Food Pairing Guidelines
If it grows together, it goes together.
Consider the weight of both the food and the wine. For example, rich full-flavored foods go best with full-boded wines.
Think about the tasting components of the food:
What are the cooking methods, sauces, spices and dominant flavors?
Is your meal sweet, sour, salty or bitter?
Is the food fatty or acidic?
Compare that to the tasting components of the wine:
What are its levels of tannin, acid and residual sugar?
Have fun, experiment and remember that the possibilities are endless.
Consider the Whole Meal
Red wine with red meat, white wine with white meat is a well-known “rule” of wine pairing, but a dish is more than its main ingredient—the sauce must be considered as well. Consider how you would describe the flavors of the whole plate: mellow, light, spicy, fatty, hearty, robust or powerful? Then match it to a similar wine, or one that provides a refreshing contrast.