Wine pairing guide

First of all, if you don't care about the blabla you can go straight to some direct examples of food and wine pairings. If you do care, we will start with a little explanation on grapes varieties; there is a huge amount of grape varieties, very few people know all of them. There are white and red varieties, and within both colours, there are light, medium and full body varieties. The body depends on the level of tannins*, alcohol and acidity. Light body wines will have less tannins, low alcohol and usually higher acidity. They are often not aged in barrel but in stainless steel or concrete tanks. The opposite goes for full body wines. Next to all this there are also sweet and dry wines. This does not always depend on the grape variety only, but also on the way the wine is produced. A few examples:

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White: ​

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• Light body: Riesling, Pinot Gris, Muscadet, Gewürstraminer

• Medium body: Sauvignon Blanc, Vermentino, Verdejo

• Full body: Chardonnay, Sémillon, Viognier

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Typically sweet wines are Muscadet and Gewürstraminer, typically dry ones are Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay. This does not mean they taste similar though. Sauvignon Blanc has a very high acidity and is usually aged in inox, which gives it a very fresh tropical, citrus taste, whereas Chardonnay is not as acidic and is often aged in barrel, so that next to its tropical citrus notes, it tastes bolder and buttery, with stronger notes of vanilla and butterscotch. Riesling is a good example of a grape that comes in both sweet and dry version.

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Red:

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• Light body: Pinot Noir, Grenache, Gamay (Beaujolais), Cinsault, Zweigelt

• Medium body: Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Zinfandel, Temperanillo, Sangiovese

• Full body: Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Petit Verdot, Montepulciano

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Lighter body reds have less tannins, lower alcohol and generally taste more like red fruits (strawberry, raspberry, cherry). Fuller body reds have more tannins, higher alcohol and usually taste more like black fruits (blackberry, blackcurrant, black cherry).

*Tannins come from the seeds, stems and skins of the grapes, but also from oak barrels. Since reds get their colour from skin contact, they always have more tannins than whites. Some whites will have tannins from ageing in oak barrels. The longer the wine is aged in barrels, the more tannins it will have. Tannins give the wine bitterness and astringency, but also complexity. 

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Rosé:

Rosé wines are usually made out of red grape varieties. The reason they are pink instead of red is because there is a shorter time of contact with the skins than with reds. Rosé only needs a few hours or in some cases even a few minutes of skin contact, whereas reds can sit for weeks. In some countries it's allowed to mix both red and white grapes for a rosé. The most common tastes you can find in rosé are citrus, melon, red fruits and flowers. These tastes depend on the grape variety as well as the production method. Usually you can find some info about the flavour pallet on the label.

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Orange:

Orange wine (also called skin contact wine) is made out of white grapes that have had contact with the skins and seeds of the grapes. Usually, the juice of white grapes is immediately removed from the skins, but for orange wine this is not the case and the juice sits with the skins for a few days to even a few months. This gives the wine a darker colour, which can vary from yellow, to orange, to pink. Next to the colour it also gives the wine more body and complexity.

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Sparkling:

There are many different types of sparkling wines made from many different grapes, usually varying from region to region. The most well-known ones are probably Champagne from France, Cava from Spain and Prosecco from Italy. The latter usually has smaller bubbles than the first two. Crémant is the more affordable version of French sparkling wine. Cava is very similar in taste to Champagne but again, more affordable.

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Sparkling wine can range from completely dry to very sweet. Dry sparkling is called "Brut", sweet sparkling is illogically called "Extra-Dry". The sweeter kinds are usually cheaper but also often give you a headache. For that reason it's always safer to go for a dry sparkling, like Prosecco. If you do prefer the sweeter kind, sparkling rosé is a good way to go. Sweet sparkling is best to drink on its own, whereas dry sparkling is great for food pairings.

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Tips:

• Age is a good measure for quality; Champagne usually ages at least 2-3 years.

• Blanc de Blanc means it has predominantly Chardonnay grapes and tastes like lemon, apple and honeycomb.

