Wine News: 4 Wine Pairing Rules

"Until fairly recently, one of the best ways to expose yourself as a wine poseur was to proclaim loudly that you always enjoy a nice spot of white wine with your cheese. Although red wines have traditionally been seen as the best accompaniment to cheeses, the winds of change are blowing.

All of which is to say that even the most sacred pairing rules are not immune to change in oenophilic circles. With that in mind, I offer four timeless suggestions for pairing wine with food. These aren’t hard-and-fast rules, but suggestions, so feel free to serve white or red wine with red meat or whatever the trend is. Your wine should be selected to enhance the flavors of your meal, but what matters in the end is that you enjoy the particular pairing.
1- Match flavors and tastes
One of the best rules of thumb to follow when pairing wine with food is to think of the wine as another condiment for the meal. In other words, you should select varietals that will enhance the flavors of the dish. Instead of standing firmly by the old rule that you should always serve white wine with white meat and red wine with red meat, try pairing lighter wines with lighter foods and more full-bodied wines with heavier foods. So, while pairing a Pinot Noir with halibut violates the rules, it does follow the "light with light" rule. But, by the same token, pairing a white wine with game is just wrong. Period.

As far as sweetness goes, the general rule holds that you don’t serve a dish that is sweeter than the wine. This is why sweet dessert wines are usually only brought out at the end of or after a meal. On balance, this is one rule you’ll want to stick to as much as possible, but you can get away with pairing dark chocolate with a full-bodied red wine like a Cabernet Sauvignon."

Full article here.

January 12, 2007

Wine News: 4 Wine Pairing Rules