Most wines are made as an accompaniment to food, and there are many established guidelines for matching wines with foods, though there is no single choice of wine that must be drunk with a certain dish.

The best match is that neither the wine nor the food overpowers the other. Even better is that the wine and food can enhance each other.

Wine and Food Matching Guidelines

Avoid wind and food clashes or one overpowering the other Wine and food combinations where they enhance one another
  • Match the weight/richness of the food and the body of wine
  • Match the flavor intensity of the food and the flavour intensity of wine
  • Match acidic foods with high-acid wines
  • Match sweet foods with sweet wines
  • Avoid taking oily or very salty foods with high-tannin red wines
  • Pair chewy meat with tannic red wines
  • Pair salty foods with sweet or high-acid wines
  • Pair fatty and oily food with high-acid wines
  • Match or contrast flavor characteristics of the wine and the food.

Wine and Food Matching in Detail

Weight/Richness of the Food and the Wine Flavour Intensity of the Food and the Wine
  • The first and most important element to consider should be the weight of the food with that of the wine. Rich heavyweight foods, like game, roast meats and red meat casseroles, need a full-bodied wine. Powerful red wines are often the favoured choice, despite it is the body of the wine which is most important consideration rather than its color or flavor. For many meat dishes, a rich full-bodied white wine is a better match than a lighter red wine. Lighter food, such as plain white meat or fish, is complemented by more delicate wine. Although white wines are the normal choice, light-bodied, low-tannin red wines can also be successful.
  • Always remember the contribution of the sauce. A rich creamy sauce will need a wine of sufficient body to match the food and flavours that will complement the smooth creamy, buttery taste.
  • After weight, the next most important element to consider is flavor and how intense that flavor is. Flavor intensity, although similar to weight, is not the same. For instance, a plate of plain boiled potatoes is heavy in weight but light in flavor. On the contrary, thinly sliced red peppers is high in flavor but light in weight. Wine can be the same. Riesling, for example, makes a lightweight wine that is intensely flavored, while Chardonnay makes full-bodied wine, heavy weight wines that can be low in flavor. Delicate wines and strong flavored foods do not pair well.
  • It is also worth considering the way the food has been cooked. If a food is cooked by a moist, gentle method such as steaming, it will require a lighter-flavored wine than a food that is roasted, which will require a wine that is fuller-bodied and more robust in flavor because the method of cooking add intensity of flavors to the food. A slow-cooked dish that has been braised or stewed will be weightier and need intensely flavored wines, because the food’s flavors are intensified by the method of cooking.
Acidity in the Food and the Wine Sweetness in the Food and the Wine
  • Sour flavors in the food make wines taste less acidic, and therefore less vibrant and refreshing. For this reason, any acidity found in the food should be matched by acidity in the accompanying wines. Acidity is something we rarely think about in food. Tomatoes, lemons and pineapples are all high in acidity. One of the characteristics of Italian red wines is their noticeable acidity. This is because much Italian cuisine is dominated by tomatoes and olive oil, and other acidic ingredients such as lemons, vinegar and wine are often used. Therefore, wines go with Italian cuisine need high acidity.
  • Vinaigrette is an example of acidity being added to dish. The oil needs to be cut off by the sharpness of acidity, so when making a vinaigrette you blend olive oil and vinegar together. Dishes dominated by tart acidic flavors, like lemon or lime, can be difficult and require care when pairing as they will overpower many wines.
  • Dry wines can seen tart and over-acidic when consumed with any food with a degree of sweetness. Sweet food is best with wine which has a similar or greater degree of sweetness. In general, the sweeter the food, the sweeter the wine needs to be. Wines made with late harvest, botrytis-affected or sweet-Muscat grapes are the ideal choice for desserts.
Oil, Salt and Tannins Chewy Meat and Tannins
  • Tannin in combination with oily fish can result in an unpleasant metallic taste, so the general recommendation is to avoid red wines with fish. However, low tannin reds are fine with meaty fish. Wines with high tannin level can also taste bitter with salty foods.
  • Tannin in red wine reacts with protein. Foods with a high protein content, particularly rare red meat, will soften the effects of the tannin on the palate. This is why wines from high-tannin grapes, such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah/Shiraz, go well with roast meats, stews and steaks.
  • Light, fruity red wines with low levels of tannins, like Beaujolais and Valpolicella, will complement white meats because these are low in proteins and lighter than meats such as lamb and beef.
Salty Foods and Sweet or High-Acid Wines Fatty Foods and High-Acid Wines
  • Salty foods are enhanced by a touch of sweetness. The classic example is prosciutto and figs. The same works with wine as well. Roquefort cheese and Sauternes, or Port and Stilton are famous matches.
  • Salty foods benefit from a little acidity. For instance, olives, oysters and other shellfish go best with crisp, dry, light-bodied white wines.
  • Wines with good level of acidity can be superb with rich, oily foods, such as pâté. Here the acidity in the wine helps it cut through the fattiness of the food.
  • Foods that have been cooked by frying will need wines with high acidity, because the method of cooking increases the fat content.