One of the trickiest things is pairing wine and food correctly. If you’re at home alone no one will judge you, but in social settings it can be embarrassing- especially if you’re looking to impress. Here’s a quick guide on how to navigate this issue.
- Use Wine to Complement
Consider wine as an extra seasoning for the food. As such, make sure the wine’s taste doesn’t overwhelm that of the food. For instance:
Spicy food- sweet wines
Salty food- sweet wines
Acidic food- acidic wines
Sweet food- sweeter wines
- Flavours in the Food
Choose the most striking flavour in your food and use that as a guide to choosing an accompanying wine.
- Intensity
One of the easiest rules to remember when pairing wine & food is- match the intensities. Delicate meals e.g salads go well with delicate wines, while strong meals such as spicy curries go with bold- flavoured wines.
If all these pairing rules seem hard to remember, here are some visual summaries. You can print and paste these on your kitchen wall for quick reference.
