A Featured Wine Spectator Article

What Wine Goes With What Food?

We've all heard the rules: red wine with meat, white with fish or fowl. But just as with all rules, this one was made to be broken. There's a growing recognition that there's both more and less to choosing how to pair foods and wine.

The most important factor, of course, is to choose a wine you enjoy. Spumante with Chinese take-out may make the so-called experts shudder, but if that combination works for you, that's all that matters. After all, you're the one eating the meal. However, personal tastes aside, there are some guidelines and suggestions for combining wines and foods that can enhance your enjoyment of each.

Start by thinking of wine as a condiment. You're choosing one that will interact with the foods, just the way a spice does. In fact, wine does affect the taste of food, similar to the effect of spices. Wine contains acids, tannins and sugars, all of which work with the food to create different tastes. Your goal is to find the proper combination that will allow you to enjoy the flavors and characteristics of both the food and the wine.

Wines, like food, can taste sweet, tart or bitter. Food can also be salty (not a property of wine, but salty foods affect its flavor). It's that sweet/tart/acidic interaction that determines the way different food/wine combinations will affect each other.

Sweet Foods

Foods that are somewhat sweet, such as a honey-mustard glaze on chicken will make the wine taste drier (less sweet) than it really is. A slightly sweet wine such as a White Zinfandel or Riesling could work well.

Acidic Foods

Choose wines that are higher in acid when serving acidic foods. Try pairing salad with a balsamic vinaigrette or a lemony-kissed fish dish with a Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio.

Bitter Foods

When serving food with a bitter twist-say, bitter greens in a salad-enjoy it more with a fruity, full-flavored wine such as Merlot or Chardonnay. If you're grilling a steak, try a wine such as red Zinfandel or Shiraz. The tannins in these wines can sometimes give them a slightly bitter taste, but the fat in the meat can tone down this tendency.

In addition to the basic tastes, consider pairing foods and wines that have the same feel to them - light with light and full with hearty. A full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon could overwhelm a light fish, and the taste of a delicate white Zinfandel would be lost when accompanying beef stew.

And what about sparkling wines? Only those produced in the Champagne region of France may be called Champagne, but all sparkling wines, no matter their name, are suited to festive occasions. They make an excellent start or finish to any meal.

At times, pairing opposite foods and wines can be surprisingly effective. Hot and spicy foods such as fiery curries or Chinese hot pot can work well with sweet dessert wines. The contrast in flavors can create new nuances in taste and act to cleanse the palate.

A fun way to pair wines and food is to match them by their geographic source. Doesn't it make sense that a French wine would be the best accompaniment for coq au vin?

And for those times when you aren't serving a full meal, don't forget the natural pairings of wine and cheese. There's a reason these two are so often combined. Wine and cheese complement each other exquisitely. Mild to sharp cheeses work well with red wines, as do soft cheeses such as Camembert or Brie. Dry whites are excellent with goat cheese. Sweet wines call for a more intense cheese.

But no matter what combination of food and wine you choose, remember that the most important ingredients for a memorable occasion are the friends and loved ones you invite to share the experience with you.

About the Author

Morgan Slater demonstrates a detailed knowledge of wine industries through his writing for Ecef. Find more articles by Morgan Slater at ECEF

A synopsis on Wine Spectator.

What Wine Goes With What Food?


We've all heard the rules: red wine with meat, white with fish or fowl. But just as with all rules, this one was made to be broken. There's a growing ...


Click Here to Read More About Wine ...

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Today's Wine Bottles Article

Organic Wine, A Reprieve for the Allergic

When I was a kid, I developed an allergy to peanut butter, something I loved to eat by the spoonful. While others ate it, mixing clumps with strawberry jam and putting it between two slices of bread, I stood by drooling; then, with a sense of defeat, I went to stick my head in my Easy Bake Oven. To me, there was nothing worse than being five years old and having a peanut allergy; it?s the equivalent to having a wine allergy when you?re over 21.

