A successful pairing must enhance the food and the wine , without either of them taking over the other. Meanwhile, to get an idea of how to marry wines with dishes, you need to start from the type of wine.
The types of wine
- Powerful red: it is generally a generous, full, structured and alcoholic wine, with a lot of substance and great olfactory intensity. (Examples: Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, etc.).
- Red: This type of wine offers softer tannins, generally less alcohol, and is lighter in color than powerful red. (Examples: Merlot, Cabernet Franc, etc.)
- Soft red: it is a wine that generally has few tannins. It is soft, silky and fine. (Examples: Pinot Noir, Gamay, etc.).
- Rose: Fresh and fruity, there are different types of rosés that offer more or less power or sugar. In general, it combines the fruity nature of the red with low-tannin, refreshing flavors like the white.
- Rich White: This is a fairly powerful and aromatic type of white wine, with fairly fruity complex notes and rich textures. (Examples: Chardonnay). Sometimes it can be relatively sweet. (Examples: Gewürztraminer).
- Dry white: generally it is a fresh, light wine with little acidity. (Examples: Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Blanc, etc.).
- Sweet white: more of a dessert wine. Very rich, usually amber in color. It is often a dried wine. (Examples: Moscato).
- Sparkling wine: it is a sparkling wine, which can be sweet or rather dry, white or rosé. (Examples: Champagne, Blanc de Blanc).
How does the food-wine deal work?
The best pairings you can create are when the components, richness, or textures complement each other. Six things to know about food and wine pairings:
The fat
Wine does not contain fat, so to combine it with fatty dishes you need:
- Balance fat with acidity
- Cut fat thanks to tannins
- Pair the richness of fat with alcohol
Acidity
This element is found in food as well as wine. It is therefore best to ensure that the acidity of the wine is at least equal to that of the food.
salt
Sparkling wines are ideal for very salty foods as carbon dioxide attenuates the salty sensation.
Sugar
A wine with a high alcohol content tends to give an impression of sweetness, which will balance out the sugar in the food. But there are degrees of sweetness/sugar, and when light enough (fruity), the sugar goes really well with a rich white (like Chardonnay).
Bitterness
Unlike sugar, when a dish is bitter and so is the wine, the bitterness will be amplified.
The plot
Light food will go better with a light wine and, conversely, rich food will go better with a rich wine.