Wine is certainly a subjective taste, especially when it comes to serving it with food. However, there are unwritten rules which one can follow, if they want to play it safe, when guests are coming for dinner. In the article below, we will describe some of them, which will be helpful, the next time you are preparing food for family and friends.
To find the Right Bottle, find an Online Wine Retailer
It is not always easy finding the right bottle of wine to serve, simply because it is not available at the market, where we usually buy our wine. That is why it is important to find an online retailer, which will be able to supply bottles of wine from various regions and of various grapes. You can start your search at www.cavesa.ch/en, where you will discover a very large selection, from many countries. Serving the right wine will then become as easy as child’s play.
There are two ways to understand what the right bottle will be, for a particular dish. In can either complement it or enhance it. That choice is entirely up to you. But reading the sections below, will enable you to understand the difference better.
Match Light Food with Light Wines
This is the rule that most people go by, when it is time to choose the wine they will be serving with lunch or dinner. Light food is made of ingredients that include very little fat. Regarding the wine, you will know if it is light or heavy, through the colour and in the taste. For example, Merlot will usually be lighter than a Shiraz. However, this can be tricky, since grapes from different regions may taste differently. Merlot from France will be light, while one from Italy could be heavier.
Match Flavours
Depending on the ingredients that you will use to cook, and the main flavour that will hit the palate while you eat, you may decide to enhancing it by opening a bottle of wine that will play with similar flavours. A good example is lemon. If you are to serve a fish covered by a lemon sauce, then you should serve a wine like a Pinot Grigio, which also possesses this lemony taste.
Worry about Acidity
There are meals that are known for their acidic content. If you eat a salad with a vinegar-based dressing, it is definitely something you have to keep in mind when choosing the wine. You will definitely be looking for a crips wine in order to enhance it best. Also, if you serve a heavy dish, with a creamy sauce, avoid acidic wine. That would be just like adding lemon into a cup of cream. The results could be disastrous.
Worry about the Salt
If you are going to serve very salty dishes, there are two ways that you can go about the selection of wine. The first is to enhance it. Just as in the case of acidic taste, you may want to go for a crisp wine, such as a Sauvignon Blanc. They will match quite well. Or you can also choose to head in the complete other direction, by choosing a sweet wine. This time you will complement the food by adding a completely different flavour for your palate to enjoy. The best example is certainly to mix a strong cheese to Sauternes. You are bound to make a lot of people happy, if you do so.
Match Spicy with Spicy
Spicy food is more popular than ever. If you decide to serve Thai, Indian or Chinese at one of your dinners, then open a bottle of wine that is spicy as well. Enhancing is definitely the route to go with that type of food.
