Food and Wine Pairing is an Adventure not a Chore

Everyone has an opinion about food and wine pairing. "Should I ever have beef with white wine?" "Should I drink red wine with chicken?" "Will lightning strike me down if I have fish and red wine together?"

The answers are; maybe, maybe, and no. Most fish do pair well with most types of white wine, and most beef dishes do go quite well with most types of red wine, but these are guidelines, or perhaps hints; but not unbreakable rules.

And in the course of doing it over and over, some discerning individuals began to notice that some wines seem to taste better with certain foods.

From there some adventurous people decided to try different combinations to see which ones they preferred. Notice that the emphasis was on what these adventurous souls preferred, not on what the experts said; perhaps there were not experts yet.

As time went by, what started out as a game, began to resemble the Federal Banking Code. The result is that many people are terrified of suggesting a wine for a particular dish, thinking that they may not survive the wrath of the experts.

The game now seems to be dead serious, and no longer so much fun. I say "heck no" to that!

Click here to learn about red wine pairing

O.K., I admit that there are some combinations that are great, what about oysters and champagne? That sound yummy, and it is. What about lobster bisque and dry sherry? Yeah that sound pretty good too. And salmon with Pinot Noir is terrific (what? fish and red wine?).

These are guideline to get you started, but remember that you are the final arbiter of what tastes good to you.

Click here to read about pairing with types of white wine.

Think about what you are trying to do. When it comes to food and wine pairing, do you want to match flavors, or do you want to compliment them? If the dish has a mild flavor, you may want to stay with a wine that also has a mild flavor because you don't want to overwhelm the dish or the wine. If you are having a spicy curry or Mexican dish, you may want a bold wine that can stand up to the spiciness of the food. But remember that the high alcohol level in the bold wine will make the dish taste spicier. If you like the burn, enjoy.

Here is a useful pairing guide to make your life simple.

But just remember that if you decided to have a wine that refreshes your palate when eating those Chiles Rellenos, you are on the right track and that will be a great combination; it is your wine, it is your dish, and it is your palate.

You are perfectly entitled to explore various combinations just to see if your like them, don't be afraid to try different pairings.

You are the expert when it comes to this particular meal!