Wine and Mains – The Perfect Match
There are so many different varieties of wine on offer these days that the choice can be rather bewildering. Red, white, rosé and sparkling wines adorn the shelves of supermarkets and fine wine sellers and to make matters more complicated, you also have to choose between dry, medium and sweet. Of course if all you plan on eating for dinner is a fiery curry or a greasy kebab, it could be argued that just about any bottle of wine will do, but if you are cooking a meal and would like to choose a bottle of wine to complement the food, which wines go best with which main meals?
Wine to Accompany Red Meat Dishes
The general rule of thumb when pairing meat with wine is that red wine goes best with red meat and white wine is more suitable for white meat. But although this generalisation often works perfectly well, it is fair to say that it won’t work in all cases. Some wines are more robust than others, wines aged in oak barrels for example and when a wine is heavier than the dish it accompanies, the subtle flavours of both are lost.
Always consider the flavour of the meat you are dishing up before choosing a wine to accompany it. A rich claret wine might be perfect with a piece of beef fillet, but a rack of lamb lightly cooked would benefit from a softer red wine. It is also a good idea to avoid wines with a higher alcohol content as these can often drown out the flavours of the meat dish you are serving.
Wines to Accompany White Meat Dishes
A crisp Chardonnay is a great choice for white meats such as chicken, but don’t be too quick to dismiss the red wines on offer. A heavy red wine would be too overpowering with chicken, although a stronger flavoured chicken dish can withstand a more robust red. Light, fruity reds will enhance most chicken dishes: a Merlot from Rivas or an Australian Shiraz from Binder is a good choice, or you might like to consider a rosé wine.
Wine and Turkey
With the turkey stuffed and oven ready, it is a good idea to consider which wine you are going to serve to help you and your guests make the most of this deliciously sweet meat. A fruity Zinfandel is a good choice of wine to accompany roast turkey as it complements the flavour of the meat as well as the side dishes.
Wine and Fish Dishes
As with meat dishes, different fish dishes benefit from different densities of wine and although you can err on the side of caution and only ever serve a dry white wine with fish, this won’t always be the best choice. For simply cooked fish dishes, go for a dry Pinot Grigio or Chenin Blanc, but if you are serving fish cooked in a rich sauce, you can afford to go for a more robust wine: try a Chardonnay with oak flavours or a Pinot Gris. For fish lightly fried in batter, a sparkling wine is the perfect choice.
Wine and Cheese
The stronger the cheese, the more robust the wine you can choose. So if you have a passion for mature cheddar or stilton, open a bottle of aged Bordeaux (or any red wine with a heavy, complex flavour) because these are the type of strong wines that can hold their own with an equally strong flavoured cheese.
Wine and Dessert
Instead of serving coffee with your dessert course, do as the Italians do and choose a dessert wine instead. There are no hard and fast rules for pairing desserts and wines, but in general, the lighter the dessert, the lighter the wine you should serve. Rich chocolate desserts go well with red wines – Shiraz or Grenaches – or you can opt for a rich Port instead. For light buttery pastry desserts, try a white Riesling or a sweet sparkling wine. If in doubt, you can’t go wrong with a glass or two of good quality champagne or port.
Author:
Carlo Pandian is an Italian expat living in London interested in wine and gardening. He loves to share his wine tips with the community of LLM and is looking to hear more about your favourite ways to pair up food with wine!
Unlike many languages, English doesn’t capitalise the initial letter of simple nouns; this includes the names of plants, birds, trees, animals as well as everyday items such as table chair, pen etc. Thus we have a rose, a daffodil, a pansy, sparrow, robin, oak, apple, elm, tiger, grass, cat, dog, and so on. If, however, we give the dog a proper name to call him to heel (get down, Shep) that proper name is a pronoun, and would be written with an initial capital letter. Likewise with plants. Be it fuschia, daisy or rose, it will be recognised by its variety, its flower, and thus given a proper name, as in Peace, Yellow Beauty, Gardener’s Delight.
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