Wine and Food Pairing for Dummies

I spent a lot of time researching the art of wine and food pairing.  Unfortunately most of the articles I found were written by wine snobs for wine snobs.  I finally stumbled upon a simple straight forward article that I was able to understand.  So instead of reaching for my handy two buck chuck or Hess Chardonnay next time I am going to pair my vino of choice with the dish I'm cooking.


Below is some of the information I gleamed from the articles I read:

• Complementary and Contrast are a "big deal"
• Complementary: choosing a wine that is similar to the food that you are preparing.
• Contrast: choosing a wine that is also dissimilar to the food that you are preparing.

Key characteristics that can complement or contrast with a meal are:

• Flavor: earthy, herbal, fruity
• Intensity: scale from weak flavor, moderate flavor, to very flavorful
• Texture: from crisp and firm to soft and supple
• Weight: light-bodied, medium-bodied, and full-bodied

For those of you who are like me and do not have the educated pallet that it takes to determine all of these characteristics I have listed classic pairings below:

• Oysters and traditional, unoaked Chablis
• Lamb and red Bordeaux (Chianti is good with lamb, too)
• Port with walnuts and Stilton cheese
• Salmon with Pinot Noir
• Amarone with Gorgonzola cheese
• Grilled fish with Vinho Verde
• Foie gras with Sauternes or with late-harvest Gewürztraminer
• Braised beef with Barolo
• Dry amontillado Sherry with soup
• Grilled chicken with Beaujolais
• Toasted almonds or green olives with fino or manzanilla Sherry
• Goat cheese with Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé
• Dark chocolate with California Cabernet Sauvignon

To Read More visit How to Match Food With Wine