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Wine country

For a lot of people, wine country is virtually uncharted territory. What wines go with what foods, when to drink each kind of wine and what are the best wines; these are mysteries to many people. Of course, it is impossible to know everything about wines, but this article will help uncover some of the mysteries about food wine. Knowing about dinner wines does not have to be obscure knowledge.

The idea that white wine is best with white meats and that red wine goes with red meats is an old idea, but still has validity in today. That is the most basic rule for wine. Another basic rule for food wine is to pair tastes that counteract each other. Each taste of food should be overridden by the wine’s flavor and vice versa. Food and wine together should act as a palate cleanser for each other. Being able to taste the flavor of the wine or food over the other means that your wine is not a good match for that food. It has become more difficult to match wines and foods in recent years because dishes have become more flavorful. In these cases, matching the body of the wine to the body of the food is the best option. Light-weight foods pair best with light-weight wines and so on.

The main determination for food wine combinations is the balance of sweetness, acidity and bitterness of both the food and wine. It is pretty easy to figure out what wine should go with what foods by considering the wine and food characteristics. If a sweet food is being served, pair it with a sweeter wine. For bitter foods, a more bitter wine is in order. The best way to determine the acidity of a food is to determine if it would go better with more acid added. For example, adding lemon to a fish means that a more acidic wine should be consumed. Some common white wines that are acidic are: Rieslings, most sparkling wines and white Bordeauxs. Acidic red wines include: Gamays, Pinot Noirs and Sangioveses. Sweet white wines include: White Zinfandels, other forms of Rieslings and Chenin Blancs. Sweet red wines can include: Port and Lambrusco. There are not many bitter white wines, but there are some bitter red wines. These can include, red Zinfandels, Merlots and Cabernet Sauvignons.

So there you have it, an overview about the very basic elements to food wine parings and how to determine which wines should be paired with what foods. The world of wine is very broad, but these simple rules can definitely help keep newcomers to the world of wine on the right track. If you are interested in learning more, then join a wine club or check out some books that cover the subject. You will be glad you did.

grape growing

Throughout the centuries, there has been a seemingly natural connection between food and wine. Many culinary experts claim that some foods are simply better when paired with the right wine. Typically, the pairings do not follow a hard, strict rule, with most people preferring to rely on their individual tastes. In the case of dessert wines, however, they can be appreciated alone, but they are best when paired with fruit or bakery sweets. Of course, knowing how to recognize such a wine is the first step to truly appreciating it.

Although many vintners will disagree, the creation of a fine vintage does not necessarily begin in the vineyard. Granted, there are a few varieties that are known for being especially sweet, but many of them require additional flavorings to stave off blandness. The sweetness of grapes can even be enhanced by harvesting them later or by exposing them to more sunlight, both of which can be difficult to control. As a result, many dessert wines are not a result of the grape growing process, but of the amount of sugar added before or after fermentation. In Germany, for example, sugar is increased by adding grape juice after fermentation, which has the side effect of lowering the alcohol content. Other techniques for increasing sweetness include using grapes that have a specific type of mold on them, freezing out some of the water, or drying the grapes before fermentation.

Despite being a combination of grape variety, alcohol content, color and flavor, the classification of wines and spirits varies greatly according to local laws. For example, dessert wines in the U.S. have more than 14% alcohol and include those that have been fortified with alcohol, while the same category in the UK includes any non-fortified sweet wine served with a meal. The only point of agreement on the category seems to be the sweetness, with these wines having the highest sugar content.

Wine selection and food pairings can be something of a controversial process. Some experts claim that certain combinations should always be served together, while others insist that selection and pairing should be based on the individual palate. Both sides seem to agree, however, that dessert wines should be served after the meal, whether alone or with an actual dessert. They also agree, in this case, that selection and pairing with a dessert involves actually tasting the wine to figure out what suits your individual tastes.

Wine Pairings

We have all been in a situation of picking out wine at one time or another. We’re sitting in a nice restaurant, overwhelmed at the wine list trying to figure out which wine should go with our meal. But you may not be that familiar with particular wines that are on the list or even worse; you have little knowledge of anything to do with wine!

And the situation can be even worse, you may have a date with you with this happening to you (oh you’ve been there? Sorry!) Then you need to keep reading this article, it could keep you from being in these awkward situations, and put you in charge the next time you have to order wine.

If you’re the experimental type, we recommend joining a wine of the month club so you can experimenting with wine pairings from the comfort of your own home. 

All of us have heard the old thing of white wine for white meat or sauces and seafood, and red wine for red meat and sauces. This is somewhat true, but there is further information you can use when pairing wine with your desired foods.

There are certain red wines that are great to serve with seafood, one of them is Cote Du Rhone, that is made from Syrah, Mourvedre and Grenache grapes and gives you a pleasantly smoky, mineral flavor that compliments more than one type of fish dish just as good as the Sauvignon Blanc does. Also the wines made from Gamay grapes go well with seafood, duck and even turkey dishes.

Conversely, there are whites which are excellent with tomato-laden dishes. One example is again Sauvignon Blanc (OK, you may not want to drink it with your spaghetti marinara, but it is excellent IN marinara sauce! Something to remember when cooking at home). Speaking of this wine, it is an easy pairing for many foods – think lemon and cream here. Anything which would go well with lemon (poultry, salads, seafood) works well with this wine. It also provides a good contrast to heavier, creamy sauces.

One of the rules of pairing wines with foods is to consider the flavors in the food itself. Suppose that you’ll be having barbecue (wine with barbecue? Really?). You want a red here, one which has both enough acidity and/or enough body to not be drowned out by the strong flavors of the sauce. A cabernet is just a little too soft for this, although it is certainly done. A better choice, however would be something more assertive such as an Italian Barbera (with its relatively high acidity) or a Valpolicella (which has the body to stand up to any BBQ). Another good and popular choice for this meal would be a red Zinfandel, which has pepper and black cherry flavors which are excellent paired with grilled meats.

Let’s now discuss the white wines shall we? We will still be pairing for grilled foods since they are so popular now and the fact that spring is about to be here. You may consider the dry whites Pinot Grigio or Semillon with grilled dishes such as fruits (best is the melons), vegetables, and salads. Cheeses go well with whites too such as the strong blue varieties and the milder Havarti or Gouda cheeses.

There is a lot more information to know about the pairing of wine with your food, but the info covered here should get you started as far as being able to do some experimenting on your own and seeing which you like. It is definitely delicious research to do and you will not mind tasting the different pairings.  One easy way to start experimenting, join a wine club. Enjoy!