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Matching Wine with Food
Harvey Steiman, Wine Spectator editor at large, offers this advice: “The first thing to remember about matching food and wine is to forget the rules. Forget about shoulds and shouldn’ts. Forget about complicated systems for selecting the right wine to enhance the food on the table. This is not rocket science. It’s common sense. Follow your instincts.”
Steiman suggests that choosing a wine that you want to drink by itself is a perfect approach to any food and wine pairing, as much of the wine will be enjoyed before and after the meal.
And common sense comes into play when you determine if you want the taste of a red wine with tannins, or a white without, and which distinctive flavors (currant, cherry, stone fruit of reds, or apple, pear, citrus of whites) you think will gracefully coexist with the foods you have prepared.
Consider wines according to their places in the spectrum of lightest to fuller-bodied wines. “If you balance the wine with the food by choosing one that will seem about the same weight as the food, you raise the odds dramatically that the match will succeed,” says Steiman.
Lightest wines include pinot grigio, Riesling, sauvignon blanc, and pinot noir. Medium wines include chardonnay, barbera, Bordeaux and merlot. Fuller-bodied wines may include some chardonnays, as well as zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon, and syrah.
Cabernet is as vigorous as lamb chops, the rich texture of pinot noir equals that of roast beef, and the slighter density of sauvignon blanc rivals that of shellfish, so these are pairings that will, for the most part, be agreeable to most palates.
“To make your own classic matches, start off on the traditional paths and then deviate a little,” recommends Steiman, “That’s the way to put a little variety into your wine life without straying too far from the original purpose.”
Follow your instincts. If you choose a wine you like and thoughtfully pair it with a food you like, how can you go wrong?
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