Are you still undecided between red and white when it comes time to sit at the table? Good news: successfully pairing food and wine relies on a few simple principles that are easy to remember and test at home. Here are the golden rules, from the famous color pairing to the boldest combinations.
A pairing between a dish and a wine is nothing less than a marriage that one attempts. If it is successful, each of the two flourishes in the presence of the other: the wine seems better than it was alone, and the dish gains a savory note that it didn't have.
If it fails, the result is sadder. At best, the dish and the wine politely ignore each other, each in its corner. At worst, they argue, and both lose much of their appeal: the wine seems sour or bitter, the dish becomes bland, so to speak.
This is exactly what happens when alternating a bite and a sip during a family meal. Some days, the spark occurs, and one suddenly understands the purpose of a good wine at the table. It is this spark that the following principles aim to provoke more often.
If you should remember only one thing, remember this: colors go together. A white wine with a white food, a red wine with a red food, a rosé wine with a pink or orange food. It's simple, it's visual, and it works in the majority of cases.
In practice, this gives very concrete guidelines:
A white wine with seafood and shellfish (mussels, oysters, scallops, prawns, lobster...), poultry (chicken, hen, turkey), rabbit, or white-fleshed fish like sole, bass, and turbot.A rosé wine with charcuterie and barbecue preparations (marinated pork chop, merguez, chipolata), grilled salmon, carrot puree, or offal like kidneys and veal liver.A red wine with lamb leg or rack, red meats (ribeye, tenderloin, flank steak, steak tartare), game (wild boar, venison, pheasant), and saucy dishes like beef bourguignon, daube, navarin, or pot-au-feu.
This is not a law set in stone, but a starting point. You will see later that some exceptions are well worth the detour.
The best way to know if a wine will work is... to taste it. And to taste it in the right order. Start by tasting the wine on its own, ideally in the kitchen, near the steaming pots: you'll catch how its aromas react to the smells of the dish being prepared.
Next, take a bite of the dish, then taste the wine again. Observe how it behaves: does it remain as fruity? Do its tannins become rough? Does its acidity seem sharper or, on the contrary, better integrated? It’s this back-and-forth movement between the plate and the glass that gives you the answer, not the label.
And if you have the time (and the desire), nothing prevents you from opening two or three different bottles to compare with the same dish. It’s the best exercise there is, and the most enjoyable.
A marriage of taste is above all... a matter of taste. The phrase makes you smile, but it is essential: you may love a dish that your table neighbor finds mediocre or even unsuccessful.
This is not unusual. Our perceptions vary from one individual to another, depending on our culinary culture as well as our genetic heritage. Two people who smell the same glass may not necessarily detect the same aromas, and no one is wrong.
The most telling example remains the pairing of oysters and Sauternes: served at the table, it shocks some guests and delights others, particularly those who are already familiar with it from regional tradition. Conclusion: the perfect pairing is not universal; it depends on tastes and cultures. The following principles facilitate the choice; it is up to you to follow them or to try something else.
Do you eat vegetarian and enjoy wine? The good news is that there are some beautiful pairings. The less good news is that they remain quite underexplored, and you often have to search for them yourself.
Why this delay? First, because historically, food-wine pairings have been built around the great dishes of traditional cuisine: a fine meat, a fine fish. Then, because vegetarian dishes are still poorly understood, both by chefs and sommeliers. Finally, because they generally require more delicate wines than those served with a powerful meat dish.
Fortunately, this is evolving: sommeliers are adapting to new culinary habits, and renowned vegetarian restaurants now employ true experts in this type of pairing.
Reason is a matter of texture. Vegetables do not have the robustness of a piece of meat or fish in sauce: a very tannic red will literally overpower and crush the plate.
Nota Bene: tannins are those compounds derived from the skin and seeds of grapes that dry out the mouth and give that slightly rough sensation on the tongue, typical of age-worthy reds. With fatty meat, they work wonders as they cut through the fat. With vegetables, they dominate everything.
Whites are therefore the most obvious solution, and the playground is vast: crisp whites, aromatic whites, full-bodied whites, and even those orange-hued whites obtained through maceration. There is something for every type of preparation.
Nota Bene before getting into the details: a crisp white is a lively, taut wine marked by acidity and citrus. An aromatic white focuses on the explosion of flowers, fruits, and fragrances, with very expressive grape varieties. A full-bodied white (or powerful) has more substance, more richness, and a true structure in the mouth.
From there, everything becomes clear:
Raw vegetables and salads will pair well with a crisp white, as will root vegetables prepared simply.Avocado, hummus, sautéed vegetables, and green vegetables are better suited to an aromatic white, whose aromas complement those of fresh herbs and spices.You can dare to pair a full-bodied white with risottos or pasta gratins, which are richer and more enveloping.As soon as mushrooms come into play, lean towards older, more complex wines: that's where they shine.
