PairingWine.com | Pairing Wine with Food

APERITIFS

Traditionally two different wine categories have the honor to open a meal: sparkling wine and fortified dry wines.

Sparkling wines should be dry for aperitifs and sweet for desserts. Champagne, Spumante or Italian Prosecco are perfect choices. Often, sparkling wines used to start a meal should not be to expensive. It is important for example to open a vintage bottle in special occasions such as an important toast and not for some olives or for simple canapés. If the appetizers are mainly made with fish, fruit and vegetables, light sparkling wines can be the perfect pair. You do not what to cover the light taste of those aperitifs with a too complex and rich wine.

However, if the appetizers are rich and tasteful, dry fortified wines works better than sparkling wines. The best classic fortified dry wines are some varieties of Sherry, Madeira and Marsala. You can also select wines from other categories: generally any dry white wine can pair more or less well with aperitifs according to what you are eating. A wise advice is to do not start a meal with a red wine if you have any intention to switch back to a white wine during the meal.

MAIN COURSES

It is certainly difficult to give guidelines for main courses because the choice of food is limitless. However, some general food and wine pairing rules can certainly be outlined. Always remember that the very first rule is to try several types of wine and choose the one you like the most.

SOUPS

Usually if you are eating a very light and liquid soup your choice should go towards a light white wine such as a Pinot Grigio,Vermentino or a light-bodied blend.

Soups which are more complex and creamy, but still made with vegetables, pair well with medium-bodied, more rich and complex wines such as a Sauvignon Blanc, Cortese di Gavi, Chardonnay, dry or Semi-dry Vouvray (Chenin Blanc). In this particular category you can also try a more complex Champagne or a fortified white wine. In fact, you can pretty much drink Champagne throughout a full meal thanks to its high acidity and amazing flavour profile.

Finally, if the soup is very heavy in taste and contains meat, medium bodied red wines are the best pick. Here to choice is limitless: Cotes-du-Rhone, Beaujolais, Sangiovese, Pinot Noir are just a few that you can try. This wines should not be aged but must have a medium tannic structure: probably one of the best wines for Italian soups, such as Minestrone or Beans and Barley soup, is Montepulciano d'Abruzzo which should be relatively young otherwise it develops a very rich bouquet which will hide the taste of the soup.

PASTA DISHES

For Pasta dishes, ideally, your choice should be an Italian wine. Why? Simple. One of the most important rules in pairing wine with food is to try to pick both a recipe and a wine from the same region of the world. In most cases the two flavor profiles developed together overtime. The safest way to get oriented in the enormous variety of Italian pasta dishes and wines is to pick both from a certain area of the country. Usually in Italy wine and food pairings have been already made by the culinary tradition, hence you will find a pefect wine for the dish you are preparing in the same region were the recipe comes from.

Generally, light fish-based pasta dishes pair perfectly with crisp white wines.

Pasta dishes with rich fish-based sauces need a well structured white wine or a light-medium-bodied red.

Meaty red sauces pair heavenly with full-bodied reds such as Chianti Classico, Barolo or Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.

White pasta sauces such as Cream and mushrooms want a full-bodied white wine.

Tomato-based sauces pair well with a wide range of wines according to the recipe: from Rose' wines such as Tocai Friulano Rosé (Friuli Venezia Giulia) to Cerasuolo di Vittoria (Sicily), to stuctured reds such as Primitivo di Manduria (Apulia) or Amarone (Veneto).

Sweet wines are never recommended and aromatic wines such as Gewurztraminer or Riesling can pair well with some very light fish pasta dishes (white sauces) or, better, with Asian inspired pasta recipes.

Special dishes such as Lasagne al Forno pair perfectly with red, full-bodied and complex wines. Cannelloni with Spinach and Ricotta are perfect with full-bodied whites or medium-bodied reds and Polenta goes extremely well with several different wines according to the sauce it is served with.

FISH AND SEAFOOD

Probably one of the most classic pairings is Oysters with Champagne. However, fish is a category which can be paired almost with every type of wine.

