Let me reiterate that there is no right or wrong way on how to pair food and wine. Still, pairing food and wine for beginners might be a little daunting, so I added a chart that will at least give you an idea of how to pair food and wine better. It’s pretty detailed and shouldn’t leave you with any questions, so enjoy.
Here is the article on How To Pair Food And Wine in case you missed it.
Appetizers Soup Salad |
Beef Lamb Veal |
Pork Game Poultry |
Fish Shellfish Pasta |
Desserts Cheese Chinese Food |
Appetizers | ||
Type of Dish | Preparations-Sauces | Wine Options |
Caviar | Fresh | Dry Champagnes like Ultra Bruts and Blanc de Blancs, and top Sparklers |
Pate | White Burgundy, Sauternes, Late Harvest Vidal and Pinot Noir | |
Green Olives | Marinated | Spanish Fino and Manzanilla |
Escargots | garlic | White Burgundy, Gewürztraminer, Beaujolais |
Roasted red peppers | Rich, smoky, sweet | Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc Pinto Grigio, Beaujolais, Grenache, Dolcetto |
Soup | Back to Top | ||
Type of Dish | Preparations-Sauces | Wine Options |
Vichyssoise | Fino, Manzanilla, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon | |
Seafood | Bisque | Pinot Gris, Burgundy and New World Chardonnay, Amontillado, Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc |
Bouillabaisse | dry Rosé | |
Salad | Back to Top | ||
Type of Dish | Preparations-Sauces | Wine Options |
Green Salad | Lettuce, arugula, frisee, radicchio, green herbs |
Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay |
Salad Nicoise | Dry aromatic white or dry Rosé or pungent Sauvignon Blanc |
|
Spinach Salad | ||
Beef | Back to Top | ||
Type of Dish | Preparations-Sauces | Wine Options |
Brisket | Barbecue | Shiraz, Chianti, Zinfandel, Petit Verdot |
Stew | Beef Bourguignon | Bordeaux blend, Syrah/Shiraz, a Chile red wine, Malbec, Zinfandel |
Steak | au poivre | Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot or peppery Zinfandel |
T-bone | Grilled | Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot Bordeaux |
Meat Loaf | Veal, Pork, Beef | Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel. |
Chili | Chile con carne | Zinfandel |
Lamb | Back to Top | ||
Type of Dish | Preparations-Sauces | Wine Options |
Leg of Lamb | Roast | Bordeaux from Pauillac or St. Julien, New World Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, Cote Rotie, Shiraz |
Chops | Grilled with Lemon,-thyme butter, white beans | French wines from the South like Bandol, young Bordeaux, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Sangiovese |
Stew | Tomatoes, onions, potatoes, peas | Spanish riojas, earthy New World Pinots |
Curry | White Rhone, Bandol Rosé, German Kabinett, Gewürztraminer | |
Souvlaki | Grilled | Cabernet Francs, Cabernet Sauvignons |
Veal | Back to Top | ||
Type of Dish | Preparations-Sauces | Wine Options |
Chops | Served with wild mushroom (porcini) sauce | Barolo, Brunello, Barbaresco, Tuscan blends, youthful Bordeaux, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignons, Merlot, rich Spanish reds from Ribera del Duero or Priorat. |
Scaloppini | Served with egg plant and tomatoes | Nebbiolo, Chianti; Cotes du Rhone, Spanish Rioja, Red Burgundy |
Osso Buco | Veal shanks, carrots, celery, rosemary, sage, lemon peel etc. etc. | Barbaresco, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, or Taurasi. Herbal white wines also work: Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Vernaccia, Greco di Tufo, Amarone |
Wiener Schnitzel | Riesling, Grunerveltliner | |
Pork | Back to Top | ||
Type of Dish | Preparations-Sauces | Wine Options |
Chops | Red wine marinade | Rhone reds, Chianti, Shiraz, Barbera, Zinfandel, especially, if the marinade is fruity |
Roast Loin | Tarragon and Mustard Sauce | Sancerre, Pouilly-Fume, Grave, Meursault, New World Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc from Virginia and the Loire Valley, herbal Pinot Noirs |
Spareribs | Smoky Barbecued Ribs | Zinfandel, Petit Verdot, Primitivo |
Ham | Baked and honey-glazed | Full Flavored Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, dry Rosé, Pinot Noir |
Sausages | rich onion gravy, olives, capers, | Chilean red wine, Malbec, red Bordeaux |
Game | Back to Top | ||
Type of Dish | Preparations-Sauces | Wine Options |
Venison | Merlot, Shiraz, Zinfandel | |
Poultry | Back to Top | ||
Type of Dish | Preparations-Sauces | Wine Options |
