No one can conceive of eating without drinking. Water is fine at many times, certainly at any of our daily meals, but drinking something that enhances the dish we are tasting is a real delight. There is nothing better than the right bottle to enhance the enjoyment of our food, as wine is an exceptional flavour enhancer.
The pairings can be infinite. The most generic is that of meat with red wine and fish with white, but behind these simple combinations there is a wide range that will transform what we eat.
The simplest pairing is the colour rule: all food usually pairs well with wine of the same colour. This applies to whites, rosés and reds.
Another infallible reference is that of geographical pairings: everything that is eaten and drunk in a place matches perfectly. Galician food, be it fish, seafood or meat, goes very well with its wines, both white and red. Fried fish, squid, cuttlefish, anchovies, typical of the south, go wonderfully with fino and manzanilla. Piemonte’s dishes improve with its wines, especially with nebbiolos, but also with barberas or dolcettos. In the truffle season, the combination of truffle with nebbiolo, if possible barolos or barbarescos, reaches perfection. Mallorcan soups are even more exquisite with a good callet. The coq au vin, typical of the Jura, is extraordinary with a savagnin, a chardonnay or a trousseau. Boeuf bourguignon with a pinot noir. And we could go on and on listing typical foods that pair exceptionally well with the region’s own wines.
In general terms, poultry, especially chicken and turkey, pair exquisitely with a full-bodied and powerful white wine. Pasta with vegetables I would drink with a viogner, marsanne or rousanne from the Rhône. Spaghetti carbonara with a chardonnay. Pesto pasta with an Austrian grüner veltliner. I would eat the typical spaghetti with tomato with a Grenache. I would pair pizzas or cakes with rosés or light reds.
Salads are more complicated, as are artichokes or olives. In such cases, it is best to go for finos and manzanillas from Jerez.
Red meat goes perfectly with powerful red wines, such as Toro, Ribera del Duero and Rioja, as the power and fat of the meat is softened by the tannins of the reds. Outside Spain, Bordeaux wines and Brunellos de Montalcino are also a perfect match. White meat, with less powerful reds, and game has a wide repertoire of red wines, including some powerful, aged white wines.
Chinese and Indian food go perfectly with a Riesling, a Pinot Gris and a Gerwürztraminer, as they compensate for the spicy flavours. Japanese food, on the other hand, when it comes to sushi and fish, combines magically with sparkling wines, particularly champagne, but also with Galician white wines or riesling or grüner veltiliner.
The relationship between cheese and wine is excellent. However, soft cheeses do not go well with red wines, their flavours are incompatible and often strident. Creamy cheeses go perfectly with rieslings spatlese, auslese, berenauslese, pinot gris and gerwurztraminer, as well as with Sauternes or sweet chenin from the Loire. The sweetness of the wines counterbalances the acidity and bitterness of the creamy cheeses. Red wines pair spectacularly with cured sheep’s milk cheeses from their place of production.
Sweet desserts always improve with sweet wines of similar strength. However, one pairing to avoid is that of sparkling wine and sweet wine, as they are flavours that clash head-on. The only exception to this rule are sweet sparkling wines, such as Moscato d’Asti. On the other hand, chocolate goes great with port, palos cortados, marsalas, madeiras and fortified wines in general.
There are some classic and mythical wine-pairing, such as port or wines with botrytis from the Loire and blue cheeses. Prawns and shrimps with fino or manzanilla. Of course, Comte cheese and the white wines of the Jura, whether savagnin or chardonnay. And, of course, strawberries with champagne. A magical pairing can take us to heaven.
These are just a few wine-pairing examples that I particularly like, but there are countless pairings, it’s a question of finding the one that best suits your taste.