Even if you don't work in the wine business, you have probably heard many times the phrase "...this is a food wine."

You may have also wondered what does that sentence exactly mean. As you already know, often words are not properly used... Some think that a "food wine" is something rare, as if wine wasn't meant to pair well with food... On the contrary, wine should always be "crafted" to complement food, otherwise it loses its original purpose. Unfortunately, many of the wines sold in the marketplace are completely useless when it comes to pair them with food. Why? Because their chemical balance is altered in such way that the smells, flavours and texture of the food would be compromised.

Clearly there is not a set rule on what a perfect Food Wine should be, however we can outline some characteristic that would make wine more pleasant when consumed with food.

One of the basic rules of Food and Wine pairing is Contrast. The other one is Analogy. Both terms refer to the fact that the wine we chose for our meal should be somehow in contrast with our food (i.e. sweet food wants an acidic wine) without compromising the similarities that the two (food and wine) should have (i.e. sweet food wants also a sweet wine).

If a wine lacks acidity everything is compromised. In fact, this is probably the single most important thing you want to look for in a wine. Moreover, a wine that lacks acidity, has no chances to age gracefully.

Minerality is a good contrast to both fattiness and sweetness and helps the wine to stand up when paired with structured dishes.

If you are having Spicy or Aromatic food a good "Food Wine" must have an excellent nose (intense, persistent and, preferrably, also complex).

If you are having Salty, Acid or Bitter food, it is very important that the wine you drink has a good alcohol content. Now, when I say "good alcohol content" I don't mean that the wine should be over 14%. Actually that is one of the main problems of modern wines. Too much alcohol spoils the nose, the taste and it prevents a graceful ageing of the wine.

Summing up:

stay away from wines that are too high in alcohol content, that lack acidity and minerality. Just by following these 3 basic rules you solved 90% of your problems. Choose wines that can complement the flavour profile of the food you are going to have and, at the same time, create a contrast with it.

One very last thing: don't try to find a good "Food Wine" for dishes prepared with acidic raw ingredients. You won't have any luck! That is probably one of the most difficult categories to pair with wine. If you are still determined to find something, my best recommendation would be sparkling wine.