There are some basic rules that will help you get the right combination offoods paired with wines. Yes, there are wines that will improve the quality ofyour dining experience when the right combination of food is pair appropriatelywith the right choice in wine. When you get it right, the right combination canmake your meal immensely enjoyable while the wrong combination can ruin yourdinning experience. However, the number one rule for choosing the right wineand food pairing is to choose the wine that you prefer.
These four questions will help you choose the right wine.
When you are considering which wine to order for your meal, keep in mind thefollowing four questions. (1) What is the main dish? Is it fish, chicken orbeef? (2) How will it be cooked? Will it be grilled, baked, lightly fried, orpan-fried? (3) Is the main dish accompanied by a sauce and if so, what kind ofsauce and what are its flavors? (4) Will there be any side dishes and how willtheir flavors impact your wine choice? There are many different types of winechoices available today, so the basic wine rules may not always apply, butgenerally speaking these rules remain for the most part, still accurate forhelping you make the right wine choice: white wines with poultry and fish, andred wines with beef.
When choosing your wines “think wine power”.
Generally speaking, red wines will work best with dishes that are rich,heavy and have a big flavor. When choosing a beef dish, you should consider thepowerful strength of beef and choose a wine that has equal power. This rulealso is effective for dishes that are served in rich, thick, heavy,full-of-herbs types of sauces. The reason why red wines and beef goes welltogether is that red wines contains tannins which mixes with proteins, allowingthe flavors to blend well together. White wines do not contain tannins andtherefore generally do not work well with red meats.
White wines works best with light foods, such as chicken, turkey or fish.Color and the aromatic smells of the flavors influence taste buds and winesthat are lighter, such as white wines, will complement the meal and notoverpower the flavors of the foods. Even in light types of foods, the type ofsauce that is paired with the dish can influence the taste of the wine with thefood. This changes the definition of light, and now that dish might be betterpaired with a red wine or Rose or a wine that has a bit more spice.
You need more than one wine, with a multiple course meal.
When you are having a multiple course meal, you should have more than onewine choice. To make one wine work for an multiple course meal would bedifficult because of the multiple of flavors. If possible, choose a wine thatis appropriate for the appetizer or first course, and then change the wine forthe main dish, and then change the wine again for the dessert choice.
Start off with a lighter wine (usually white, or light tasting wines) andthen move to the more full-bodied types of wine (red wines and burgundy’s) andthen move to the dessert wines (ports & muscats.) Wines that have low acidcan often be overwhelmed even with foods that are light in taste. Acidic winesthat you would not drink alone can be quite wonderful when paired with theright food choice. The following examples of going from light to morefull-bodied wines are: White Zinfandel, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc,Gewrztraminer and Chardonnay. In the red wines, go from the lighter tasting redwines to red wines that are more full-bodied: Pinot Noir, Merlot, Syrah andCabernet Sauvignon.
You can’t go wrong, when you choose a wine that you know you like.
The four questions guideline will help you to pair the right wine with yourmeal selection. Until you feel comfortable in making those wine choices foryourself, ask your server to suggest a wine for you. Be sure and tell them thetype of wine you prefer, so they can keep that in mind before coming up withtheir recommendations. They should be able to provide you with three to fourappropriate wine recommendations in varying price ranges that should work wellwith your meal. If you get a bottle or a glass of wine that you don’t like,then feel comfortable in sending it back and requesting a new bottle or a newwine pour. Of all the wines rules to follow when it comes to wine and foodpairing, the number one rule to remember, is to always choose the wine that youlike.
The Backyard Wine Enthusiast is a wine lover and traveler who have sampledgreat wines worldwide and is the owner and writer for http://www.thewineofthemonth.comwhich has a complete selection of fine wines, wine accessories, and wine gifts.The online wine store provides a convenient one-stop shop for red and whitewines, sparkling wines, wine of the month club recommendations, and greatadvice and tips on wine.