Wine and food pairing is a little complicated technical issue, and there are books only for this question. Still, we can summarize the philosophy, basic rules for many kinds of red wines, elegant white wines, or celebratory sparkling wines, and do’s and don'ts that will help you when you want to buy wine online. This would help find your preferences by providing you with a general knowledge of interactions between wine actors, especially red wine, and food elements. These basics will help you enhance the food pairing advice on the back labels of the wines, which are very limited. Here are a few do’s and don’ts of food and wine pairing:

Do Balance! You Want Them to Complement Each Other, Not Compete.

The wine selection is very diverse, especially when you want to buy wine online. The first thing to consider for food pairing should be the grape variety and region. Certainly, you still should consider the alcohol level, boldness, vintage, producer, etc. The logic of wine-food pairing lay behind the rule of balancing each other, both should not be the super-star on their own, they should match and walk together in harmony with each other like an orchestra, and only then one plus one may equal three.

Do Consider the Main Elements of The Food

Our goal is to make a match between the prominent element in the dish and the wine's main components such as salt-sweet-bitter-sour-umami aromas. What to do for the right pairing, first request detailed information about the main dinner, from cooking style to sauces on it, lean or fatty, balancing and contrasting points on the plate, etc.

For example, salt is used to enhance the flavor profile of many foods and is mostly used in seasoning or marinating sauces, which is very popular. Besides, extreme salt in food increases the wines' undesired elements like astringency, bitterness, and alcohol burning. What's more, excessive salt in food increases the acidity perception that wine creates an undesirable metallic taste. Due to these effects, salty foods like tacos should be matched with light fruit-forward white wines which have low alcohol levels, and low tannic with moderate acidity ones. When you want to order wine online for these kind of dishes, consider a white wine such as Gewürztraminer or a lightly sparkling wine such as Moscato d'Asti.

Another example is sourness. A high level of sourness could be compelling for a good pairing, but many sour foods also contain high acid, and this helps to balance. Similar rule as sweet food-wine matching – the food's acid level should be equal to or less than wine; otherwise, the wine will be flabby. When their sour and acid level is almost similar, the wine's sweet character will precede and shine, for example, a sour salad goes very well with an acidic, cool climate Riesling white wine or a light sparkling wine. On the other hand, a few lemon drops to dishes could reduce the red wine's excessive oak aroma.

Don’t Serve Food Sweeter Than the Wine 

There is nothing easier than matching sweet food with wine since there is a straightforward rule; wine's sweetness level shouldn't be less than food. This rule doesn't mean you have to match sweet white, red, or sparkling wines only with deserts, which is very widespread; if you can find the balance, try to match them with savory dishes. For example, a sweet Sauternes white wine, which is very easy to find if you want to buy wine online, with a crispy-skinned duck or a semi-sweet Riesling white wine with spicy food like Chinese cuisine. 

Do Match Flavors

And the flavors match! Aromatic white wines like Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Muscat, or Viognier should match aromatic foods. For example, Gewürztraminer has a spicy character and goes very well with spicy food like Asian or Indian cuisine. Another example: if Shiraz, with a spice flavor like black pepper, is paired with black pepper marinated and grilled beef, a great match occurs as long as none of them are overpowered.

Do Pair Fatty Foods and Tannic Wines 

Wine contains tannins that react with protein in food. This reduces the astringency of wine. Tannins also react with fats in our mouths, disrupting the wine's effect on saliva and reducing its dryness. High-fat foods like steaks allow us to erase some of these effects. When you want to buy wine online for this kind of dish, you should go for a bold, tannic wine such as Californian Cabernet Sauvignon.

Do or Don’t Pair Only White Wine with Fish 

Red wines tend to be high in tannins, and when the tannins meet with the fat and protein of the meat, they interact, and the wine becomes less astringent with the decreased mouth-drying taste of the wine.

On the other hand, white wines tend to be light and highly acidic and when matched with seafood, especially some with lemon-flavored, they complement the overall taste. This looks like the useful and safe side of the wine-food pairing, however, even with the right kind of wine, red or white wine, you can still ruin your dinner by making the wrong wine choice. Or by staying on the safe side, you may miss the exciting discoveries too.

What’s more, the type of wine matters, instead of the color of the protein: meat, chicken, pork, or fish whatever, the cooking style, sauce, sides, appetizers, or even the time of the day all affect the right choice.

Don’t Believe There Are Hard Rules!

There are rules for wine-food pairing, but of course, personal choices always come first, and if you share your preferences with the sommelier, there’s no way to fail and don’t be surprised when you hear an oaked Californian Chardonnay white wine with light meat, a sparkling wine with steak tartar or an easy-drinking light red wine like Beaujolais with salmon.

Even if you break the rules and do things your way, it can still be a great match if there is no one single ingredient that dominates the others. This means, at the end of the day you are free to choose when you want to buy online.

We have many articles about food pairing and other useful topics about wine, don’t miss them.

Source by- https://medium.com/@bottlebarn/dos-don-ts-of-food-and-wine-pairing-69beb3502eb9