Lobsters, Scallops, Mussels and Clams are perfect with white wines. If the Lobster is served alone or together with a salad, it is recommended to pick a fresh and dry white wine such as the Italian Vernaccia di San Gimignano (Tuscany) or a popular Sauvignon Blanc. However, if it is cooked together with a sauce, possibly a tomato sauce, a full-bodied white such as a Fiano d'Avellino (Campania) or a rich Chardonnay is better.

Scallops, clams, mussels and every other shellfish pair very well with dry or semi-dry, delicate white wines. The choice of the wine depends obviously on the way the grapes are vinified, but generally a crisp Pinot Gris, a light-bodied and dry German Riesling or a crisp and mineral Chardonnay (Chablis would be exceptional) are the perfect pick.

Moving up in the "fish-texture" scale we find very light and white fishes. They pair well with light, young medium-bodied white wines.

Fish with medium texture and richer taste such as Cod, prefers a medium to full-bodied white which can also have a little oak and complex palate. Fatty fish such as Salmon or Black Cod, deserves a full-bodied white or even a light, fruity red. This is one of the newest trends in pairing wine with food. In fact red wine, with its tannic structure, perfectly balances the fat contained in these types of fish. Grilled salmon with Pinot Noir, light-Syrah or Beaujolais is certainly something to try.

POULTRY AND RABBIT

Notoriously chicken, turkey or rabbit are lean meats. Therefore they have a very rich taste which pairs very well with full-bodied, rich whites or light to medium-bodied reds. Any distinction is obviously made according to the way they are prepared: if they are grilled, red wine is better, if they are boiled and seasoned, white wine works best.

The classic thanksgiving turkey has a very rich taste which pairs perfectly with more important reds such as a good Bordeaux, Nebbiolo, Amarone or Chateaneuf Du Pape.

BEEF

With beef there is no space for white wines. It is all about different choices among reds. The thicker the cut the richer should be the wine. In fact, usually thicker cuts are grilled and cooked raw or medium raw: your choice can go from a powerful Zinfandel to a Barolo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cannonau (Grenache), Rioja, Cote-Rotie or a good Saint-Emilion. Try also a good Washington State Bordeaux blend.

PORK

Pork pairs well with peppery reds not too strong in taste and body. Syrah can be one of the best choices because of its peppery characteristic. Generally, it is better to choose a medium, full-bodied red not too important and complex. Have you ever tried pulled pork or other barbecued cuts with Zinfandel? If you did, I am sure you know how well they go together.

LAMB

Lamb is absolutely perfect with Cabernet Sauvignon , Merlot and some robust wines such as Montepulciano D'Abruzzo, Grenache or Southern Italian's wines. In this case it would be preferrable to open a good vintage bottle.

High quality lamb is one of the best types of meat and hence deserves a good bottle of wine. Lamb is very fat and all the acids and tannins contained especially in well structured Italian reds help to "clean" the mouth.

DUCK AND GAME BIRDS

For duck and game birds possibly one of the best pairings is Pinot Noir. It can be a California or Oregon Pinot or a more complex, good vintage Burgundy. It is not so common to eat this kind of meat and, for this reason, when it happens it is important to open a good vintage bottle.

FRUIT AND DESSERTS

Fresh fruit requires a fresh and light white wine. Probably, because of its fruity tropical characteristics which remind of peach, pineapple and banana, a light and crisp Chardonnay it is perfect.

Aromatic wines can have an important role in this pairing: Moscato D'Asti, Riesling and Gewurztraminer can give pleasant surprises to the taster if paired with fruit tarts or strawberries and whipped cream.

With desserts, the choice of wines is more difficult. Usually, with ice cream, wine is not highly reccomended. Important desserts rich in cream and taste are probably perfect with late harvest Riesling, Moscato or the elegant Noble-rotted wines such as Sauternes, Barsac, Monbazillac and the other equivalent wines from the rest of the world such as a variety of the Hungarian Tokay. Of course you cannot overlook Port, Sherry, Madeira and Ice Wine.