The Marriage of Food & Wine
Best Wine With Steak
You can’t go wrong with the a juicy, perfectly cooked steak. Steak is rich, heavy, and fatty, so you’ll want a full-bodied red wine that can stand up to it. A big, tannic red wine is the classic pairing. The full body will hold its own against the richness of the steak, and the tannins in the wine will balance out the fattiness of the meat. The fattier the cut of steak, the more tannins you’ll want in your wine.
Classic Pairing:
Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah/Shiraz, Malbec, Bordeaux, Rhône Valley (North or South)
Out-of-the-Box-Pairing:
Rioja, Reds from Languedoc, Madiran, Cahors
Avoid: This depends on the cut of steak you choose; if you choose a leaner cut you can go with a lighter red that a fattier steak would completely overwhelm. White wines can be difficult with steak, but not impossible. Just go for the heaviest, richest white you can find, like an oaked Chardonnay or a rich Viognier.
Best Wine With Fish
There are plenty of myths surrounding food and wine pairings, but one of the most common is that fish can only be paired with white wine. Red wine with fish can be an excellent pairing! The key is to pair meatier, richer fish with a light red wine. Salmon, one of the most popular types of fish, is the perfect example. Pairing wine with salmon is great as it goes with many types of wine varieties, including both red and white. Here are some great options for a salmon wine pairing.
Classic Pairing:
Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc (especially for lighter preparations of salmon), Burgundy (red or white), Beaujolais
Out-of-the-Box Pairing:
Alsacien Pinot Gris, Alsacien Rieslin
Avoid: Remember to stay away from heavy, tannic reds. The red wine and salmon pairing only works with lighter, less tannic red wines. If you want to cook a lighter style of white fish, stick with white wine; as even a light red will overwhelm the delicate flavour of white fish. Keep in mind if you top your fish with a rich sauce, you’ll want to choose a slightly richer white wine to match the sauce.
Classic Pairing:
Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Chablis
Out-of-the-Box Pairing:
A lighter style of rosé, Chenin Blanc
Avoid: Red wine
Best Wine With Risotto
Another classic date night dish is risotto. It’s a great match with a wide variety of wines, allowing for some fun, interesting pairings. The best wine for risotto will match the creamy richness of the dish. Like salmon, both lighter reds and whites pair well with risotto.
Classic Pairing:
Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Northern Rhône whites
Out-of-the-Box Pairing:
To keep the Italian theme, choose a Dolcetto for a light red or a Soave for a white.
Avoid: This will depend on what ingredients you add to your risotto, but in general avoid tannic reds or very fruity-flavoured red wines.
Best Wine Pairing With Dessert
The golden rule to dessert wine pairing is to choose a wine sweeter than your dessert. If your desserts are sweeter, it will make the sweet wines taste astringent and unpleasant. After that, you have plenty of choices. Here are some suggestions if you are serving a chocolate dessert.
Classic Pairing:
Port, Sweet Madeira, PX Sherry
Out-of-the-Box Pairing:
Brachetto d’Acqui, Maury, Banyuls
Avoid: If your chocolate dessert is very rich, choose a strong fortified wine that will be able to match the richness, anything lighter may be overwhelmed. If you would like to serve a fruity dessert, you’ll want to choose dessert wines with similar fruity flavours.
Classic Pairing:
Moscato d’Asti, Late Harvest Riesling, Sauternes
Out-of-the-Box Pairing:
Ice Wine, Demi-Sec Champagne
Avoid: Be careful with fortified wines as they may overpower a light fruit dessert.
Food & Wine Pairings Can Be Easy
We hope you enjoyed our food and wine pairing suggestions - whether it be for a valentine's day meal or any other special occasion. Pairing food and wine can be daunting at first but if done right, will reward you with a great evening of food, wine and company.
If you would like some personal wine suggestions or need help with how to pair wine with a certain dish, send us an email or if you want to learn more about food and wine pairings, check out our other blog posts and sign up for one of our wine tastings. We regularly post wine-pairing menu ideas that you can implement for your next wine dinner.
