6 Basic Rules For Pairing Food With Wine



Hi I'm Rachel May and today we're going to talk about .
Now there are certain elements of wine, there's sugar, acid, fruit, tannins and alcohol and there's also of food there's fat, acid, salt, sweet, bitter and texture. So when we think about pairing, we need to think about how these flavor elements are going to . Let's talk about some of the of wine pairings

Rule number one: hors d'oeuvres need a . The reason is a rose combines the light of a white with the of a red and if you have a table of hors d'oeuvres, there's many different flavors and textures that you need to .

Rule number two: acid needs acid. So any food that has a high level, something you'd want to squeeze a lemon on to - that's a great pairing with a light acidic white wine. If you have a dish like chicken piccata, pasta with tomato sauce or a roasted fish with citrus which will pair with a citrusy Pinot Grigio or blanc. It will be like a zap of fresh lemon in your dish.

Rule number three: tannins need fat. If you have food with a higher fat content, say a marbled ribeye steak or a or grilled sausages, you really need a wine with a that will balance it out. If you pair with a bold red wine like a Syrah or a Cabernet, the tannins in that red wine really the fat element.

Rule number four: heat needs sweet. If you're serving a dish that has a little kick to it or a little bit of , you're going to need a lighter slightly wine to pair with it. A good example would be a Riesling or a White Zinfandel.

Rule number five: salty needs . Now it can be a little hard to pair salty or fried foods with the wine, but similar to a beer the carbonation of adds a whole different texture and brings a whole new flavor to it.

Rule number six: earthy needs earthy. Now if you have an earthier food like mushrooms, or gamy meat, they're gonna be great paired with an . A good choice would be a Syrah or a Pinot Noir. You really want to think about your dominant flavors. Is it sweet, is it salty? Is it citrusy? These are the elements you want to consider when pairing your wine with your entree. Hopefully this gives you a better idea for how to your wines with your food.