This document discusses the basics of wine and food pairing. It notes that while red wine is generally paired with red meat and white wine with white meat, other factors must be considered like flavors, fat content, cooking methods, and sauces. Specific pairing examples are provided such as Champagne with fried foods, medium-bodied reds with roasted chicken, and lighter whites with salads. The document outlines five rules for food and wine pairing: 1) Consider cooking methods, 2) Match sauces and flavors, 3) Pair wines with refreshing qualities to fatty foods, 4) Match sweet wines to desserts, and 5) Consider opposite but complementary flavors like port and blue cheese. While pairings are subjective, following

1. Wine & Food Pairing Basics
Wine-Food-Pairing-Chart

2. Champagne-Fried-Food
Steak-Red-Wine
Vintage-Port-Blue-Stilton-Cheese
Now we all know the age old rule of pairing red wine with red meat and white wine with white
meat. While that does apply as a simple thumb rule, a lot many other factors go into pairing wine
and food. We need to think about the dish as a whole and not single out one element to pair the
wine with. We need to think about the dominant flavours in the dish like:
Is it mild or heavy on flavours?
It is lean or fatty?
Is it rich or acidic?

3. Is it sweet or spicy?
As complicated as that sounds, if you keep a few simple rules in mind you are sure to enjoy your
food and wine.
1) The style of cooking or preparation method: This plays an important role as the preparation
method makes a great deal of difference in the way food tastes. For eg: boiled or mildly
flavoured chicken will taste very different from roasted chicken or tandoori chicken. So while
you may pair a white wine with mildly flavoured chicken dishes, you can enjoy light to medium
bodied reds with roasted or tandoori chicken. Cold dishes like salads or sushi pair wonderfully
with lighter white wines like Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, unoaked Chardonnay.
2) Sauces: Just like how the sauce or gravy can make or break a dish, the wine paired with it will
do the same. For example: Creamy, rich sauces work well with aromatic whites like an oaked
Chardonnay. Sauces with herbs work well with Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier. Mushroom based
sauces have an earthiness to them that make medium red wines a great pairing. Fruit sauces like
a cranberry sauce work with light bodied fruity reds like a Zinfandel or Pinot Noir. Heavier
sauces like black pepper or tikka masala work well with heavier spicier reds like a Shiraz or
Cabernet Sauvignon. Asian or Indian flavours work well with off dry Riesling &
Gewurztraminer.
3) Fat content: Fat content in a food requires a refreshing crisp wine that cuts through the fat and
acts as a palate cleanser. For example: Fried Chicken & Sparkling wine is an unusual but a great
combination.
4) Sweet Foods: Always remember to pair a sweeter wine with a dessert so that the wine doesn’t
taste tart or acidic. You can pair a sweet Riesling with Apple Pie.
5) Opposite Flavours: Port Wine and Blue Cheese is a classic pairing. The intense, savoury
flavours of the cheese work well with the rich sweetness of the wine. It’s like cherries and cream
in your mouth. Other examples include Sauternes – a sweet rich white wine from France – and
Foie Gras.
We can go on and on about wine and food pairings but at the end of the day it is all subjective.
You may pair food and wine according to your personal tastes but following these simple rules
will definitely make sure you stay out of the disaster zone. So go on! It’s all about experimenting
and discovering it for yourself!
From
Wine kart Blog