Wine and food pairing has been a common practice for hundreds of years. Wine was considered a staple beverage and was often paired with food. For example, in Ancient France, the practice was to pair wine with cheese, and Italians believed more in a wine-pasta duo.
In those days, wine was more commonly served than water, and this was not just because of the love the beverage had garnered over the years. Wine also happened to be a more sanitary drinking option than water.
It’s difficult to determine if the old people understood the science behind pairing wine with food, but it is an ingenious creation. The perfect food and wine pair considers the aroma’s flavor chemistry and psychological effect. Both factors help improve meal palatability.
Food and wine pairing continues to diversify and improve as local culinary becomes more dynamic and culinary experimentation continues. Today, the concept moves beyond a need to complement one with the other to a more mindful way of achieving flavor targets and improving the dining experience.
The concept behind food and wine pairing
The concept behind food and wine pairing is the interaction between flavor and texture. The combination of flavors or contrast between the flavors from the food and the wine contributes to the overall flavor profile of the meal. The right combination makes your dining experience top-notch.
“Red wine with red meat, white wine with white fish.” This ancient food and wine pairing hack proves relevant even today. The pairing principles for food and wine are determined by the wine’s body, the physical property of the wine, and the type of food in question.
Wine body
Some wines are described as alcoholic. Such wines give you a burning sensation at the back of your throat. Alcohol is the major factor that comes into play in determining a wine’s body. Due to the viscosity of alcohol, more alcoholic wines usually have a heavier body than less alcoholic ones.
Wine body is a term that defines the weight, texture, and richness of the wine.
The weight refers to the wine’s mouthfeel–whether light or viscous–. For example, light-bodied wine has a smooth and light mouthfeel, while full-bodied wine has a more viscous mouthfeel. The texture of the wine describes whether it is creamy, silky, velvety, coarse, or smooth. The richness of the wine refers to the complexity of the flavors, involving the sweetness and alcohol level. All of these cumulatively define the wine body.
A wine’s body is an important property for pairing food with wine. It ensures a good balance between the weight of the wine and the food’s.
The weight of the wine should always match that of the food. The idea is that both parties balance out one another to give better meal satisfaction. Food heavier or lighter than your wine choice will cause one of the parties to be overwhelmed by the other.
The ideal way to establish the heaviness of your food is to check for the dominant flavors. Delicate and mild flavors are classified as light, while hearty and flavor-rich meals are classified as heavy. This is why steak goes best with red wine (a heavy wine), and white wine should be your go-to choice for fish.
Some examples of light-bodied wines are Riesling, Pinot Gris, and Champagne. Wines of this class have an alcohol percentage of less than 12.5, pairing well–but not limited to–light foods like salads.
Medium-bodied wines have a higher alcohol percentage, which ranges from 12.5 to 13.5. Some examples are Rose, Merlot, and Burgundy.
Full or heavy-bodied wines are almost always red wines. They have an alcohol percentage greater than 13.5. Examples are Chardonnay and Barolo. These wines likely have a bitter taste because of their high tannin content.
Wine pairing and physical properties of wine
The physical properties of wine may vary from bitter to sweet or sour. This is otherwise referred to as wine’s fundamental trait. The flavors are the result of the wine’s tannins, sugars, or acidity.
Wine-tannins
Try placing a wet tea bag on your tongue. The bitter taste it leaves in your mouth is from the tannins present in the tea leaves. Wine tannins give wines like Cabernet Sauvignon and Barolo their bitter and astringent taste.
One helpful tip is to never pair tannic wines with spicy or sweet foods. Such foods enhance the bitterness of the tannic wines, making it less enjoyable and disrupting the overall flavor of your meal.
Pair tannic wines with fatty and protein-rich foods instead. The idea is that the proteinous, fatty foods will douse the bitterness of the tannin, making the wine taste more fruity.
Sugar
Sometimes, even after the fermentation process, some sugar molecules remain untransformed. We call those sugars residual sugars, and they are responsible for the sweetness of such wines. Examples of sweet wines are Moscato, Sauternes, and Tokays.
Sweet wine comes in categories. The low-alcohol wines, with a hint of sweetness, go better with spicy food like curried meat or suya. The sweetness of the wine balances out the heat of the food and may sometimes help to alleviate the burning sensation. Sweeter wines work well with sweet food. However, it would be best that you go for a wine that is not as sweet as the food. Or else, the food may taste a bit off.
Acidity
If your glass of wine has a tart and somewhat sour taste, it is mostly acidic. Red wine and white wines like Pinot Noir are examples of acidic wines. Pairing sweet foods with acidic wine reduces the sourness of the wine.
Not everyone is a fan of sour foods but when combined with something sweet, it becomes more palatable. A lemon has a pH range of 2 to 3. This is what gives it its characteristic tartness. Fanta Orange and Pepsi fall within this range, implying that they have the same level of acidity. But the reason why you do not get that sour taste in your mouth after a gulp of either of the two is because of the sugar that has been added to it.
Fatty, salty, and well-flavored dishes best complement acidic wines. For context, fries (chips) and champagne make a great pair.
Pairing methods: complementarity, congruence, and contrast
Three methods can be applied to pairing wine with food. Either you bring together two or more individual flavors that complement one another (complementarity), you put together two similar flavors with the vision that it amplifies the shared flavor (congruence), or you go for the “opposites attract” theory by striking a balance between two or more contrasting flavors (contrast).
The match between Burgundian Pinot Noir and a mushroom dish exemplifies complementarity. The wine and dish create a harmonious flavor experience because they have earthy flavors that complement one another.
Red wine is almost always used for congruent pairings. Syrah, a red wine, pairs well with smoky foods like grilled meat. The effect of the two on one another results in bolder flavors from the overall meal.
In contrasting pairs, acidic wines like Chardonnay can be served with salty foods like popcorn or creamy foods like cheesecake. The pair results in more fruity and aromatic flavors in the wine.
Bottomline
Here’s a recap of some pairing guides:
- Red wine is best paired with red meats
- White wine goes well with white meats, including fish
- Bitter wines should be paired with fatty, proteinous foods
- Match the wine to a food based on the dominant flavor of the food
- The wine should have the same flavor intensity as the food or slightly less intense to better highlight the flavor of the food.
The wrong wine selection for a meal could disrupt your dining experience. It could even give you false conclusions about a recipe if it’s your first time trying it out. Knowledge of different types and classes of wine and their ideal meal combinations gives better meal satisfaction.
Food and wine pairings are not cast in stone. It all comes down to your preference and the flavor profiles you hope to achieve. But, if you’re new to this, you may want to take it slow, following helpful guides like this one. However, if you love to explore, feel free to get adventurous. Who knows, you may discover the best food and wine pair yet.
