The Pairing Rules

Always one thing - the good wines are those that do not overpower the taste in food. There may be an immense variety of red and white and few customary rules in pairing, the important thing is to drink the wine you like with the food that you like.

Wine is a natural complement of the foods we enjoy, but with the modern-fusion cuisine, certain dishes can dull true taste in a wine resulting in a few combinations that do not work. For instance, you would not want to serve a very sweet dessert sweeter than the wine itself, because the wine will sour in the mouth if paired with sweeter food, or a vinegar-intensified salad with a lighter wine because vinegar does not mix well with the wine. Another is cheese, although wine is often at its best with cheese, not all wines go with all cheeses, again, what goes with cheese is a matter of personal taste.

Now, the old rules.

Don't find the rules to be ironclad -- they merely indicate the most pleasing combination that helps develop a fine palate.

Rule 1: Serve wines that are in harmony with each particular dish

White wines with fish and fowl. This simple rule is sensible because of a clash in flavor between red wine with fish. If you drink Champagne or a sparkling wine with fish, it is rare that the wine would spoil the flavor. White wines contain a low level of iron that works best with lighter foods like fish, chicken, and turkey. Color and aroma in whites influence the taste buds not to overpower the taste in food and compliments the dish.

Although the high amounts of iron in complex red wines cause the fishy aftertaste after drinking the wine with fish, reds can often work wonders with dark fishes like salmon, tuna, and swordfish. The intensity in most reds can enhance the palate without clashing even with a meatier fish. So, if you feel like trying a red wine with fish, go for it anyway.

Red wines with red meat. Generally, meat is more robust in flavor that calls for a heavier wine. Red wines have firmer tannins, fuller body and higher alcohol content which taste good with meat proteins. The juicy protein softens the tannin and sensitizes the taste buds making the wine taste smooth and fruity.

Read about wine tannins here

Rule 2: Serve Wines in the Right Order

Lighter wines first before the heavier, younger before older, white wines before red wines. When you're serving more than one wine at a dinner, you should serve lighter wines before full-bodied ones. Serve dry white wines before red, and never follow a sweet wine with a dry one. If you are serving a sweet dish early in the dinner, match the food with a sweet wine.

Perhaps with the regional recipes coming in, the pairing of food and wine is no longer as hard and fast as white with fish or red with beef. While reality says there are no right and wrong rules, the basic principles will help us understand our choice of wine. 

Common Food and Wine Pairing Suggestions