Wine and Food Pairing Tips

You really don’t have to know much about wine to enjoy it - just open the bottle and pour!  But if you’d like to learn more, the best way to begin exploring is to try out a range.  Red, white, sweet, dry - the more you taste, the more you’ll discover an infinite variety of colors, aromas and flavors.  

Here’s a brief introduction to tasting wine, serving wine and pairing wine with food - a quick-start guide to a life-long love affair with one of the world’s greatest pleasures.

Pairing Wine with Food

A magical melding of aromas, flavors and textures occurs when a sip of wine follows a bite of food. We’ve included a few strategies for delicious wine and food pairing below.  Keep in mind that "white wines with fish and red wines with meat" is no longer a hard-and-fast rule.  The growing influence of ethnic foods and American regional cuisines has paved the way for new considerations.  And at the end of the day, the most important rule for wine and food pairing is to follow your own taste preferences.  If you like it, the pairing works.

• * Wine and food should complement one another, or offer a pleasant contrast with one another.  When choosing a wine to enjoy with food, consider the style and ingredients of the dish; for example, highly seasoned ethnic dishes, such as those of many Asian cuisines, need wines that can stand up to assertive flavors.  Try lively Gewurztraminer, Viognier or Pinot Grigio. A lightly sweet Riesling might offer a pleasing contrast to spicy foods, as well.
  
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• * Lighter foods, such as grilled fish or chicken, work well with more delicate whites, such as Sauvignon Blanc or a light Chardonnay.  Heavier red wines would overpower the complex flavors of these foods - and that’s what the "white wines with fish, red wines with meat" rule is based on.  But lighter reds - a slightly earthy Pinot Noir, for example - can bring out the rich flavors of grilled fish like salmon or tuna.
  
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• * Heavy roasted meats, such as a rosemary-scented Sonoma lamb or barbecued Santa Maria tri-tip, are ideally accompanied by a moderately spicy Merlot or smoky Syrah.  Hearty beef stew or succulent, well-grilled, marbled T-bone steaks stand up to intense and complex Cabernet Sauvignon or Petite Sirah. 

• * When enjoying cheeses either before or after dinner, consider a California sparkling wine alongside. The effervescence will stimulate the palate in such a way that both the cheeses and the wine will soar.  For a festive and tasty flourish, serve fresh California pomegranates with the cheese and add a few arils, as pomegranate seeds are called, to each glass.

• * Enjoy smoked fish—oysters, salmon, lox, trout, sturgeon and sablefish, for example—with California sparkling wine.

• * California Sauvignon Blanc loves green vegetables of any kind, from artichokes and green beans to tender lettuces and zucchini.  It is also an excellent match with goat cheeses and fresh mozzarella.

• * California Chardonnay and Viognier blossom with corn and carrots.  Serve with corn on the cob, corn chowder, creamy polenta topped with California Teleme cheese and corn salsa, corn or carrot risotto, oven-roasted carrots and carrot fritters.

• * California Pinot Noir, among the world’s most versatile wines, pairs well with a classic BLT as with wild Pacific King Salmon on a bed of roasted winter squash.  Delicious with turkey, California Pinot Noir is an ideal Thanksgiving wine, as well.

• * California Merlot is delightful with blueberries.  Combine blueberries with wild rice, fresh or smoked turkey and a simple balsamic vinaigrette for a main course salad to enjoy with Merlot.  To enhance the match, add a little Merlot to the dressing.

• * Defy the conventional wisdom that pairs fish with white wine and meat with red.  A robust California Chardonnay is wonderful with rare steak and prime rib and California Cabernet Sauvignon is perfect with halibut topped with a dollop of black olive butter or tapenade.

• * Enjoy California Syrah with classic Italian dishes, such as spaghetti and meatballs, polenta and stewed sausages and lasagna.  It is also excellent with grilled red meats and ripe backyard tomatoes and roasted sweet peppers.

• * California Zinfandel is a perfect quaff with burgers, ribs, fajitas and chili but vegetarians will be thrilled to know it is also the best choice with lentils, especially when served with grilled Portobello mushrooms.

• * For a simple, healthy and delicious dessert, combine seasonal fruits—such as strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, plums and peaches—with a little sugar and chill for a couple of hours, until natural juices collect in the bowl.  Add about a cup of California Rosé or Pinot Noir, toss and serve, or spoon over vanilla ice cream, with the wine alongside.