Hi Marty Richardson here from chefmartyrich.com. Welcome back to the daily tip series. Today, I’m going to get a little more in depth with food and wine parings. I’m going to try and keep it simple but I am confusing myself. So believe me we will be leaving this topic soon.

Let Your Tastebuds Be Your Guide

Let me cut to the chase right from the beginning. Cook some food, buy some wine, eat the food, drink the wine, and let your mouth be your guide. That’s basically it. I’m trying to tell you how to pair food and wine. Your wine merchant or your “helpful friend” is going to try to tell you how to do it, or the liquor store owner is going to try to tell you how to do this. It is up to your own personal taste. There really is no other way around it.

Why Bother?

If you are eating a meal and then you take a drink of that wine and something doesn’t taste quite right, it is your pairing. So why do people go through all the trouble of pairing food and wine anyway? It’s because if you get it right, the food tastes better and the wine tastes better. If you get it wrong, one of the two, or both, aren’t going to taste as good. So that is why there are all these rules. I am going to go over a few of the basics, but these are just guidelines. It can be so confusing that I have to admit to you, I don’t even go there. Let me just cook and if someone brings a bottle of wine, let’s open it and enjoy.

General Guidelines

If you are serving highly acidic food (meaning it is tomato based, or citrus based) go with a highly acidic wine. In this instance, you are matching the flavor characteristics of the food and wine. Some examples of acidic wines are Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, maybe a Chianti. If you are serving rich or fatty foods like duck or goose or cheese, maybe you want to try a wine that is more oaky, like a Chardonnay perhaps. Or if you prefer a red wine, try a Cabernet Sauvignon or a Merlot. With spicy foods that are highly seasoned or are smoky or salty, try a complimentary wine that is light and fruity. You could choose either a red or a white wine like a Gewurztraminer, Pinot Noir, or a Zinfandel. If you are serving a sweet sauce with your food, like a fruit sauce, try a sweet wine. Be careful to make sure the wine is as sweet as the food. If your wine isn’t as sweet as your food, then the wine is going to taste sour. Does that make sense?

Match Or Contrast

Sometimes you want to serve an acidic food with an acidic wine. You may also want to try and balance the flavor characteristics like pairing spicy food with a fruity wine. The easiest thing to do is to cook with the wine as a marinade or the flavor of the sauce, then serve the same wine with that course. This reminds me to make an important point. If you’ve got any “Cooking Wine” in your pantry, that you bought at the grocery store, go there now, open the cap and pour it down the drain. Do not, I repeat, “DO NOT!”, ever use cooking wine to cook with. I know, it sounds like an oxy moron, right? But that stuff is horrible. I hope you never ever actually tasted it. It is disgusting, it is not wine and it is only going to ruin your food. I don’t even know why they sell it.

Let me make myself perfectly clear. Make some food, buy some wine, eat the food, drink the wine. If it tastes good in your mouth you win! You have made a successful food and wine pairing. If it doesn’t taste good, then try again!

Tomorrow I’m going to go through a couple more simple tips about serving wine and then we are going to wrap this up and head straight into food. So, thanks for coming. Talk to you then.