Drinking a glass of wine on its own can be delightful, but pairing wine with the right food takes the experience to a whole new level. A well-chosen pairing allows the wine to elevate the dish’s flavors while the food enhances the wine—a beautiful harmony that can feel like an intimate dance between two perfect partners.
The Basics of Food and Wine Pairing
The theory of pairing begins with the flavors on the tongue, the elements of a wine and their relationships. On the tongue we can taste salty, sweet, sour, bitter and umami (savory) aromas. These can also be found in wine:
- Sweetness: Found in wines with residual sugar, like Moscato or late-harvest Rieslings.
- Saltiness: Though wine doesn’t taste salty, some “mineral” wines—like Chablis or Albariño—can evoke saline or briny qualities. While some attribute this to soil composition or sea breezes, there’s no clear scientific consensus on the source.
- Sourness: This comes from the wine’s acidity, which adds brightness and can cut through rich, fatty foods. Think of Sauvignon Blanc’s crispness with goat cheese.
- Bitterness: Often derived from compounds in grape skins, stems, or oak aging, bitterness is more common in red wines with firm tannins, like Nebbiolo or Cabernet Sauvignon
- Umami: Found naturally in some wines through amino acids, which can develop from the grape itself, the terroir, or winemaking techniques like malolactic fermentation (MLF). Aged Champagnes, for example, often have a savory, umami-rich quality.
In addition, there are other elements in wine that impact it’s interactions with food:
- Alcohol: Affects the wine’s weight and mouthfeel. Higher-alcohol wines feel fuller and can amplify spiciness in dishes—something to keep in mind with hot or spicy foods
- Body: The wine’s overall weight and fullness on the palate. Matching the body of the wine to the weight of the dish (light wines with light dishes, full-bodied wines with richer foods) helps create balance
- Tannins: Tannins interact with proteins and fats, softening their astringency. This is why tannic wines like Barolo or Bordeaux pair so well with steak or creamy cheeses
How do these factors guide us in choosing the perfect wine for a meal? While there’s much more to explore, I’ve distilled the art of pairing into three simple, beginner-friendly rules to get you started
Three Simple Rules for Perfect Pairings
1. What grows together, goes together
Wines and dishes from the same region often make the best pairings because they evolved together over time. For example, a Tuscan Chianti pairs beautifully with tomato-based pasta dishes because the local wine’s acidity and earthy notes complement the tangy, savory flavors of the cuisine. The shared terroir—soil composition, climate, and traditional agricultural practices—often creates a natural harmony
2. More of the same increases harmony
This rule is a helpful shortcut: matching flavors can enhance a dish and wine. For instance, pairing a sweet dessert wine, like Sauternes, with a sweet dish will actually reduce the perception of sweetness in the wine and bring its fruit flavors to the forefront. Similarly, a high-acid wine like Verdicchio pairs wonderfully with an acidic dish like ceviche, softening the sharpness of both and creating a smoother, more balanced experience.
A note of caution: This rule doesn’t work for bitterness. Pairing bitter elements in food with a bitter wine can amplify the bitterness, leading to an unpleasant experience.
3. Salt and acid make the wine softer, sweetness and umami harder
Salt and acidity in food can soften the perception of certain characteristics in wine, making it taste smoother and more balanced. Salt reduces the impact of bitterness and astringency from tannins, while acidic foods can decrease the wine’s apparent acidity, enhancing its fruitiness and body. This interaction makes the wine feel rounder and more enjoyable alongside salty or acidic dishes. On the other hand, sweetness and umami in food can make a wine taste harder by intensifying its bitterness, acidity, and astringency. Sweet and umami-rich foods can diminish the perception of body, sweetness, and fruitiness in the wine, causing it to seem more austere or sharp.
I hope these rules prove helpful for you and don’t forget: learning comes from experimentation.
