Pairing Food And Wine
During special events, there is nothing better than planning for a delicious meal paired with the perfect wine for your special guests. One of the troublesome aspects of planning such a meal it the right pairing of wine with the right dishes. Even though there are a lot of website and apps out there discussing this topic, this always remains a confusing affair to the wine enthusiasts.
However, it is always special to hear some tips from the experts who are highly experienced. It is also helpful to check out sites like https://www.ishopchangi.com/en/category/wine-and-spirits/wine-and-spirits-spirits/japanese-whiskey for some amazing alcohol options. Here we will explore some top options in pairing the right wine with the right dishes. We may look into some basics of primary wine-meat combinations to some advanced tips as to matching the right characteristics between wine and food etc.
Pairing the right wine with food
The primary rule is that you need to trust your palate at the first point to identify the right pairing. Here, we have put in our best effort to prepare an exhaustive, but simple to follow listing which will help the reader to choose the right wine to go with the right dish. However, we haven’t mentioned any particular recipes here as what we ideally want to gain you is the much-needed skills to do it on your own.
Prep tips on pairing food and wine
If you are new to pairing food with wine, the primary rule is that white meat may pair well with white wine and similarly red meat with red wine. You may keep this in mind as the primary point to avoid any bad choices in the first place.
If you cook any dish with white wine, then pair the same on the dining table too. If red wine is used, then serve it with red itself. As suggested by Sokolin, another primary rule while cooking the lighter meats in flavored sauces, then pair the right wine with the sauce and not the meat. Now, as you know the very basics of pairing, let us move on to some expert tips.
- Contrast or complement, but don’t try to overpower
To pair wine and food effectively, you need to ensure that these too complement each other or contrast the right way. The trick is to ensure that neither the wine nor food detracts from tastes of each other. One should be able to give proper attention to the taste of both equally.
- Food and wine characteristics for cross reference
While planning wine-food pairing, figure out which characteristics of the food and wine need to be considered for creating the right flavor.
Such characteristics of the wine to look for are:
- Fruitiness
- Alcohol level
- Acidity
- Sweetness, and
- Tannin
Food characteristic to consider are:
- Fattiness
- Saltiness
- Bitterness
- Acidity
- Sweetness
For a successful combination, you can also consider the additional characteristics like weight, richness, and the texture of both.
You may also try to match the wine-food texture to texture and complexity to the same. If you don’t do it t the right balance, then the flavor of food may outweigh the flavor of wine and vice versa.
Be sure to check out our recipes section!
Meg is an author at Cinnamon Hollow. She writes on a variety of topics sharing tips and ideas for daily life.