How do I know what wines go with what foods?
People always ask me if I have a favourite wine I like to drink and I always answer the same thing. I say there are wines I love to drink yes, however there isn't one type of wine I love over another. To be honest, I enjoy almost every single type of wine with the right type of food. They don't call wine and food a marriage for nothing, there are defintely perfect matches and bad matches. You will find it is fun to experiment and see what food and wine brings out the best in eachother like any relationship - the perfect ones bring out the best in both. After working in some of the best Niagara Winery Restaurants I have come to learn a lot about food and wine pairing.
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There are a few basic guidelines for matching food and wine:
The most important thing to remember is to match the weight of the wine with the weight of the food.
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Also, remember that wines can balance food by cutting certain flavours in dishes.
Light whites (young Rieslings, Pinot Gris (Grigio), Sauvignon Blanc etc) all match best with lighter foods such as salads. Rieslings or wine with higher acidity are good matches with fat laden foods. For example, if you are eating a cream based, puree soup and prefer to not have a Chardonnay try a Riesling. Riesling will cut the fat in the cream with its acidity and balance out the cream with the acidity.
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Be sure to try Sauvignon Blanc with asaparagus, it is a well known match. Also, Riesling goes well with medium cream based pastas, once again cutting the fat in the cream. You can match a Chardonnay with heavier fish dishes as well as cream based pastas.
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A Pinot Noir and Gamay Noir/Beaujolais will match very nicely with pork and meduim bodied fish dishes and even salmon - Don't ever think you can't match red wine with fish - try it and you will be surprised!
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Heavier red wines go well with obviously heavier dishes. For best tasting results be sure to decant red wines, ask your server if you are dinning out or do it yourself at home. You will be surprised how different the wine tastes when you decant your wine 20 minutes to an hour before consumption. As said, light to medium bodied wines are great when you want a red wine but aren't in the mood for a heavy Malbec or Meritage on a hot day.
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Pinot Noir, Gamay Noir/Beaujolais go well with tomato based pastas without meat, salmon, caprese salads, chicken stir fry's and duck breast. Cabernet Franc can be drank with big meats such as a New York peppercorn steak - the peppercorn in the steak and the peppery notes in a Cab Franc will balance eachother out very nicely. Merlot is a bit more smooth of a grape and matches well with a beef tip salad with an italian viniagrette dressing, beef stirfry, and meat that is not overly peppery in taste (depending on how the winery makes their merlot) it also goes great with Brie.
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Heavy reds (Malbec, Cabernet, meritage etc) go great with blue cheese, my favourite type of cheese! It also is a classic wine to match with steak and potatoes with a red wine sauce, meat based pasta sauces, bacon wrapped tenderloins and much more.
There are a few basic guidelines for matching food and wine:
The most important thing to remember is to match the weight of the wine with the weight of the food.
~
Also, remember that wines can balance food by cutting certain flavours in dishes.
Light whites (young Rieslings, Pinot Gris (Grigio), Sauvignon Blanc etc) all match best with lighter foods such as salads. Rieslings or wine with higher acidity are good matches with fat laden foods. For example, if you are eating a cream based, puree soup and prefer to not have a Chardonnay try a Riesling. Riesling will cut the fat in the cream with its acidity and balance out the cream with the acidity.
~
Be sure to try Sauvignon Blanc with asaparagus, it is a well known match. Also, Riesling goes well with medium cream based pastas, once again cutting the fat in the cream. You can match a Chardonnay with heavier fish dishes as well as cream based pastas.
~A Pinot Noir and Gamay Noir/Beaujolais will match very nicely with pork and meduim bodied fish dishes and even salmon - Don't ever think you can't match red wine with fish - try it and you will be surprised!
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Heavier red wines go well with obviously heavier dishes. For best tasting results be sure to decant red wines, ask your server if you are dinning out or do it yourself at home. You will be surprised how different the wine tastes when you decant your wine 20 minutes to an hour before consumption. As said, light to medium bodied wines are great when you want a red wine but aren't in the mood for a heavy Malbec or Meritage on a hot day.
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Pinot Noir, Gamay Noir/Beaujolais go well with tomato based pastas without meat, salmon, caprese salads, chicken stir fry's and duck breast. Cabernet Franc can be drank with big meats such as a New York peppercorn steak - the peppercorn in the steak and the peppery notes in a Cab Franc will balance eachother out very nicely. Merlot is a bit more smooth of a grape and matches well with a beef tip salad with an italian viniagrette dressing, beef stirfry, and meat that is not overly peppery in taste (depending on how the winery makes their merlot) it also goes great with Brie.
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Heavy reds (Malbec, Cabernet, meritage etc) go great with blue cheese, my favourite type of cheese! It also is a classic wine to match with steak and potatoes with a red wine sauce, meat based pasta sauces, bacon wrapped tenderloins and much more.
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Hope our answers help you next time you are throwing a dinner party or just a romantic dinner for two. If you ever have a food and wine question let us know we will try our best to answer.
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Cheers,
Ange
Hope our answers help you next time you are throwing a dinner party or just a romantic dinner for two. If you ever have a food and wine question let us know we will try our best to answer.
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Cheers,
Ange
