A good bottle would only be as good as the environment it is in, when serving wine one should keep in mind the food or any sort of accompaniment which is to be served as well. During a dinner there may be a number of foods which will be served but we will be looking at the most common, and also which wines will go well with them.
Synergy and balance are two things to keep in mind when pairing wine and food together, a sweet wine should compliment a sweet dish, but if either the dish or the wine are too sweet then one of them needs to contrast each other.
Table of Contents
Le’aparitif (Aperitif)
Before the beginning of a meal you should serve lighter wines which have lower alcohol contents. If you are serving fruits and salads, then wine will not be required. If you are serving is something fried or oily you should serve a crisp and fruity white wine which will reduce the oily flavor.
A popular tradition with European countries is to have cheese, certain wines go well with certain cheese, if you are having a hard time determining this there are numerous books and internet sources to help you pick the right wine for the right cheese, a simple idea would be to have dry wine with moist cheese.
Main Courses, Meats and Seafood
Red Meats
The easiest to remember when serving wine during the main course is that, red wine goes with red meat. French style meals should be accompanied by French wines Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot noir are good choices. Italian wines go well with hearty servings of meat.
Pork and Poultry
Similar to red meat red wine, “white meat white wine” is also a rule to follow. Pinot Blanc and white chardonnays go well with these meats. You can serve red, but this is only for birds, and if you do, select fruity red wines like Zinfandel.
Fish and Seafood
Sauvignon Blanc for white fishes like Dory and cod are ideal. Red fish like salmon require a deeper understanding on the texture of the fish, but generally for salmon, White Chardonnays pair perfectly with the rich texture of the fish.
If you are serving muscles and oysters remember that the taste of these mollusks goes well with Sancerre which have no oak smell and Muscadet from the melon de Bourgogne.
Spicy Foods
Chilled wines which are best for any spicy food make sure the wine is well aged as to remove the tannins in it. Sparkling wine is the best type for spicy Asian food.
Desserts
Obviously serve the sweetest and most alcoholic wine that you have to offer, pair this with cakes, tarts, chocolate and all sorts of deserts.
A reminder to how you should carry out your meals with wine is balance and synergy between food and wine, both complementing and contrasting each other’s flavor. So with this guide you will have a better idea on what goes well with wine, your guests are sure to be pleased to be brought on a wonderful gastronomically enchanting journey.
