Tips for Choosing the Perfect Wine for Your Meal

Many people enjoy a glass of wine with dinner, but a good percentage of those don’t really know how to properly pair a wine with their meal. Often they will find one wine that they like and drink it with everything. What’s happening is that they’re missing out on some of the joy of the experience, because each wine complements food in a different way. It really does matter what you drink. These tips for choosing the perfect wine for your meal may just open up a whole new culinary experience for you.In the simplest terms, people generally choose red wine to go with red meat and choose white wine to go with white meat. If you’re having a nice steak, leg of lamb, or another red meat, choose from a variety of red wines. Fish, pork, and poultry would be served with a nice white wine. This simplistic rule, of course, isn’t always the case.Instead of matching a wine with the color of the meat being served, a better idea would be to match the intensity of the wine with the intensity of the meat. A deep, full-bodied red wine would go well with a juicy steak or lamb chops. Lighter meals would be good with a nice white wine. If you have a spicy poultry dish you might want to serve a red wine just as you might want to serve a white wine with a delicate meal that has a red meat entrée.Appetizers ideally shouldn’t be paired with red wines. They can, however, be paired with these white wines: Chenin Blanc, Riesling, and Sauvignon Blanc; these roses: White Grenache and White Zinfandel; and these sparkling wines: Blanc de Noir, Brut Extra Dry, and Spumante.Barbecue and marinated poultry are best served with one of these red wines: Zinfandel, Petit Sirah, and Beaujolais. Beef dishes are also best served with a red wine: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Zinfandel.

Mild cheese would benefit from Chenin Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, and Semillon white wines. You could also serve White Grenache or White Zinfandel in the rose, or Blanc de Noir, Brut Extra Dry, or Spumante champagnes.

Choose a red Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, or Zinfandel for strong cheeses. A nice white Chardonnay or sparkling wine would also be a good choice.

Desserts would be best limited to a Gewurztraminer, Riesling, White Zinfandel, or Spumante sparkling wine.

Pasta dishes, especially those that are heavily seasoned with tomato sauce, and smoked or barbecued beef, would be great with a Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, or Red Zinfandel. White wine choices include Sauvignon Blanc, Chablis, Pinot Grigio, and Riesling. Rose and sparkling wine would not be ideal to serve with these types of meals.

Pork dishes can be enjoyed with a Pinot Noir or red Zinfandel, white Chardonnay or Gewurztraminer, or a White Grenache.
Pinot Noir, Burgundy, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, and White Zinfandel are good choices for poultry dishes.

Finally, if you plan to enjoy a seafood dinner, consider choosing a Merlot, Pinot Noir, Burgundy, Chardonnay, Semillon, White Grenache, or White Zinfandel for heavy seafood. Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc, White Grenache, and White Zinfandel would be recommended for lighter seafood fare.

It doesn’t take a genius to choose a good wine to enjoy with dinner. These tips for choosing the perfect wine, while not exhaustive, will hopefully make that next decision a little easier. Take your time, consider your options, and enjoy whatever you choose.