Thursday, June 18, 2015

Food and Wine Pairing Tips Everyone Can Remember

Matching food with wine can seem like a daunting task at first, but once you understand the simple rules of pairing dishes together with a tasty wine that will complement the meal, you are sure to become the designated wine order chief at every dining occasion. The process of wine pairing relies on flavour strength, sweetness and saltiness, as well as richness of the foods and a simple understanding of the types of wine that pair well.

Food and Wine Pairing
Taste Canowindra was recently reviewed in the Gourmet Traveller and has been praised for its variety of quality wines and great service. We are experts when it comes to pairing wine with food and love to help our customers select the very best wines from our wine list to complement our delicious food.

Choosing a Great Wine for Different Meat Dishes


Meat dishes are the most popular in restaurants, and if the menu doesn’t already offer a choice of wines that pair well with the particular dish, you can always fall back on a simple technique that many people use. Whilst you may not have tasted every wine out there, you may have tasted a few red, whites, and select European wines, so you may know their qualities.

Cabernet Sauvignon wine
Choose a wine that compliments the richness, sweetness or lightness of the meal itself, so as rich red meat dishes go, a hearty Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc blend (eg Wallington Cabernets) or Shiraz is the ideal complimentary wine to go with a rich, red meat. Often with beef dishes, the sauces are rich, fruity, just like the wines you are pairing them with.


Pairing the Best Wine with a Fish Dish


Choosing a light wine with a light meal compliments the meal and the wine, and neither is overpowered, creating a perfect balance that pairs well. Light wines such as a Pinot Gris or Sauvignon Blanc go perfectly well with light fish dishes, because they are equally light on the palette.

Chardonnays Wine
For more fuller flavoured fish meals, or fatty fish that comes in a rich sauce, Chardonnays or Semillon are the best choice, with many Falls wines particularly being the perfect addition to a rich shrimp dinner that compliments equally the rich sauce and the light tang of the wine itself.

Salty Foods


Some of the best salty foods taste all the better with Champagne, they pair well together like a match made in heaven. There is something about the sharp taste of champagne (Gardners Ground Methode Traditionale for example)  that brings out the salty richness in certain foods, so it is little wonder why so many events where champagne flutes are handed out you will see a selection of salty finger foods to enjoy.

Champagne
Spanish Cava is also a great choice when it comes to salty foods, as it has a slight hint of sweetness that compliments salty foods the best. The trick here is to compliment the taste of the food and the wine, so choosing an even playing field is the best choice when it comes to matching your wines up with your meals.