If you’re planning a special Valentine’s Day dinner, don’t forget the wine! Here are some basic food and wine pairing tips.
The first thing to remember is that it is more important to choose a wine that you enjoy than to follow rules. However, there are some tips that will help enhance your food and wine experience:
- Match the intensity and “weight” of the dish with the intensity of the wine. So a bold dish calls for a bold wine. And a light dish calls for a light wine. Sounds logical, right? Although sometimes opposites attract, it’s a lot more difficult to come up with a complimentary pairing of a strong wine with a light dish and vice versa.
- Artichokes or asparagus both contain compounds that really mess with your taste buds and can make a great wine taste really gross. Who knew?
- “Acidity” in wine (such as a sauvignon blanc) is a good match for deep-fried foods, creamy and cheesy foods, fish, spicy Asian and Indian foods, tomato dishes and tart foods.
- Wines high in tannins (such as a Syrah) pair well with fat.
- Cuisine from a region usually pairs well with wine from the same region.
