Wine & Food

The only thing better than a wine that rocks your palate is a delectable morsel of food that harmonizes well with your wine. Either complementary or contrasting, a proper pairing is surprisingly easy to accomplish.

Food meets wine - general etiquette!

Food flavors & textures

• Weight & richness of food
• Flavor intensity
• Main flavors in food

Wine flavors & textures

• Weight & body of wine
• Flavor intensity & type, i.e. fruit, spice
• Acidity, tannins & sweetness

Weight - match the weight of the food with that of the wine. Rich heavy foods, need a full-bodied wine.

Flavor intensity - delicate wines and strong flavored foods do not match.

Remember acidity, tannin and sweetness when complementing or contrasting your pairing.

While contrasting an acidic wine will cleanse the palate, complementing a less acidic will enhance the richness of your food. Also important here is the flavor of the pairing. A complementary pairing will match flavor intensity of both food and wine.

Tannin tends to like foods high in protein. For example steaks and Cabernet Sauvignon. Lighter tannins work well with white meats. For example Beaujolais and turkey. Low tannin red wines can work well with hearty meaty fish.

Sweetness - dry wines will taste tart and over-acidic when combined with any food with a degree of sweetness. The sweeter the food the sweeter the wine needs to be.

So it really can be as easy as putting hot fudge on ice cream. Wine, after all could be considered a food, so just match it up like you do with all of your meals.

Here's to good food and good wine. PinoVino!