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Rule #1
If you are taking wine to a dinner party as a gift, don't worry about matching the wine to the food. Just bring a GOOD wine.
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Rule #2
- Serve lighter bodied wines before full bodied ones
- Serve dry wines before sweet wines
- Serve lower alcohol wines before higher alcohol wines
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Rule #3
- Pair light-bodied wines with lighter foods
- Pair full-bodied wines with heartier, more flavorful, richer, or fattier dishes
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Rule #4
Pair the wine with the sauce, seasoning, or dominant flavor of the dish
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Rule #5
- Match flavors
- Avoid competing flavors that neutralize one another to blandness or that both demand dominance (unpleasant)
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Rule #6
Beware of pairing a wine with a food that is sweeter than the wine; the sweeter food may make the wine taste bitter by comparison
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Rule #7
Consider pairing opposities (i.e. hot/spicy foods with sweeter wines)
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Rule #8
Match by geographic location
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Rule #9
- Dry wines with goat cheeses
- Light, fruity reds with mild cheeses
- red wines with sharp cheeses
- sweet wines with pungent or highly-flavorful cheeses
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Rule #10
- Sweet dishes increase perception of bitterness in wine
- Bitter dishes will also increase perception of bitterness in wine
- sourness and salty flavors in foods decrease perception of bitterness in wine
- high acidity in foods decreases perception of sourness in wines
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_____ and ______ are the most versatile varietals.
- Pinot noir
- Sauvignon blanc
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_____ wine tastes ______ with the dark, grey, oily parts of fish.
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______ wine tastes _______ with more than a tiny amount of vinegar, shellfish, or snails.
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General Food & Wine Combos: Light appetizers
light, dry whites
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General Food & Wine Combos: heavy appetizers
fruity whites or reds
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General Food & Wine Combos: Clear broth soups
don't pair well with wine; diluting effect on wine
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General Food & Wine Combos: Creamy or rich soup
dry white
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General Food & Wine Combos: thick, earthy soup
light-bodied red
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General Food & Wine Combos: salmon
chardonnay or pinot noir
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General Food & Wine Combos: Cod
Pinot noir or Beaujolais
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General Food & Wine Combos: Shrimp and Lobster
- Chablis
- Chardonnay
- White Burgundy
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General Food & Wine Combos: subtly prepared poultry
lighter, fruity whites
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General Food & Wine Combos: heavy and spicy poultry
lighter, fruiter reds
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General Food & Wine Combos: sweet ham & pork
fruity reds (Beaujolais, Pinot gris, Pinot noir)
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General Food & Wine Combos: mildly savory ham & pork
dry whites (White Burgundy, Chardonnay)
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General Food & Wine Combos: highly savory/spicy ham & pork
big reds (Cabernet sauvignon)
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General Food & Wine Combos: Beef
any fine red wine (Cabernet sauvignon, Burgundy, Bordeaux, Zinfandel, Pinot noir)
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General Food & Wine Combos: Game meats
big and bold reds (Cabernet sauvignon, Syrrah)
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General Food & Wine Combos: Camembert, Brie, Gouda, other soft cheeses
any red (Burgundy, Zinfandel, Cabernet sauvignon)
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General Food & Wine Combos: Goat cheeses
dry whites, unless cheese is robust (then reds)
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General Food & Wine Combos: Blue cheese
- sweet wine (late harvest wines, ice wines, Sauternes)
- milder blues like Gorgonzola pair well with fruity reds
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General Food & Wine Combos: mild cheeses
fruity reds (Pinot gris, Pinot noir, Beaujolais)
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General Food & Wine Combos: sharp cheeses
dry reds
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General Food & Wine Combos: creamy & fruity desserts
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General Food & Wine Combos: chocolate desserts
- creamy liqueur
- warmed Brandy
- Port
- (skip the wine)
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Wine with Real Food: Hamburger/Meatloaf
Beaujolais, Zinfandel, Syrrah
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Wine with Real Food: Pasta with red sauce
Chianti
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Wine with Real Food: Fried Chicken
Sauvignon blanc
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Wine with Real Food: Sausages/hot dogs
Zinfandel, Gewurtztraminer, Riesling
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Wine with Real Food: Asian
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