Food and Wine Pairing Guidelines

Drink what you like.

What you like to drink always takes precedence over any recommendation that I might make.

Start by thinking about the dish or meal as a whole. What are its dominant characteristics?

• Is it mild or flavorful?
• Is it fatty or lean?
• Is it rich or acidic?
• Watch the sauce – a sauce will dominate so match the wine to the sauce if, for example, chicken with a mushroom sauce.

With these characteristics in mind, select a wine that will help keep the flavours balanced so:-

• Match mild foods with mild wines. Match big, flavorful foods with big, flavorful wines. Pair a bold-flavoured Pepper Steak with a spicy, bold red Syrah/Shiraz or Grenache. Similarly you generally want to match the richness of the food and the richness of the wine, for example, rich Chicken in Cream Sauce with a rich Chardonnay.

If you're eating a relatively rich, 'fatty' dish and thinking about drinking a red wine

Dishes such as Lamb require a red wine which has good structure, that is to say it has good tannins and acid balance so the palate feels clean afterwards. Bordeaux, burgundy, Chianti, Nebbiolo are examples.

If you're eating a very rich, 'fatty' dish and thinking about drinking a white wine

Look for contrast and, once again, something with good, cleansing acidity. (NB. Acidity in a wine is essential but not to be confused with a wine being, apparently, ‘acidic’) you probably want to contrast the meal with a refreshingly crisp acidic wine; Sancerre or similar Sauvignon Blanc.

• Also worth noting that a fatty dish is not the same as ‘rich’. Fried chicken (Kentucky style) is fatty – drink a crisp Sauvignon. Chicken in a cream sauce is rich, and would be better with a good Chardonnay.

Acidic foods

Shrimp with Lemon or Pasta with Tomato Sauce these need wines with good structure and acidity, Muscadet, Picpul, Sauvignon and so on. Acidic Wines and Cream Don't Mix - so no to Muscadet or Sauvignon but yes to oaked chardonnay

Wine and Strong Spices

Strong spices, such as hot chili peppers in some Chinese or Indian food, can clash and destroy the flavours in a wine. In most cases, wine is not the ideal thing to drink. That said, if you want to drink wine then it must be fruit driven with no hard edges and preferably not bone dry. Rosé can work if not too dry, Riesling the same – reds, soft, easy style of shiraz or Grenache. The wine needs to have some element of sweetness or ripeness which is not to be confused with being a sweet wine.

Cheese

• Stilton and strong blue chesses - Tawny Port, any decent dessert or pudding wine such as Sauternes, Gewurztraminer, Muscat or sweet dark Olorosso Sherry. Red wine – needs to be big and bold such as a Shiraz
• Soft, rich cheeses. Sancerre, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, lighter Chardonnay. Red, Pinot Noir would be my first choice.
• Hard cheeses. Most richer red wines.

To really simplify...

Most regional foods are created over time to go with the local wines, if you're eating Italian food, think about having an Italian wine.

Some ideas

• Fish No sauce – Sauvignon, Champagne, Pinot Bianco.
• Crab Best with dry Riesling (just is)
• Shellfish, Oysters Chablis, Muscadet, Picpoul, Champagne
• Scallops Chardonnay
• Salmon, fresh sardines Pinot Noir – mature burgundy, works really well

• Beef – simple. Any good red, particularly Bordeaux, Cabernet
• Beef with rich sauce. Chateauneuf-du-pape, good Rhone, shiraz
• Casseroles Burgundy, good Pinot Noir, Italian

• Tomato based sauces Chianti, Barbera – Italian usually better than anything else.

• Pork – simple. Beaujolais, Sauvignon, simple Chardonnay
• Richer or with sauce Riesling works, good Beaujolais

• Lamb Chianti, Nebbiolo, Pinot Noir
• Stews, mutton Gamier, so Bordeaux etc. (watch mint sauce as will clash with anything)

• Chicken, turkey If simple roast then Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, good cru Beaujolais but if in a sauce or fried rules as above.

• Game Rioja, Burgundy, Barolo

Veg to Watch

• Mushrooms Don’t be fooled into thinking these are background, Pinot Noir is a great match for the earthy flavours.
• Tomatoes Will make any softer, fruity red seem bitter.
• A green vegetable dish will need something like Chablis

Desserts

• Fruit – apple pie etc. Sauternes, Loire late harvest wines
• Chocolate Difficult. Moscato, Bracchetto, Muscat, some Ports – some off dry Champagnes can work.