• Blanc de Noir means it's made mostly out of Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. The flavours you can get here are strawberry, raspberry or even mushrooms. The colour can range from darker yellow to orangey pink.

• Cava usually has a lighter body and tastes more like lime, green apple and quince.

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Dessert Wine:

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There are many different types of dessert wines. Unfortunately most people are even less familiar with dessert wines and their pairings than regular wine. That's why I'll give a quick overview here.

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• Fortified wine: Port, Sherry and Madeira are examples. Port is made in Portugal and is basically sweet red wine. Sherry comes from Spain and has mostly nutty flavours. You can recognise a Sherry by the words "Palomino" or "Pedro Ximénez" written on the label, which are the names of the grape varieties that are mostly used. Madeira is very walnutty and oily. There are two grape varieties that create sweet Madeira: Bual with a brown sugar and fig palette, or Malmsy with orange and caramel flavours.

• Late harvest wine: The grapes are literally harvested later than normal, so they will have dried out. This means they lost their water, but kept their sugars, so they will have a way higher sugar content than normal.

• Passito: Also called 'Straw Mat'. Again a literal explanation of the word: the grapes are laid out on a straw mat to dry in the sun which again gives an effect of elevated sugar content.

• Ice wine: This type of wine is only possible to produce in regions where it freezes. Once the temperature drops below zero, the grapes are harvested and pressed immediately. The water inside the grapes is still frozen and only the sugars are squeezed out. Another way to get a higher sugar content in the wine.

• Noble Rot: This is the name for wine made of grapes affected with a fungus called Botrytis cinerea. This fungus extends the pallet of sweet wines with ginger, saffron and honey, which are all quite unique flavours and make this type of wine very different from others.

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Note: Very sweet white wines or sweeter sparkling wines can often also pass as dessert wine. There are even a few sweet red wines that can be used to pair with dessert. A well-known example is Lambrusco.

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Next up is the most important thing: FOOD & WINE PAIRING. There are six flavour components to take into account when pairing food and wine: salty, sweet, sour, bitter, fat and spicy. Wine has only three of these; sweet, sour (acidic) and bitter. Food has many more flavour components, but it's only these six that can complement or enhance the wine. So the key is to simplify each dish into one or more of these six basic components.

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Once you are able to pin down the flavour components of both wine and food, you can start pairing. Here are a few tips that can help to make it easier:

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1. White wines pair best with fish, seafood and chicken. Red wines pair better with pork and beef; the leaner the meat, the lighter the body of the wine.

2. The flavour intensity of food and wine should be similar; a very flavourful dish needs a very bold and flavourful wine. A lightly flavoured dish should be paired a less intense wine.

3. Bitterness should not be enhanced. For example, a full body red with high tannins is quite bitter and doesn't go well with bitter foods. It pairs best with salty and umami food that is high in fat.

4. Earthy wine should go with earthy food. The earthiness of the food will tone down the tart and earthy flavours of the wine and make the wine more fruity. Examples of earthy foods are mushrooms, beetroot and potatoes.

5. The wine should always be more acidic than the food. Most acidic foods come in the form of a salad; dressing, tomatoes, citrus, ... Make sure to pick an acidic wine with that such as Sauvignon Blanc or a sparkling wine.

6. The wine should always be sweeter than the food. Usually not a very difficult task when it comes to lunch or dinner. But for dessert it can be. There are many different options of dessert wines, as discussed above.

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Some examples of great pairings:

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• Sauvignon Blanc: Lean and flakey fish, goat cheese

• Chardonnay: Chicken, tuna, salmon, rich dishes with creamy sauces

• Gamay or dry rosé: Anchovies

• Fruity wines (Riesling, Muscat, Grenache): Cured ham like Prosciutto

• Barbera: Moroccan spices

• Pinot Noir: Lean meat like veal or chicken

• Chianti: Venison

• Zinfandel: Duck

• Malbec: BBQ pork ribs, lamb

• Cabernet Sauvignon: A fat beef steak

• Sparkling: Truffle ravioli with butter sage, fried food, rocket salad with pear, parmesan and nuts, dijon mustard

• Passito: ANY dessert

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