Lucky for me, I?m not allergic to wine. I?ve self-tested with hundreds of bottles and I can declare that I would definitely know by now. Definitely. But, many others aren?t that lucky; some people do have wine allergies, an allergy that hinders their ability to savor one of life?s greatest pleasures. This allergy leaves people with an empty wine glass, an empty wine cellar, and a unyielding impulse to look up to the sky and scream, ?Make me allergic to diary, make me allergic to cats, make me allergic to my siblings, but please don?t take away my Cabernet.?

While no one wants a wine allergy, those who have one are forced to take it seriously. This is particularly true for people allergic to sulfites, compounds often used as a means to preserve wine by helping it to avoid oxidation and spoilage. Unfortunately for those with sulfite allergies, sulfites are added to a vast majority of wines. Because of this, checking the label doesn?t just become a matter of hoping to find the best tasting wine, it also become a matter between being well and being ill.

When someone who is allergic to sulfites drinks wine containing this compound, they run the risk of experiencing an allergic reaction - an allergic reaction to wine makes a wine hang over look like a walk in the park. Some people may experience sneezing, or hives, while others may have difficulty breathing and need emergency medical attention. Sulfites can also cause anaphylaxis, the most severe of allergic reactions. During this kind of reaction, a person?s blood pressure dangerously drops and their bronchial tubes narrow, making it increasingly harder for them to breathe. If left untreated, this can lead to death in a matter of minutes. For these reasons, many people with sulfite allergies avoid wine altogether: not even the greatest wine in the world is worth compromising health.

However, luckily for those affected by sulfites, organic wine has come to the rescue, wearing a red cape and giving those allergic to regular wine a second chance.

Organic wine doesn?t necessarily mean ?sulfite free,? a tidbit of information extremely important to those sensitive to even the most minute levels of sulfites. In fact, wines are rarely sulfite-free; sulfites occur naturally in wine. However, conventional wines go above and beyond those naturally occurring, adding many more sulfites to their finished product. Organic wines, on the other hand, tend to believe that the naturally occurring sulfites are enough - they don?t want to compound the situation.

The true definition of organic wine depends on where the wine is produced. For wines produced in America, the National Organic Program, the federal agency overseeing the production of organic food, has mandated that any wine claiming to be ?organic? must not contain any added sulfites. Wines merely claiming to be made with ?organic grapes,? however, aren?t subject to these regulations. Along these lines, wines that are produced outside the US are governed under their own rules: these wines generally have added sulfites, but the amount is roughly a third of the amount found in conventional wine. Thus, for those with sulfite allergies, it?s important to read the label very carefully.

Drinking organic wine isn?t just limited to those with sulfite allergies - it?s not a secret club people are allowed into by submitting their medical records. Many people simply find organic wines better tasting, healthier, and good for the environment.

Organic wine is composed of grapes that are grown in an organic vineyard with organic farming techniques. Essentially this means that the grapes are grown in a manner void of artificial fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides and full of natural fertilizers. These vineyards also contain cover crops between their vines and work to attract beneficial insects, insects that will feed on harmful pests. Though no scientific evidence provides credence, there is speculation that drinking organic wine instead of conventional wine decreases the chance of a hang over. This has led many people down an organic path, a path paved with the healthiest of soil.

While not widely available, organic wine has recently begun to gain in popularity. Sommeliers are finally beginning to get the hint as bottles of organic Pinot Noir approach, tapping their fingers and impatiently saying, ?Ahem.? Still, organic wine remains harder to find than conventional wine - many restaurants do not serve it and some liquor stores have either no collection or one that is minimal. But, rest assured, there are places to find it, and soon they?ll be more..

Online is a great place to start, booming with shops that will ship organic wine to your house. Organic food stores - such as Whole Foods - have jumped on the band wagon as well, obviously needing a ride from drinking too much organic wine. There are also certain liquor stores that do carry a large selection of organic wines. To find one in your area, try calling around, doing an Internet search, or going to www.wine-searcher.com

It might take a little research, but you?ll be rewarded once you are cradling that organic wine in your hands, one end of the straw in the bottle the other end in your mouth. Then, it will all be worth it?naturally.

A synopsis on Wine Bottles.

Organic Wine, A Reprieve for the Allergic


When I was a kid, I developed an allergy to peanut butter, something I loved to eat by the spoonful. While others ate it, mixing clumps with strawberr...


Click Here to Read More About Wine ...

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