Wine and Spirit

Here are some flexible guidelines for pairing food and wine.

The key factors in choosing a wine are the setting and context in which it will be drunk. Is it a casual drinks party in the garden, a barbecue, or a formal situation?

Will there be food?

Do the guests want to have wines to sip and think about, or merely to quench their thirst?

Will you be serving wine on a warm summer's evening or will there be snow on the ground?

Riesling, for example, makes a light, crisp white wine, sometimes with a little residual sugar.

It is great summer drinking, or with lighter foods at any time of the year.

It provides some of the greatest value for money of any white wine in the world, although it is not invariably the best white to serve.

Similarly, a light red Italian wine - or something similar - goes well an informal barbecue or pizza.

The subject of matching food and wine is much misunderstood.

Historically, it has been hide-bound with rules about what can and cannot be eaten and drunk together.

There is a very strong reaction against this currently, with some expert even saying that any food can go with any wine as long as the food itself is in balance.

It is therefor clearly an area fraught with difficulty.

A classic work on wine may suggest a good Bordeax or, possibly Burgundy, for lamb, on the basis that the meat is roasted.

But what if it is lamb tagine with quince?

Or lamb daube, stewed in wine with herbs and olives?

Or lamb curry?

Each of those would probably clash with the traditional match, and if you had invested a lot of money in the wine you would surely be disappointed.

The old adage that if you have a good wine you need a plain dish is probably the safest course.

Consequently, your paramount rule of thumb should be to drink what you want with whatever you choose to eat, as long as the wine is a good one.

Life is too short to drink bad wines...

Another suggestion that may help match food and wine is to balance weight with weight.

So a lighter-bodied wine will be preferable with seafood and very light cold meats, a medium-bodied wine will be better with fish and less fatty meats, and a full-bodied wine will complement heavier dishes such as casseroles and roasts.

As for the colour of wine, some people will only drink red or white with their meal, and not both.

However, it is often the key seasoning or sauce rather than the main component of the dish that should be considered when selecting the wine.

Wine and food pairing has evolved naturally in Europe.

The reason rosé wines are popular in Provence, for example, is because, despite the fact that the region historically produces full-bodied reds, the locals need something to go with their bouillabaisse.

You may have an idea that a particular dish and a selected wine will work together, and sometimes trial and error is the best way to find out.

Sometimes by chance they just seem predestined to go with each other.

The perfect matches - where the two just meld into each other - often seem to come about by accident.

Enjoy it, and keep a note of it, when it happens - it is serendipity.