most of the flavors in your food are something we taste. Spice is something we feel. Sweetness in wine will tame the spicy element of the dish as well as bring forth flavors. This is seen in my favorite food and wine pairing, spicy Thai curry, and Riesling. The residual sugar found in the Riesling helps to tone the spice and allow you to fully enjoy all the complex flavors of the dish.
On the opposite side, tannins should be avoided when pairing with spicy food. Tannins irritate the soft tissue of your tongue. This is great for cleansing your palate from that Ribeye but not with that spicy dish. The tannins will actually make the dish appear to be spicier than it is.
Pairing Wine With Your Dessert
There’s a pretty simple rule when it comes to wine and dessert. Make sure your wine is sweeter than your dessert. If your dessert overpowers the sweetness of your wine all you’ll really taste is the acid. Make sure that the wine you are pairing with your dessert will both stand up to its sweetness as well as compliment the flavors within it.
Look At The Whole Picture
Don’t allow yourself to oversimplify things. While it’s true that Pork and Pinot Noir go great together, that doesn’t mean it’s always perfect. Take into account all the elements of that dish. What sauce is it being served with? Will the wine stand up to the sauce or do you need a more expressive wine? That Pork Chop with a bing cherry compote is gonna knock your socks off next to that Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. Why? The Pinot is not too big as to overpower the pork, but also those classic cherry elements in the wine are going to pair beautifully with the compote. See the whole picture when it comes to your pairing. What is your sauce, veggies, starch? Pair your wine with each element.
Now Forget Everything I Said
Here’s the most important rule of them all, rules are made to be broken. The guidelines I gave you are like a coloring book. In the end you become better by painting your own picture. Use the lines at first and once you feel comfortable start with your own blank canvas. Like I said in the beginning pairing isn’t an exact science, it’s an art form. There are outliers to every rule in the book, so have fun and try new things. You never know until you try.
Some Favorite Food and Wine Pairings
Oysters and Champagne
This is a classic. The reason it works is their natural affinity for one another. The salinity and meatiness of the oysters clash perfectly on your palate with the brightness and acidity of the Champagne. The bubbles work as a degreaser on your palate. For a cooked oyster, such as Oysters Rockefeller try a French Sancerre. The minerality pairs wonderfully!
Butter Poached Crab/Lobster with California Chardonnay
Seriously, if you haven’t tried this your life is not complete! The buttery element in your wine with the butter in the fish is a match made in heaven. I’d recommend making sure you get a Chardonnay aged in Oak. While unoaked Chardonnay may still have a buttery element from malolactic fermentation it won’t shine forth in the same way. Do things the French way, the more butter the better.
Whole Roasted Rosemary Lemon Chicken and Red Burgundy
The acidy and structure of Red Burgundy make it an excellent pair. It does not have too many tannins as to overpower the meat. Its acidity will cut through the fatty elements of the chicken. Earthy elements in the wine will pair perfectly with the rosemary.
Pork Chop and Pinot Noir
One of my favorite pairs. Much the same as Chicken and Red Burgundy work together the same holds true with Pork. My favorite is a great mineral-driven Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley. The soft fruit elements compliment the flavors of the pork, while the acid stands up nicely to the fat without overpowering it.
Yellow Curry and Riesling
I am obsessed with Thai food and have been for pretty much as long as I can remember. I also happen to be obsessed with Riesling. While you will usually see me sipping on a drier style of Riesling, for my Thai food I prefer it to be slightly sweeter. The subtle residual sugar in the Riesling is a perfect warrior for that Thai spice. Try Brooks La Chenaie Riesling for an out of this world experience.
Barolo and Truffles
Truffles and Barolo are a match made in heaven. Barolo’s robust flavors and overall intense flavor profile make it a natural match for truffles. The reason being that you are pairing power with power. One of my favorites is a porcini mushroom and truffle pizza with Barolo.