Wine is a natural partner to food, and the flavours in wine have been used to complement the flavours in food. As a result many wines have been developed to match the style of local cooking.
Wine and food matching can be seen as a difficult subject and much has been written over the years about the rights and wrong of it. Thankfully gone are the days of being thrown out of a restaurant for daring to order red wine with fish, but some of the old rules still stand - ‘White wine with fish or fowl and red wine with meat’. BUT we now have many more wines to choose from and the food we eat has changed, more sauces and even potato wedges can be spicy.
Whatever your views these are the points to consider:-
First and foremost look at PERSONAL TASTE and remember that the main reason for wine and food matching is to ENHANCE THE OVERALL experience of a dish or meal.
SAFE BET FOOD AND WINE PAIRING
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Christmas Pudding
Goats Cheese
Fruits de Mer
Oysters
Roast Lamb
Strawberries and Cream
Parma Ham and Melon
Tomato Based Pasta
Chinese Stir Fry
Pasta with Cream Sauce
Steak
Chicken with Wine Sauce
Stilton
Roast Pork
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Liqueur Muscat
Sancerre, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc
Muscadet
Champagne
Red Bordeaux
Californian Rosé
Pinot Grigio
Montepulciano d’Abbruzo
Rosé
Australian Chardonnay (not too heavy)
Shiraz from most countries
Chilean Sauvignon
Port
Beaujolais |
DIFFICULT FOOD MATCHES
Listed below are foods that are difficult to match well with wine.
> Artichokes > Asparagus
> Capers > Chilli
> Horseradish > Spinach
> Truffles