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Food and Wine Pairing

Posted : 20-Mar-2015
Category : In General

Simple Rules

► Drink what you like, I like the idea of this

► What are the dominant characteristics of the food, that is, are they flavoursome, fatty or lean, rich or acidic

► Select a wine that will balance the meal, for example, mild foods with mild wines, big flavours with big wines

Food and Wine Pairing

Match mild foods with mild wines. Match big, flavourful foods with big, flavourful wines e.g put a bold-flavoured pepper steak with a spicy, bold red Adina Shiraz
Similarly you want to match the richness of the food and the richness of the wine e.g pair a rich chicken in cream sauce with a rich Clare Terese Chardonnay

If you're eating a relatively rich, fatty dish and thinking about drinking a red wine e.g a beef steak you probably want a wine with some good tannins to help cleanse the palate.

If you're eating a very rich, fatty dish and thinking about a white wine e.g. fried chicken you probably want to contrast the meal with a refreshingly crisp acidic wine such as a Sauvignon Blanc. Ignore this rule for dishes that are fatty - such as chicken in cream sauce - which will probably do better with a rich Chardonnay that can match the rich flavors.

Match Acids with Acids

If you're eating a dish with a strong acidic content such as Seafood with Lemon, or Pasta and Tomato Sauce, pair it with an acidic wine that can keep up with the acids in the food.

► Acidic wines and cream don't mix

► Rich cream sauces will usually clash with an acidic wine like a Sauvignon Blanc. Think about it like this, if you squeezed lemon juice into a cup of milk, how would that be?

Wine and Strong Spices

Strong spices, such as hot chili peppers in some Chinese or Indian food, can clash and destroy the flavors in a wine. In most cases, wine is not the ideal thing to drink, I like a beer with these types of foods, however, if wine is what you would like then try something spicy and sweet such as an Adina Vineyard Pinot Gris

When In Doubt

Remember that foods generally go best with the wines they grew up with. So if you're eating Italian food, think about having an Italian wine.
This isn't a requirement, but often helps make the decision easy.

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