When chosen carefully, pairing wine with your meal can make the food taste so much better. When thinking about choosing the right white wine for a meal, it is important you consider your own personal tastes. Everyones’ wine tastes are slightly different and there are no hard and fast rules for the pairing of wine with food. However, there are some classic combinations that are sure to please your palate and some interesting combinations that you should definitely try.
Everyone has heard the classic wisdom, of how white wine should be paired with white, not red meat. Although white wine does go very well with white meat, following this advice too carefully could mean you are missing out. It is always worth experimenting to see if white wine and different kinds of red meat work for you. You never know, you could be in for a treat! Think not only about the meat but also the sauces, particularly if the sauce is full of flavour. When pairing food you should match according to the strongest traits of the meal, if the meal contains a strong sauce, you should usually match according to this. With a meal that contains a sauce that does not contain prominent flavours, focus on the meat or main aspect of the dish.
White wine really compliments the taste of seafood, particularly shrimp and lobster. Although all white wine should be tried with these dishes, Chardonnay and Riesling in particular make a fantastic combination. Chardonnay is also a great wine to pair with chicken and creamy sauces. This is a highly popular combination. However, you should steer clear of pairing Chardonnay with spicy dishes, the same goes for Pinot Grigio and Riesling.
It is sometimes difficult to find wines to pair with multicultural flavours. Traditional wine pairing advice cannot be easily applied. A good match will enhance the flavours of the exotic cuisine. If you wish to pair white wine with asian, spicy cuisine, make sure you choose the right white wine. Wines such as Gewurztraminer will really complement Asian food, in particular, curry. You can also pair this wine with red meats such as Pork.
White wine is also great for pairing with difficult foods such as egg based dishes, where the sulphur can often cause problems. However, you should make sure that the white you choose is very well balanced. Too acidic or too rich and there could be problems. Other foods which may cause problems for pairing with wine are vinegar or an acidic sauce. The taste of most wines are ruined by the presence of vinegar. However, it can work if you try to find clean, fresh and crisp wines. Likewise, high acidic foods such as tomatoes can throw the flavours of the wine and food off balance. Look for more acidic wines which will not be overpowered. You may have to consider serving two wines to get around this problem.
It is also important if you are cooking a meal for guests, to keep their tastes in mind. If you know they enjoy a particular wine, try combining this with a dish. As long as it is not one of the few combinations you should avoid, it is likely to be appreciated. Many wine and food combinations complement each other, this is where flavours should not fight each other, but match. However, you should also remember that not all wines have to compliment the food, some of the best combinations involve contrasting pairing. For example, pairing oily fish with an a acidic white wine is an unusual contrast, but a fantastic combination. This is certainly more difficult to get right, it may take trial and error, or you should really know the dish and the wine. However, it is definitely worthwhile. You should also think about how light or heavy the dish is. Try to carefully match the weights and bodies. For light dishes such as salad, or fish, you should find a dry white wine to compliment. Heavier dishes deserve sweeter and complex wines.
You should also make sure you have carefully paired your wine with the dessert. As a rule, make sure you do not combine a dry white wine with a sweet dessert. This can make the wine taste much more acidic than it is, in comparison with the sweet dessert flavours. Chocolate desserts can often be very difficult to pair with wine. However, if you have a sweeter chocolate dish, try to pair it with a sweet white wine. Try to make sure the weight and body of the dessert and wine match. For more bittersweet chocolate dishes, try dry white wine.
