Never be Afraid to do Some Food and Wine Pairing

Years ago, if you would ask a wine expert or die hard enthusiast about which wine to choose with a certain kind of food they would talk about rules that you had to follow when you want to pair food and wine. These days however the rules aren't that strict anymore because wine is becoming more and more popular with a much broader audience.

Let's be honest, wine pairing is not rocket science but you do need to have a good working taste and knowledge of wine. There is not real wrong or right answer when you pair food and wine it would rather be a personal preference to choose one above the other. On the other hand there are a few wines that should not be used with certain foods because they clash, the reason being the chemicals found in each of them.

Some of the guidelines

Lets take a look at wine first, the thing you should concentrate on is not how the wine tastes but what the body and structure is like. A chardonnay with a medium body that has a little bit of oak undertone in it can be served with a wide range of food, a heavy one on the other hand would narrow your choice a lot.

The thing to remember is that it is better not to match a delicate wine with heavy food because the wine would be lost in the taste of the food. A nice acid taste in wine will be great with fried food and fish or cheese. An excellent pair would be a wine that is a bit tart and a sauce or vinaigrette that also has a tart taste to it.

Using an astringent, high in tannins kind of wine with a high fat content dish would be a fantastic match, this is because of the biting wine taste will cut through the richness of the fatty food. Never upstage either the food or the wine, this is a guideline you should remember. AS an example, you would never eat an elaborate dish when you want to show off a vintage wine you have lying in the cellar, you would rather eat something light that would let the wine be the center of attention.

Things you should know

Red wine goes with red meat and white wine goes with fish or any other seafood dish and chicken. While you don't have to be so strict about it these are some of the simpel rules to follow when you are not sure what to do. The thing to remember is that if your dish is heavy in taste your wine should not be and the other way round.

Never let the flavors battle each other is a basic rule when it comes to food and wine pairings. It would confuse your guests at the dinner table and that is not what you want to do. In the end it comes down to being sensible about the wine choice, again it is not rocket science.