Food Facts and Tips

Match Food and Wine - Handy Matching Charts for Perfect Food and Wine Pairs

There is a wealth of information about which wines best match various meals, dishes and food. Many recipes now come with a suggested list of wines to pair with the food. Often the waiter in a restaurant may help by suggesting a good match for one of their dishes. Of course, it is all a matter of taste.

Actually, it is more related to the aroma of the wine as being a liquid the volatile substances in the wine are released into the back of the mouth and nose and it is the olfactory senses that are more important than the taste of the wine on the tongue.

One of the problems with most of the charts of food and wine pairs is that they focus on the food and suggest matching wines.

Often a genuine wine lover may want to do it the other way: start with the wine and find a range of dishes that match its characteristics perfectly.

Similarly, a cook may make subtle adjustments to the dish to make sure the pair of food and wine complement each other.

This may involve adjusting the amount of spices or the thickness of the sauce and the texture of the food.

This article solves this problem because the charts of hundreds of wines and foods are sortable by clicking on the headings.

So, you can select the food and see the perfect matching wine, or you can sort the wines and see which food dishes go well with the wine.

Classifying Tastes to Match Food and Wine

Most of the choices about which wine goes best with what dish, are about finding complementary tastes and features. This is more about aligning 'apples with apples' and 'oranges with oranges' than finding some contrasting features poles apart in the wines or food that works for some strange reason. Doing the latter is much harder.

So pairing wines and food is mostly about matching complementary features. A heavy complex Shiraz goes well with roast meat because they are both 'heavy' and 'deep' and have a strong taste.

Most people can classify food into tastes groups such as sweet or savory, spicy or fruity, light or heavy in terms of texture and taste and the strength and subtleness of the tastes.

Fish and seafood has a delicate taste and a light texture which means that the perfect wine for seafood is often a delicate, light white wine that doesn't overpower the subtleties of the fish or seafood.

However a red wine may suit a heavy seafood chowder dish served with crusty sourdough bread or a heavy fish curry of stew. A spaghetti marinara or full bodied seafood Paella dish, is probably a tie with either a red or white wine being complementary.

One way to match the perfect match between food and wine is to classify wines into taste categories.

There are various articles that provide taste classification for wine in considerable detail.

For pairing purposes the following four taste and aroma class pairs and one texture or strength class pair is an excellent way to start.

• Sweet or Dry

• Acid or Rounded

• Tannin, or Not

• Fruity and Aromatic, or Not

• Light or Full-Bodied

Sweetness or Dryness of Wine

A sweet taste generally makes the tongue tingle. You can also taste the residual sugar that has been deliberately left in the wine to make it taste sweet. Sweet wines also have an oily sensation on the tongue that lingers. Sweet wines are also thicker, more viscose and heavier that their lighter cousins. Most sweet wines are white, but there are excellent sweet red wines, with Rose wines somewhere in between.

Acidity or Roundness of Wine

Acidity in wine, other beverages and food created a tart and zesty taste. There may also be a tingling feeling within the mouth and on the tongue. Strong acid also makes start to grimace and contracts the muscles in the mouth. Acidity can be very refreshing and cleansing for the pallet and can invigorate the taste buds to boost the flavor of the food.

Tannin Taste in Wine

The tannin in wine is due to the presence of certain phenolic compounds, generally derived from the wood in which the wine is matured. Tannins add complexity, depth of taste and bitterness to the wine.

Most wine with string tannin are dry rather than sweet. There are some Phenolic compounds in the skins and seeds of wine grapes and so most red wines have some tannin derived from the grapes. Both red and white wines can get tannin from the wooden barrels in which they are matured and aged.

The aging of wine in oak barrels is designed to add tannin to the wine. The tannin taste is something like that of a strong brew of black tea that has a certain bitterness that is not unpleasant. Tannin also tends to make your tongue feel dry and it creates a bitter and dry feeling in your mouth that lingers. Tannins add strength to the taste or wines and makes such wines suitable for strong flavored foods such as roast beef or lamb and curries.

Fruity and Aromatic Wine Taste

Many wines, both red and white, are crafted to showcase the delights of the grapes themselves. They tend to be lighter styles of wine. Many of the tastes and aromas resemble fruits such as strawberries and blackberries. The fruity taste of red wine is usually similar to berries, for white wines it is lemon, lime or stone fruits such as peaches.

Some white wines are also described as having a grassy or herbal taste. These delicate flavors often complement lighter food dishes such as chicken, pork or seafood.

Light or Full-Bodied Wines

Food can be light and simple, or heavy and complex, and the same 'texture' and composition strength also applies to wines. Various styles of wine are described as light, medium or full-bodied wine.

This feature is partially die to the grapes used, the style of wine made from the grapes, the age of the wine, how it has been matured and the alcohol level. Heavier wines generally complement heavy styles of food and vice versa. There are exceptions of course with ports often being consumed with light fruit dishes. A high alcohol level will generally increase the thickness or viscosity of the wine. A wine, rich in alcohol will usually taste fuller in body than than a light-alcohol wine. It partially depends on the sweetness of the wine.

Charts of Food and Wine Pairs

Three charts are provided below:

• Savory Food Wine Pairings - Red Wines

• Savory Food Wine Pairings - White Wines

• Fruits, Salad and Dessert Pairings - White Wines.

 

You can sort the tables by clicking on the headings to show:

• Alphabetical listings of Foods with Wine Pairings

• Alphabetical listings of Wines with Food Pairings

Perfect White Wine Pairing with Savory Dishes

Perfect White Wine Pairing with Fruit, Salad and Dessert Dishes

Perfect Red Wine Pairing with Various Dishes