The complete guide to pairing food and wine (part 2)

By now you’re familiar with the cornerstones of pairing. But if you’d like to do a little review, here is part 1 of the guide.

Now, attempting to align the sensations, as we do the signs of the zodiac in order to determine our celestial similarities, let’s identify our pairings!

Remember that it’s always a question of harmony or contrast.

HARMONIOUS PAIRINGS

• Very spiced foods, like those of ethnic cuisine for example, go extremely well with fragrant wines.
• Savory foods go well with savory wines, because they accompany the flavor of the dish as long as the savoriness is not excessive. #Outgoing wines that are produced along the coast, like Sardinia’s Vermentino, go excellently with seafood pasta dishes, like linguini with clams and bottarga.
• Wines with intense flavor go with very flavorful foods. The alcohol content on the label is a good indication – though not the only one – for predicting the intensity of the wine’s flavor.

The higher it is, the more we can expect a “strong” wine that could pair with a very flavorful dish and vice versa.

• The structure of the food, meaning the consistency when chewing, demands a full bodied and well-structured alcoholic wine. 
• For foods with a long preparation time, as in the case of aged cheeses, it is best to choose a wine that has also aged for a long time.
• Desserts should be paired with wines that are equally rich in sugar, like the sweet #Affectionate or #Lively wines.

CONTRASTING PAIRINGS 

• Greasy foods, like fried dishes, go well with acidic wines that are either savory and/or sparkling.
• Succulent foods pair well with alcoholic and/or tannic wines because they “dry” the wet sensation which these foods leave on the palate and the saliva that is produced while chewing.
• Bitter and spicy foods are enhanced by the contrast with “soft” wines, or rather those with a fruity and rather sweet flavor, that tend also to be alcoholic. Thus, for example, a nice plate of spaghetti aglio olio peperoncino pairs nicely with a #Charming wine like a Grechetto.
• Soft dishes, or those that are slightly sweet, like legumes or starches, demand a light and fresh white wine with an #Outgoing or #Magnetic character.
• The touch of acidity in some foods, sauces, and condiments blends with the softness of the wine, the color and structure of which will depend on the kind of dish.

Now you’re definitely an expert in the science of pairing food and wine. Get cooking and spread the word!