It is fine to pair wine with food, but TheBubblyGal's priority often seems the other way round. Regardless, she has come up with 3 simple basic ideas that may come in handy for our new year celebrations:
1.The General Principle of Relativity
Our taste buds are dynamic. Our perception of taste is often relative (to what we had before). The taste of a wine on a clean palate is different from when it is combined after food. The fundamental principle of relativity (sorry for the unintended misappropriation of the great theory) is useful and intuitive.
If the food you have is sweet, then the wine you have after will taste more sour (acidic), and vice versa. So dessert is often tricky to pair and would generally go with very sweet wines (dessert wines), or tea or coffee (where bitterness is countered by the sweetness and vice versa).
Savoury (salty) food helps to counter the sourness (acidity) of the wine. It makes the wine tastes sweeter and fruitier. So it is an easy choice that a charcuterie/cheese platter goes naturally with wine.
2. A Balance of Strengths
The intensity or strength of the wine and its flavours are important in pairing considerations too. Strongly flavoured dishes, e.g. red meat dishes, have to meet their match in heavier, more full-bodied wines. The presence of fat and oil also counter the acidity of the wine, which makes that swirl in the mouth naturally more flavourful and refreshing to the palate.
But the pairing of wine according to the colours of the meat (i.e. white wine with white meat, fish and seafood, red wine with red meat) is only a general reference. Wine have varied strengths (delicate, medium or full-bodied) and flavour complexities (floral, fruity, liquorish etc.) It requires a match of complementary characteristics beyond a superficial choice based on colours. This comes with a bit more time and experience.
3. A Matter of Personal Preference
Ultimately, the purpose of pairing is to enhance your enjoyment of both the food and the wine. No matter how compatible a pairing is, you have to like each choice individually first.
If you don't like a particular dish, say oysters, then forget about the common combination of champagne and oysters. If you don't a particular type wine, then don't choose it regardless of how compatible it is with the food of your choice.
Of course, the above tips are really simplified ideas for a start. When in doubt, always feel free to consult the sommelier or our more alcoholic friends. It is, after all, a long journey of learning about wine, enjoyment and life. No pressure.
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