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Wine and Food Pairing
Before we dig into the complicated world of all the different wine flavors, aromas and other memorizable facts, let's look at which characteristics you will want to identify in each wine in order to guess (yes, guess) at whether or not it will complement or sabotage a particular food taste.
Even in the best of hands, wine and food pairing without actually tasting both the wine and food together is at best a guess and only works 2/3's of the time.
Taste, sip, taste, sip, taste... |
To keep things simple, you want to match the weight (light, medium, full body) of the wine with the weight of the food, and the acidity level (low, medium, high) of the wine with the acidity level of the food (savory, slightly acidic, acidic) If you can learn the acidity levels of various grapes and the weights of the wines made by those grapes, guessing at the body and acidity level of the food from the ingredients stated will usually work out to identify which wines will taste best with which food.
Experience from our wine appreciation classes suggests that most of the time a food will bring the wine into balance for a person much more often than it will change the taste of the food. Conversely in a bad pairing, the wine tastes worse when taken with food that does not match the acidity and sweetness level. Keep in mind that the ability of food to bring a wine into better balance for an individual depends on that individual's taste preferences in the first place. If someone has a taste preference for a savory, oaked Chardonnay, they will declare it in balance even with a highly acidic food. Someone else who prefers a highly acidic Sauvignon Blanc as their usual sipping wine will likely declare the wine in balance even with a savory, buttery or creamy sauce. However, these are the exceptions. Most people will enjoy wines whose acidity levels match the acidity levels of the food.
White Wine Acidity Levels (light to full bodied)
| High Acid | Medium Acid | Low Acid |
|---|
Vino Verde
Albariño
Sauvignon Blanc
Riesling (dry)
NV Brut Sparkling
|
Vernaccia
Assyrtiko
Sauvignon Vert/ Tocai Friulano
Vidal
Inzolia
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Soave/Garganega
Macabeo (Viura)
Riesling (off dry)
Muller-Thurgau
Vintage Brut Sparkling
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Pinot Blanc
Grüner Veltliner
Chenin Blanc
Seyval Blanc
Torrontes
Verdelho
Vermentino
|
Falanghina
Verdejo
NV Extra dry Sparkling
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Moscato/Muscat
Grenache Blanc
Arneis
Malvasia
Sherry (dry/off dry)
Vintage Extra Dry Sparkling
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Chardonnay (unoaked)
White Bordeaux
White Rhone
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Pinot Gris
Pinot Grigio
Chardonnay (lightly oaked)
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Viognier
Chardonnay (ML,oaked)
Semillon
Gewurtztraminer
Traminette
Marsanne
NV SEC + Sparkling
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Red Wine Acidity Levels (light to full bodied)
| Medium + Acid | Medium Acid | Low Acid |
|---|
Pinot Noir
Red Burgundy
Blaufrankisch
Sparkling Shiraz |
Beaujolais
Gamay Noir
Zweigelt
Lambrusco
|
Schiava
Portugieser
Mavrodaphne
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Agiorgitiko
Barbera
Sangiovese
Valpolicella
Chambourcin
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Cabernet Franc
Malbec
Pinotage
Lagrein
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Tempranillo
Garnacha
Grenache
Valdiguie
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Brunello
Barolo
Nebbiolo
Côtes du Rhône
Refosco
Norton/Cynthiana
Tannat
Nero d'Avola
Mourvèdre
Monastrell
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Petit Sirah
Zinfandel
Syrah/Shiraz
Cabernet Sauvignon
Meritage
Bordeaux
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Merlot
Carménère
Montepulciano
Dolcetto
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1 - From De Long's Grape Varietal Table (http://www.delongwine.com/wgvt.php - accessed 12/16/2010)
2 - For red wine and food pairings, treat medium+ acid as high acid to match with more acidic foods.
3 - For red wine and food pairings, treat medium acid as low acid to match with more savory/low acid foods.
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Amazon Books on Wine and Food Pairing
Wine Accessories for the Kitchen
Wikipedia Wine and Food Matching
DeLong Wine Discovery Tools
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