Everything You Need To Know About Pairing Wine With Food

Learning how to enjoy wine can be a steep learning curve and mastering the art of pairing wine and food can be intimidating to amateur wine drinkers, but fret not as JARBARLAR is here for you. Read on for the ultimate guide to achieve the perfect pairing of wine and food for your next dinner soiree. 

Essential Terms  

First things first, let’s go through some essential terms before discussing wines.

• Acidity - Acidity plays a part in the preservation of wines. Wines with higher levels of acidity will taste sharper and crisper.

• Body - A term often used to describe the flavour profile of a wine. A full-bodied wine is one with strong flavours and aftertaste.

• Dry - Dry wines usually consist of little to no sugars

• Tannin - Chemical compounds found in the skin, seeds and stems of grapes that are incorporated in the ageing process of wood barrels.

Basic Guidelines for Wine and Food Pairing

Red Wines

Red wine pairs the best with red meats such as steak, due to its ability to soften the proteins in the meat and helps enhance the flavours of the fat present in the meat. This is possible due to the tannin found in red wine. If you have difficulties remembering the reason behind this ideal pairing, simply go with red and red. 

White Wines

White wines are most suited to pair with white meat such as fish or chicken as the acids in the wine elevates the taste of the fish, making it taste fresher. Think of it like a zest of lemon squeezed over the fish. You might be faced with a situation where your fish dish comes with a heavy-tasting sauce - what should you do then? The answer is fairly simple, you will have to pair the wine with the sauce instead of the fish. A simple rule of thumb is to choose a wine that is described the same way as your food. For example, you should choose a sweet wine if the sauce is sweet. 

Pairing Methods

Congruent Pairings

With congruent pairing, food and wine will share several compounds or flavours, like when a sweet dish is paired with a sweet wine as mentioned above. However, the pitfalls of congruent pairing is the risk of getting the taste of the wine overpowered by the dish. This will result in the wine tasting bland and not living up to its potential, therefore wasting it.

Red wines are the most suited when it comes to creating a congruent pairing since they have diverse flavour profiles and aromas, making them easy to match with similar tasting food. 

Complementary Pairings  

Complementary pairings are based on food and wines that share no similarity in compounds or flavours, but instead, complement each other. Flavours in the food and wine are perfectly balanced and allow each to taste better. 

Rosé, white wines and sparkling wines make for impeccable choices for complementary pairings - sweet white wines work well with a spicy dish or a salty dish, while a glass of Chardonnay or Pinot Noir will go well with fried dishes. 

Pick Out Your Ideal Wine for Your Dinner at JARBARLAR

Whether you are going for red wines, white wines, sparkling or rosé, JARBARLAR has a wide array of prominent wine brands for your perusal for your upcoming dinner party. Buy your wines online at the comfort of your own home and have them delivered to your doorstep in Singapore. Here at JARBARLAR, not only do we provide our customers with fuss-free ordering processes, we also offer cheap prices for all the alcohol you need. Start looking for your wines today!