Wine 101: Basic Food Pairing

Wednesdays on the BottleBlog will feature an education session on wine, beer or spirits. Today Shannon Spare shares her experiences as a beginner in the World of Wine.

After having been incredibly busy the last couple months, I was very excited to have this past Sunday free to make up a big batch of my mother's spaghetti sauce recipe. My husband had his head buried in his schoolbooks, so I packed up the baby and headed to Joe Canal's to pick up a bottle or two of vino to go with my pasta.

I enlisted the help of Mark Ricca, who told me that there were so many choices to go with. I told him that I really enjoyed the Castle Rock Pinot Noir, and he explained that it was too soft and fruity. "But that's what I like, I don't like acidic wines." Mark explained that sure, while you don't want to sit and have a glass of a deep Dolcetto as an aperitif, an acidic dish such as a tomato-based meat sauce need the balance of a similar wine. If I drank a wine I "liked" with my sauce, it would clash with the wine and alter the flavor of the sauce making it seem way too acidic. For the first time, "food pairing" made sense to me.

I brought home the Masante Dolcetto that Mark recommended, and while I wrote "not for me, way too harsh" in my little book of beginner tasting notes, Mark was right; When I sat down with a glass of wine and a big bowl of pasta, it was delicious. The wine tasted better after a bite of pasta, and the pasta tasted better after a sip of wine. It was a delicious marriage of flavors.

I know that I'm just skimming the surface here and I'm sure that this topic will need revisiting at a later date, but here are some basic rules for pairing food with wine.

In general, you want to match the "feel" of the wine with the "feel" of the food. For example, if you're serving a delicate dish like poached seafood or a nice light salad you'll want to go with a light wine like a Riesling or a Sauv Blanc. And, the opposite, with a dense steak or an acidic tomato sauce like I mentioned earlier, a full-bodied red is what you want to go with. The wines and food in these situations will complement each other rather than clashing and fighting for top billing. Drinking a Riesling with a steak would completely overpower the wine, and it'd be taste really bland. Likewise, a deep Syrah would clash with a lemon shrimp.

For foods in the middle, however, you have the most options. Many chicken and pork dishes pair equally well with reds and whites, depending on what you prefer. A fruity Pinot Noir would pair wonderfully with a roasted chicken, as would a rich Chardonnay. The same goes with pork - stick with medium-bodied wines.

Also consider how the food is going to be cooked. Steaming or poaching foods lends to lighter flavors, so stick with the light whites. Grilled meats would lean to the heavier side, while sauteeing, baking, or roasting fall somewhere in the middle.

It all comes down to my #1 rule of wine: Drink what you like. It's a confusing, subjective topic and a matter of trial and error. When in doubt, be sure to stop in to Joe Canal's of Lawrenceville or Woodbridge and talk to one of our fantastic wine managers. They're happy to help you out!