10 Tips for Great Wine and Food Pairings: Pairing wine with your favorite foods can be one of the most blissful combinations ever. A sumptuous meal with your favorite wine- What’s better?
Though we may have tried combining the two of them, it may not turn out to be that good if we don’t know the best ways to do so. If you don’t practice the right ways, it can even end up ruining your entire evening. But if you’re doing it right, then bingo! Yes, there are some cardinal rules to bring out the best flavors of the two.
To make it easier for you, we are enlisting a few rules to help you out with the best tips for combining food and wine.
1. Match the quality
One of the most important things that you have to consider while pairing the two of them is to see if the qualities of the two match. An exquisite dish works best with superior wines on special occasions. On the other hand, matching normal dishes can work well with simple wines daily.
2. Fight fat
Fat is what gives the meat its flavor but when you consume it with wine, you should always consider it and neutralize it. You should always go for a wine that has a high tannin or acid content in it. When you eat light dishes, go for wines with higher acidity like Riesling and Pinot Noir. On the other hand, when you eat heavy dishes, go for wines with lower acid content in them like Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon.
3. Regional wines with regional dishes
You can always choose wines and foods from the same region. After all, they were designed to go well along together. Their roots stay connected to the same place. So, if you’re picking up a regional dish, you can always feast it with some regional wine to enjoy it in full swing.
4. Success with spice
We can feel spices on the surface of our tongue as a tickling sensation. Spicy foods complement well with wines that are a little sweet. The element of the sweetness of wine will neutralize the heat of the food and help you enjoy the flavor. You should always refrain from wines having a high tannin content as they can irritate the tongue and cause the mouth to dehydrate.
5. Match power and weight
You should always consider the intensity and the power of the wine with that of the food to draw out the best flavors of both. If you can’t enjoy doing so, then it won’t do any good. So, it’s always best to pair heavy wines with heavy dishes, soft wines with soft dishes, robust wines with robust dishes, and subtle wines with subtle dishes.
6. Understand how to bring out the flavors
The flavors of the palate can change the approach or flavor of the food item substantially. It can make up or break up the combination. So, if you have a good knowledge of how flavoring works, you can end up creating some amazing pairings. Usually, it’s the salty and the sour flavored food items complement well with wines. On the other hand, sweet, savory, or bitter flavors can ruin your entire meal.
7. Select wines by looking at all the ingredients
People usually tend to miss out on all the ingredients while choosing a wine to go with food. Not just the protein, you have to consider other things too like sauce, starch, and vegetables in the food. It will ensure that the wines complement well with the whole dish.
8. Dessert wines should be sweeter
The main rule behind pairing dessert wine with a dessert is that the wine should always be sweeter. It helps to balance the element of sweetness rather than simply highlighting its acid effects.
9. Mirror the flavors and the traits
One of the most effortless ways to correlate the two is to mirror the wines and foods having similar traits. For example, if you are choosing peppery food items, go for wines that have similar peppery traits like a Zinfandel.
10. Forget the rules
Sometimes, all you have to do is chuck the rules and try new experiments instead. You may not realize it but you can give way to some amazing pairings. Just make sure that the pairings turn out to be decent.
Now that you know these tips to pair the wines and foods, enjoy this amazing twosome!
