Home ›

Pairing Wine with Food

in

Nothing complements a meal better than a bottle of wine, provided, of course that you match the right wine to the correct dish. Even though there are no exact rules for selecting wine to go with food, there are certain wines that complement specific dishes better than others.

Ultimately, you the taster will decide on how well the wine suites the food as taste is subjective, however we hope the following recommendations are useful and helpful in planning your next dining experience.

Appetizers and Soups

  • Bisque, works well with dry white with medium to heavy body such as Verdicchio, Pinot Gris or Graves. A full bodied California Chardonnay would also do well.
  • Escargot needs a full bodied wine, red or white of some substance such as a Burgundy, Cotes-du-Rhone, or Chardonnay.
  • Chowders- Big white not necessarily dry such as a Pinot Gris or Rhone.
  • Shrimp or Crab a dry to medium white such as a Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc or a dry rose. With Vinaigrette dressing try a light sherry.
  • Salad Greens, any dry white wine such as a Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc. Ceasar salad goes well with full bodied reds especially if the Parmigiano Reggiano is added.
  • Prosciutto with melon, calls for a dry of off-dry white such as Pinot Grigio, of Italian Prosecco.
  • Oysters work well with champagne, Chablis, Pinot Blanc from Alsace, Albarino from Spain, or a crisp Chardonnay I prefer domestic!.

Entrees

  • Pasta Redor white according to the sauce and accompaniments. With clam sauce try a Verdicchio or Soave. With red meat sauce Chianti, Beaujolais, or even a Zinfandel will work. With tomato sauce try any Sicilian red or a Barbera and with a cream or Alfredo try Orveto or Frascati.
  • Pizza Any Dry Italian red especially from Sicily. A Spanish Rioja, or Australian Shiraz will also hold up.
  • Smoked Salmon calls for a dry white such as Chablis Grand Cru or a Alsatian Gewürztraminer will also work.
  • Duck, Goose, Chicken and Turkey Pinot Noir is always a perfect choice for seared duck or even roasted chicken. A Cabernet will go better with a confit. Turkey, try a Gewurztraminer or Riesling. With chicken a Pinot Noir or Pinot Grigio will work, depending on the dish.
  • Chinese Food usually calls for an off-dry white such as a Riesling or Gewürztraminer or a domestic rose.
  • Beef Stew, Roast, or Stroganoff. A Napa Valley Cabernet will always work well for a nice roast all three dishes will want a wine to stand up to the food, look for Cotes du Rhone, Bordeaux, Chateauneuf-de-Pape with a stroganoff a Pinot Noir or Barolo could go nicely.
  • Ham. If there is a sweet glaze on the ham, a sweet Riesling will go nicely, it the ham is roasted a young red burgundy or Pinot Noir will also be nice.

Seafood

  • Salmon - Fine white burgundy , Chablis, chardonnay or reds a domestic Pinot Noir
  • Scallops Chenin Blanc, Riesling or champagne always is nice. With Swordfish, try Chardonnay or Pinot Noir, Trout is a lighter fish, try a lighter wine such as Mosel, if the trout is smoked, try Champagne. Clams, a light bodied white such as Chablis or Pinot Blanc, a Riesling would also work well. Tuna calls for a sharp white such as a Sauvignon Blanc or white Rioja.

Cheese Glorious Cheese

A good rule of thumb, wine always does well with food from the same region, when you are preparing a cheese plate or dish and the cheese is imported, try a wine from the same region, you will be glad you did.

  • Blue Cheese work best with big reds but, they also work well with dessert wines. A classic match and one of Wine Thymes favorites is Port with Stilton, the Cadillac of blue cheese.
  • Cheddar, depending on the strength of the cheese, the stronger cheddars will require a very big red such as a Barolo or Cabernet. With Brie a Chardonnay or sparkling wine is very good. With Feta or Chevre calls for a white wine dry like a Sauvignon Blanc or a sweet German. With hard cheese similar to Parmigiano Reggiano, Gruyere or Asiago dry red wines hold up well, try a “Super Tuscan” Sangiovese, Chianti Classico Riserva, Brunello of Cabernet Sauvignon.