Tips for Pairing Wine & Food

Whether you’re planning a romantic night in with your partner or a dinner party with friends, you’ll want to make sure your choice of wine pairs well with your meal. While pairing wine and food can be complex, there are some basics that you can follow to create great pairings. Once you become more familiar with different wines, you’ll become more confident in choosing a wine for the meal. Check out the following section to learn some wine and food pairing basics.

1. The wine should be more acidic than the food.
2. Red wines pair best with red meat.
3. White wines pair well with fish and chicken.
4. The wine should be sweeter than the food.
5. Pairing a bitter wine with fat helps to balance out the flavors.
6. When choosing your wine, it’s best to match it with the sauce rather than the meat.
7. Red wines tend to create more congruent pairings.
8. White, sparkling, and rosé wines create more contrasting pairings.

While there are over 20 different tastes found in food, you only need to focus on 6 of them when it comes to pairing food and wine. Those include salt, acid, sweet, bitter, fat, and spice. When you’re creating pairings think about the intensity.

Food

Is the food light or super rich in flavor? For example, a salad may seem light, but maybe it has a dressing with high acidity. Focusing on the intensity of each component will help you determine which wine pairs best with it.

Wine

Is the wine light or bold? Here are some examples:

• Sauvignon Blanc is light-bodied white wine but will have a higher acidity.
• Chardonnay is a full-bodied white wine but not too acidic.
• Pinot Noir is a lighter-bodied red wine without a lot of bitterness.
• Cabernet Sauvignon is a more full-bodied red wine with more bitterness.

Now that you have a better understanding of the basic taste components of your dish, you can choose the perfect wine pairing. Whether you’re making a simple mac and cheese or a filet mignon, the right wine will help to balance out the flavors.

The next time you’re looking for a bottle of wine to pair with your dinner, turn to Preston Ridge Vineyard. Our winery has a range of options from light and refreshing whites to bold and rich reds. No matter the meal you’ve got planned, we have the perfect wine to pair with it. 

We’re proud to provide a quality wine selection to residents across Ledyard, Mashantucket, Montville, Mystic, North Stonington, Norwich, Preston, Stonington, Uncasville, CT; Westerly, RI and the surrounding areas. If you’re interested in learning more, contact our winery to book your next wine tasting. We look forward to hearing from you!