Wine and Food Pairings...

It's simpler than you think. Years ago, it was red wine with beef and perhaps a robust pasta and white wine with chicken and fish. This is fine to use as a general guideline but the main thing to remember is to drink what you like. Have said that, there are some good pairings I'll write about in this article.

It's fun to pair wine with food to make a meal more enjoyable. The light-bodied wines go best with lighter foods and the heavier wines with heavier, very flavorful foods. The body of a wine is how powerful and weighty it feels in your mouth.

As you pair wine with beef, wild game, barbecued meats, and/or pastas in a heavy red sauce select a heavy-bodied, flavorful red wine. Consider these wines - a Syrah, Merlot or a Cabernet Sauvignon (my personal fave). If you're serving light seafood dishes, poultry, ham and mildly flavored cheeses look to the lighter wines. For a red wine, these would be a Beaujolais, Burgundy or a Pinot Noir. If you prefer to serve a white wine, consider a Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay or a Sauvignon Blanc. Rose Wines also go well with the lighter fare.

And, sometimes you throw the rules out completely. I serve White Zinfandel during the cocktail hour of my dinner parties with no thought at all of whether it goes well with the appetizers I'm serving. It's what many of my friends like so that's good enough for me. Of course, there are also other reds and whites available at my "bar" should anyone bother to check. And, I usually serve both white and red wine at my dinner parties.

Pairing by regions also works well. A nice Chianti goes well with hearty Italian dishes. An Italian import, Bolla Soave, (my mother's personal fave) goes nicely with lighter chicken dishes and salads.

For dessert you'll want a sweet wine like Sherry, Port and Muscats. I don't care much for dessert wines but I will often serve a sparkling, fruity wine with dessert. Or, even a very rich burgundy paired with very rich chocolate dishes. Muscats are very sweet and don't pair well but both Sherries and Ports go well if the dessert is not sweeter than the wine. A well-known farmstead cheese maker and client of mine, pairs Port with many of his white cheddar cheeses - delicious. You'll often find Port served with Stilton cheese. Sherry pairs nicely with nutty desserts also.

Here are a few guidelines about which wine goes well with what food dishes.

Steak - Merlot, Zinfandel, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon

BBQ Meats - Zinfandel, Syrah, Chianti

Salmon - Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Riesling, Chardonnay, Bolla Soave, Burgundy

Shellfish - Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Chablis, Bolla Soave

White Fish - Chardonnay, Beaujolais, Pinot Noir, Gewurztraiminer

Pasta in Red Sauce - Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Chianti, Burgundy Pinot Blanc

Keep in mind, these are only guidelines not rules. Enjoying the wine you like is the most important "rule" of all.