Any season brings parties and entertaining, and now more than ever wine plays a huge role at spring picnics, summer barbecues, fall cookouts, and Christmas dinner. So how do you find out which wines pair well with which foods? The best idea is to create a wine list. It will help you make sense of all of your options and plan the most delectable meal with confidence and ease.
Instructions
1. Wine lists can be categorized by varietal (chardonnay, merlot, pinot noir) or basic food types (poultry, fish, meat, or vegetarian). It’s up to you. Organizing your list by food type, however, provides a simple and perhaps the most important starting point when thinking about pairings: what kind of wine to pair with the menu.
2. It’s also a good idea to make two lists, one for main courses and one for special orders that aren’t made every day—think popcorn, Chinese, or chocolate. The following are fleshed out examples to build your wine list upon, beginning with main courses and followed by special meals.
3. Main CoursesPoultry: Most Rieslings (which are fruity but not necessarily sweet), merlots, or chardonnays are excellent choices, while Chiantis and white Burgundys pair well with roasts or baked chicken. Pinot noirs, Rhones, and Italian reds match duck and goose taste for taste, and Bordeaux—a combination of cabernet sauvignon and merlot—complements the distinct taste of duck breast. At Thanksgiving dinner, try to find an Alsatian Gewurztraminer, whose taste is not quite as sweet as other ’miners.
4. Fish: In general, sauvignon blancs, soaves, and Loire whites provide balance for sole, white fish, and cod. Look for pinot noirs to draw the taste out of a healthy salmon dish. Sauvignon blancs also go well with shrimp while Rieslings are fantastic accompaniments to crab. Extremely fine (and often slightly more expensive) chardonnays and Champagnes provide perfect pairings with lobster. And for mussel-lovers, think White Graves.
5. Meat: With so many options from which to choose, it’s best to start off simple. Look for zinfandels, Cotes du Rhones, cabernet sauvignons, pinot noirs (starting to notice how versatile this varietal is?), syrahs, or Spanish riojas.
6. Vegetarian: The old stand-bys are your best bet in this category. Satisfy with pinot gris, sauvignon blancs, zinfandels, and Chiantis. Dishes dominated by cheese should be carefully paired, depending on the sharpness of the cheese. Generally, merlots, cabernets, chardonnays, and sometimes Grenache rosés are safe.
7. Special MealsMost chocolates are brought to their full potential with wines from the south of France, including Champagne. For popcorn, try to find a nice, buttery Chardonnay or other sparkling varietal. And don’t be daunted by ethnic meals such as Chinese. Simply remember that for the most part, this is where you should target Gewurztraminers and Rieslings, or cabernets, merlots, or chardonnays.
Tags: well with, dinner find, main courses, merlots chardonnays, pair well, pair well with, pinot noirs
