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Food & wine pairings: a guide to making the right choice

What are you planning on serving your guests this evening? To avoid any false notes, it is vitally important to pair your wines successfully with the dishes on the menu. A well-chosen pairing reveals the aromas, enhances the textures and balances the flavors. But where to start? Follow the Goguette guide!

The basic rules of food and wine pairing

There are a few basic tenets to successful wine and food pairing.

The first is to balance the flavors so that the wine complements the dish without in any way overpowering it.

It is then essential to take into account the main flavors of the dish. For example, a slightly vinegary salad or acidic dishes go well with light, fruity wines such as a French Sauvignon Blanc or a Chablis, both of which will help accentuate the freshness of the dish. On the other hand, tannic, full-bodied wines should be reserved for red meat or game, such as a rich Californian Shiraz.

Finally, opt for a regional pairing to awaken your guests’ taste buds. For example, a rich California-style beef stew will be enhanced by a wine from the region, such as a Napa Valley Malbec, a match made in heaven, whose firm tannins complement the intensity of the dish.

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Which wines go with which dishes?

Some pairings are absolute classics. Here are just a few examples of this:

 

With red meat or game

A full-bodied, tannic red wine such as a French Côtes-du-Rhône, or a vintage from Bordeaux or Médoc will be perfect with a grilled rib of beef or steak. And for a more local pairing, why not choose the iconic Californian Pinot Noir?

 

With white meat such as poultry

These dishes go equally well with red or white wine. Choose a Chardonnay, or a Burgundy such as a Meursault or a Chassagne-Montrachet. Finally, for more home-grown alternatives to these French grape varieties, you can opt for a bold and spicy Californian Zinfandel that will enhance the flavor of this tender meat.

 

With fish or seafood

Often more delicate, these dishes require fresh, mineral white wines such as a Pouilly-fumé, a Chablis, an Alsace Riesling or a Muscadet, all of which will offer the perfect accompaniment to your fish and seafood dishes. For more intense flavored fish, such as grilled halibut or smoked eel, the Malbecs of Paso Robles offer a maybe less conventional but equally enticing pairing.

 

With cheese

For soft cheeses like Brie or Camembert, a light red wine such as an Anjou from the French Loire Valley will wonderfully complement the cheeses’ fresh and chalky texture.
For blue-veined cheeses such as Roquefort or Fourme d’Ambert, pair with light, sweet wines such as a French Pinot Gris or a Banyuls.

 

With dessert

To accompany your desserts, choose a sweet or liqueur-like wine. To round off the meal on a high note, a Sauterne or a Riesling will be the perfect choice. For a chocolate-rich dessert, opt for a sweet red wine such as a Banyuls. You could equally go for a sparkling wine such as a Champagne Brut or a Blanc de Blanc. Finally, why not choose a home-grown vintage from the Napa or Sonoma valleys which rank among the top wine-growing regions in the United States?

While the basics will guarantee you classic and successful pairings, be sure not to hesitate to experiment with your latest finds to come up with ever more daring and novel combinations!

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To go further

For an optimal wine tasting experience, the serving temperature is a key factor not to be overlooked. Discover Goguette’s 3-temperature wine fridge.

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Multi-zone wine fridge

To combine serving at tasting temperature and storage in a single wine cabinet.
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