How to eat with a wine pairing?

Salty foods such as fish give body to the wine but reduce the bitterness and acidity whilst pulling out the fruity flavours in your wine which mellows out the strong tannins. Seafood dishes are also great with champagne and sparkling wines that carry a hint of heat. A wine that mellows out the dish such as a Riesling is often thought as a good match as sweet wines can help reduce the heat. Red meats tend to work well with red wines such as Malbec, Pinot Noir and Zinfandel. Sparkling wines and white wines work well with chicken dishes as it is best to balance the meal with an acidic white wine. Rich foods like mousses, terrines or pâtés should be paired with a Zinfandel as the richness of the wine complements the strong flavours in the food. You need to make sure the wine tastes sweeter than the dessert or the wine will be overwhelmed and lose its flavour. For cheese and wine pairings, have a read of our previous blog ‘What are Good Wine-Cheese Pairings?’ to find the tastiest combinations. The crisp taste of the white wine offers a subtle compliment to chicken-based meals. The general rule is to try and match full-bodied wines that are relatively high in alcohol with full-flavoured dishes and lighter less alcohol wines with more subtle flavours.

) Combine the wine with the prevailing flavour The rule “fish goes with white, meat with red” is not always valid. It depends, basically, on how you cook it, the type of sauce, etc. The taste of the main ingredient is not the only one to take into consideration, but the prevailing flavour of the ensemble. The sauce for example. One of the principal rules of pairing is that the main flavour of the wine needs to have a similar sensory quality with the flavour intensity and depth of the dish. Combine the wine with the prevailing flavour 2) Sour needs sour Sourness or acidity is the key of a good wine. Without it, most wines would be flat. Sour dishes reduce the perception of sharpness in the wine; therefore, a low sourness wine can be tasteless if you combine it, for example, with a tomato sauce. Chicken in lemon sauce, grilled fish or ratatouille are the perfect couple of a white wine with high acidity. 3) Tannin, bitterness and fat Tannin is the astringent component of red wine, which provides body and structure. It is present in the skins and seeds of the grape. That astringency, however, can sometimes cause an unpleasant bitter feeling at the back of the tongue. Bitterness and fat counterbalance each other. Fat softens the tannins and provides a mellow and creamy touch in the palate. Combine a tannic wine with butter or cream sauces, fish with high fat content, grilled chops or most famously a steak, for example. 4) Spicy needs sugar The perception of alcohol is stronger with spiciness. Serving a wonderful spicy meal with a strong, tannic wine can be a catastrophe, as both flavours would cover up each other and likely increase the spice. However, you’ll be impressed with the resulting combination of a spicy curry with a semi-sweet wine, as both flavours are complementary and balance out the flavours. 5) Salt, wine’s best friend Salt increases the perception of body in wine, highlights its virtues and reduces its faults, so we can say it´s wine’s best friend. A salty dish usually makes a good couple with a tannic wine. If you like more creative flavours, you can also combine it with sweet wines, for example, a muscatel sweet with blue cheese. However, salt likes to be the main character of the couple. Do not combine it with high sourness. They will compete against each other and the result may not be what you wish for. 6) Sweet & Sweet = Success Too much sugar in a meal would make the wine less fruity. Do not mix your dessert with a tannic or dry wine, or the result will be a disappointment for both. If there is a lot of sugar in your dish serve it with an even sweeter wine, both elements will balance and you will enjoy a very pleasant feeling.

Choose a wine that’s more acidic than the food. The wine should be sweeter than the food. The wine should have the same flavor intensity as the food. Pair red wines with bold-flavored meats. White wines pair best with light-intensity meats. Bitter wines are best balanced with fat. It is better to match the wine with the sauce than the meat. More often than not, white, sparkling, and rosé wines create complementary pairings. More often than not, red wines create congruent pairings.

Fat + Acid or High Alcohol A wine with pronounced acidity adds freshness and works well to compliment fatty food. Alcohol content in wine has similar affects as acidity which is why fatty foods also work well with high abv wines. Our Chicken liver, peppercorn, brandy, pappardelle at Borough Yards would pair well with the Langhe Nebbiolo San Giacomo, Ascheri 2022 due to its good acidity and high mineral content. Fat + Tannin Fat on the tongue alleviates bitterness and works well together. The most common pairing that uses this combination is steak with red wine. Avoid pairing bitter food with tannic wine as it enhances bitterness. Acid + Acid Acidic food should be paired with equally acidic wines. When you match acidity they balance each other out allowing the other more nuanced flavours to show through. Spice + Sweet Residual sugar cools down spice and creates balance between the food and the wine. Avoid pairing spicy food with high alcohol or tannic wines. Salty + Sweet The reason why salted caramel or salted pretzels works so well. Pair salty food with off-dry (slightly sweet) wines. Our Gorgonzola, Swiss chard, pappardelle, guanciale at Borough Yards would pair well with the Hermes Diactoros II, Omina Romana 2022. Sweet + Sweet Dessert wines with desserts. The ideal match needs to be at least as sweet as the dish otherwise it will be overwhelmed. First identify if the dessert is tangy/fruity or rich/creamy? A fruitier dessert will need a wine with higher acidity sweet wine while richer ones suit a softer grape like Muscat or Sémillon.