I’ve been getting a lot of questions about pairing wine and food lately, so I thought I’d delve into a multi-part Pairing Primer, looking at different types of food—Asian, summer grills, various red meat, etc.—and explore which wines go best with them and why.
But first, the basics. As I’ve mentioned before and will probably mention again, there are a couple of ground rules in pairing and the first of them is that there are no steadfast rules. If you like a certain wine with a certain food, then it’s a good match. Period. That said, there are a few guidelines that can help you narrow the scope.
- Complement or Contrast. Wine can either echo the flavors of a food or plunge in and pull out an opposing flavor. A crisp Sauvignon Blanc will complement the acidity of scallops in a citrus sauce, while the bold, fruit flavors in a Zinfandel will contrast well with smoky, spicy barbecued ribs. The choice of whether to complement or contrast is yours.
- A Weighty Matter. The next factor to consider is the weight, or body, of both the food and the wine. Lean foods are lighter in the mouth while fatty foods have a full-bodied effect. The same applies with wine. Acidic wines are crisper and lighter, and wines with a tannic backbone (think Cabernet Sauvignon) have fuller body. In general, you’ll want to match the weight of the wine to the weight of the food—which is why ‘white with fish, red with meat’ is a pretty good rule to live by. But you can shake it up a bit—for instance, a light, spicy Riesling with those sticky ribs or a bone-dry Soave with a fritto misto.
- Think Core Flavors, but Look for Connections. Wines are extremely aromatic, flavorful concoctions. Far from being a one-dimensional addition to dinner, wine brings layers of flavor and nuance that will dance with those of the food. Keep this in mind as you’re choosing your wine. Earthy, herbaceous flavors in food will be complemented by a like wine. Light, bright flavors the same. But again, this is a rule to be bent. If you’d like to try a fruitier wine with a more pungent dish, go right ahead. But look for ‘connecting’ flavors to bridge the gap—like the peppery bite of a Syrah which locks on to the spicy ribs in the example above.
Let me give an example here to illustrate how all this works. When I wanted to create a dish to pair with the Clos du Bois Calcaire, I employed all of these guidelines. First off, I knew I wanted to create complementary flavors, just because I like to do that. So when I tasted the wine, I paid close attention to the elements of flavor I got both on the nose and on the palate and jotted them down (slatey, earthy with a hint of spice, rich and round with fruit) so that I could choose ingredients that would connect with them.
I also noticed that it’s a big wine with lots of body, which made me want to add some cream or butter to the dish to mimic the mouth feel of the wine. What resulted was the Shrimp and Mushroom Fettuccine with Caramelized Shallots and Corn. The brininess of shrimp hits the slate-like element of the wine, the earthiness of pancetta and mushrooms harmonizes with the deeper spice-notes, and corn plays up the sunnier flavors of Calcaire’s palate while the caramelization keeps it rooted in richness.
Stay tuned in the months ahead for themes on the Pairing Primer. And by all means, bring questions and suggestions of your own!
9 Comments
“there are a couple of ground rules in pairing and the first of them is that there are no steadfast rules” - thank you for this! I sometimes find myself to be a total rebel when choosing a heavier red for lighter meals and will take the verbal beating from my wine savvvvy friends. I thoroughly enjoy a full bodied wines because i enjoy the “contrast”. I feel better now understanding that it’s a personal choice.
For lighter, more refreshing wines, I find that I am enjoying rose’s during a warm summer afternoon. I’ve just started to warm up to whites, which are more typically paired with Viet foods.
Thank you so much for this informative series. I look forward to your other installments!
Thanks- I love the tips on pairing
I look forward to more…
I agree pairing at first is difficult but once you stick to the rules, really trusting your palate on the underlying flavors, a good pairing can be blissful. Thanks for going over your thoughts on this.
Thank you Lia - so much. I need education and I also appreciate “there are no steadfast rules”. I was standing today in Costco wishing I could call someone for help . . . I need a sommelier on my shoulder whispering in my ear. I do really like robust reds. steph
Great post - I hope you don’t mind if I link to it!
This is a very informative post. Thank you. Pairing wines with food, is something I would love to learn more about!
Great post Lia. I like reading these guidelines, as most of my experience has just come from trial and error. One that always gets me is asparagus - especially when I serve it with a filet.
I’m looking forward to the future installments, as well as what you pair with the foods you post regularly on your blog.
Great post. Another great lesson in pairing wine with food: you don’t appreciate the importance of it until you make a very bad pairing. Like if you happen to have some very strong, full bodied wine still in your glass from dinner when you dive into dessert…suddenly, the sweetness of the dessert or the tannins of the wine (or whatever) are just completely out of whack and every flavor is screamingly out of harmony.
Now, I make a point of finishing both dinner AND the wine before advancing to dessert.
White On Rice Couple . . . Good, I’m so glad this post gave you confidence to be bold in your pairings! Please do let me know if you find an unusual one that particularly tickles your tastebuds.
RecipeGirl . . . Stay tuned. Thanks!
Cathy . . . Blissful indeed. Well said.
Steph . . . Can’t do much about that sommelier at Costco, but I’ll try my best to keep the tips coming here.
Steve . . . Thanks! I’d love a link, please do.
Jenn . . . Thanks!
Maureen . . . I agree, sometimes guidelines actually give us confidence and freedom. I’ll definitely be including more on the subject of pairing in the future.
Mike . . . I couldn’t agree more. Although a little lingering Cabernet Sauvignon with a molten chocolate cake or some pungent Stilton isn’t a bad thing at all ;-).