Roast Chicken | Salt, pepper, garlic, lemon in the cavity | Rioja and Ribero del Duero, Barbera, Dolcetto, Grenache, Petite Syrah, Red Burgundy, German Riesling or other similar style delicate Chardonnay |
Sauteed Chicken | Tomato-based sauces | Chianti, Rosso di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Rioja, Dao |
Grilled Chicken | Marinades of garlic, saffron, paprika, cilantro, ginger | Off-dry whites Rieslings, Vouvrays, Sauvignon Blancs, off-dry Rosés, Cotes-du-Rhone, Gigondas, Minervois |
Jamaican Jerk Chicken | Fish, chicken, vegetables dishes | Sparklers, Gewürztraminer, and fruity Rosés |
Duck Breast | Grilled | Pinot Noir or Beaujolais |
Roasted with plum sauce | Barbera or Syrah or other reds with black plum flavors, Nebbiolo | |
Quail and Squab | Oven roasted | Rioja Reserva, Bordeaux, Pinotage |
Turkey | Plain Roast | Light bodied white and red wines like Sauvignon Blanc, Chilean white wine, Gewürztraminer, Beaujolais, Cabernet Franc |
Turkey Thanksgiving meal | All the trimmings |
Gewürztraminer or rich fruity red like Syrah or even Zinfandel, Cabernet Franc |
Fish | Back to Top | ||
Type of Dish | Preparations-Sauces | Wine Options |
Salmon | Grilled or seared | White Burgundy, Chablis, Viognier, Chardonnay Pinot Gris, and even young Pinot Noir |
Smoked | Champagnes and Sparklers, manzanilla sherry, dry Riesling | |
Tuna | Grilled or seared | White Burgundy, Chardonnay-Viognier and Rhone blends, Pinot Noir and Merlot |
Sole, Turbot, Halibut | Grilled | White Burgundy, Chablis, lightly oaked or un-oaked Chardonnays, Pinot Grigio |
Shell Fish | Back to Top | ||
Type of Dish | Preparations-Sauces | Wine Options |
oysters, clams, mussels. | Raw, steamed in wine with garlic and parsley | Champagne or Sparkling Wine, Sauvignon Blanc, Chablis, Muscadet |
shrimp | Fried | Muscadet |
Oyster stew | Chardonnay | |
Seafood salad | cold | Champagne or Sparkling Wine, Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio, |
Cioppino | Tomato and seafood | Zinfandel |
Lobster | Richly sauced | Champagne, Chardonnay, Vigonier |
Crab | Cold Crab Salad | Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier |
Crab cake | Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier and Chardonnay | |
Soft shell crab | Chardonnay, Riesling | |
Scallops | Sauteed simple | Champagne or Sparkling Wine. Sauvignon Blanc |
$nbsp; | Cream sauces | Semi-dry Riesling |
Grilled with Peppers | Chardonnay | |
Pasta | Back to Top | ||
Type of Dish | Preparations-Sauces | Wine Options |
Lasagna | Cheese and tomato sauce | Chianti, Vino da Tavola, |
Ravioli | Butter and cream sauce | Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay |
Tortelloni | Stuffed with Gorgonzola | Robust Malbec, Chianti |
Macaroni and cheese | Cheese Sauce | Pinot Grigio or Dolcetto, Beaujolais |
Pizza | Tomato and cheese | Chianti, Zinfandel |
Spaghetti | Meat Sauce | Chianti, Barbara, Zinfandel |
Linguini | Clam Sauce | Arneis, Gavi |
Pesto Sauce | Vernaccia, Verdicchio, Orvieto | |
Fettucini | Carbonara | Amarone |
Desserts | Back to Top | ||
Type of Dish | Preparations-Sauces | Wine Options |
Apple Pie | Tart apples, cinnamon | Auslese, Late-harvest Riesling, Muscat, Sauterne, some white Bordeaux wine, Late Harvest Vidal |
Cheesecake | Plain and with fruit | Orange Muscat, French Beaumes-de-Venise, Sauternes dessert wine, Late Harvest Vidal |
Tiramisu | Vin Santo or cream Sherry | |
Chocolate | Chocolate cake, mousse, souffles | Banyuls dessert wine, Baumes-de-Venise, California Orange Muscat, Muscat Blanc , Extra-dry Champagne |
Cheese | Back to Top | ||
Type of Dish | Preparations-Sauces | Wine Options |
Double Cream and Triple Cream | Brie, Camembert | Sparkling wines, medium-bodied Pinot Noir, Sancerre |
Cheddars | Mild, sharp, tangy, robust | Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Merlot, Syrah, whites with bottle aging |
Hard Cheeses | Parmesan, Comte, Gruyere | Sancerre, Graves and similar style Gewürztraminers, Riesling or even sweet Sauternes or Mombazillac and Tempranillo |
Goat Cheese | Riesling, Grunerveltliner, Sauternes, Sancerre, Pouilly-Fume | |
Stilton, Roquefort, and other Blue cheeses | Port, Amarone, Sauternes, Sparkling wines, Syrah, Zinfandel, Chianti | |
Chinese Food | Back to Top | ||
Type of Dish | Preparations-Sauces | Wine Options |
Riesling or Gewürztraminer | ||
Back to the article on How To Pair Food And Wine.