A couscous, a paella, or a large composed salad pairs very well with a rosé: we'll come back to that shortly.
The rule of color pairing does not stop at the threshold of vegetarian cuisine. If the vegetables in the dish are red, you can definitely open a red wine without hesitation.
The only real limit concerns robust reds, those structured and tannic wines: it's difficult to make them work with vegetables. However, they do have two or three favorite pairings, such as red beans and lentils, whose dense texture holds up well, as well as mushrooms, provided the wine is old and its tannins have already softened.
Outside of these cases, it is the softer reds that have their place at the table. And they have a very nice one.
Here is the most useful family for sunny cuisine. Rosés combine the acidity of whites and the aromas of reds, with very expressive fruitiness and discreet tannins, making them easy to pair between land and sea. The more refined ones are true gastronomic wines, not just terrace wines.
Specifically, serve a rosé or a light red with braised carrots, stewed vegetables like ratatouille, Mediterranean or spicy dishes. Rosé also pairs very well with starchy salads, in couscous or paella, as well as with stuffed tomatoes or gratin vegetables.
For root vegetables transformed into purée or soup, a light red works very well too. It's counterintuitive, but the sweetness of the preparation gives it all the space it needs.
As soon as a vegetable goes into the oven, browns, and caramelizes, it changes its nature: its flavor concentrates, grilled notes appear, and the texture becomes denser. This is the moment for round red wine.
Nota Bene: a round red wine (or indulgent, or fleshy) is one that is not distinguished by its finesse or structure, but by its roundness, often very fruity and sometimes spicy, with a soft, velvety, slightly fatty texture. It adds softness to the meal and envelops the dishes like a sauce. It is particularly found in grape varieties such as Grenache, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Carignan, or Sangiovese.
Try it with roasted pumpkin or eggplant gratin: the effect is immediate, the wine acts as a binder between the caramelized pieces and the base of the dish. It also works very well with gratinated, grilled, or roasted starches, and with fruit-vegetables in sauce.
A tagine, a gratin, a stew can easily blend eight or ten ingredients. How to decide? By relying on two criteria, and only two: the dish's dominant aroma and the texture of the base ingredient.
The dominant aroma is what hits your nose when you lift the lid: the spices, the herbs, the smokiness from the oven, the sweetness of a stewed vegetable. The texture of the base ingredient is the consistency of what makes up the heart of the dish: melting, crunchy, firm, creamy. If you find a type of wine that fits these two factors, you’re in luck. If none suits both, choose the one that seems most important on the plate.
One last tip, applicable whenever the diners are not all eating the same thing: avoid very tannic reds if someone is having fish, and very crisp whites if there’s red meat. In cases of very varied orders, a light red or a powerful white will generally pair well with everything.
Also keep in mind with fish: pronounced tannins can bring out an unpleasant metallic facet. It’s better to aim for aromatic and light wines for an airy... or marine pairing.
They are called contrast pairings. Not obvious at first glance, they are part of the magic of wine, reminding us that the most successful marriages are sometimes the most surprising.
A sweet wine like Sauternes with roast chicken and its potatoes: the sweetness of the wine envelops the meat and bounces off the crispy skin. It's ecstasy.Brut champagne (or a good crémant) with a melting camembert: the effervescence gives a boost to the richness of the cheese.A sweet wine with Fourme d'Ambert, or Sauternes with Roquefort: the sweetness of the wine softens the sharpness of the cheese and enhances its roundness.A sweet wine with a very spicy Asian meal: the sugar extinguishes the fire and softens the heat, where a tannic red would intensify it.Jura yellow wine with curry chicken: the curry aromas are accompanied by a bouquet of apple, nuts, and dried fruits.Pan-fried foie gras with an aged Bordeaux with very mellow tannins: both share their elegance and complexity.
None of these pairings adhere to the logic of colors. This is precisely their appeal: they force you to taste before judging.
Let's recap the essentials. A successful pairing is when the dish and the wine enhance each other. To achieve this, start by matching colors, always taste the wine alone first and then with the dish, and rely on two criteria for complex recipes: the dominant aroma and the texture of the main ingredient.
With vegetables, think first of whites (crisp with raw dishes, aromatic with sautéed vegetables, full-bodied with risottos and gratins), keep rosés and light reds for stewed, spicy, or Mediterranean dishes, and bring out a round red as soon as the oven is involved. Avoid pronounced tannins with fish, and don’t be afraid of contrasting pairings; they can yield wonderful surprises.
As for the rest, no rule can replace it: you need to open bottles, make mistakes sometimes, retaste, and compare. Theory is only valuable when put into practice, and the only reliable judge is your own palate. So the next time you prepare a nice meal, choose two bottles instead of one, and have fun.
Author Audrey on 04 March 2022
Gastronomy and Food : Food
Author Audrey on 01 December 2021
Gastronomy and Food : Food