Food & wine: How to pair the right wine with your meal

If you have visited your local wine store recently, you may have noticed the numerous types of wines. These wine selections come from a variety of locations as well; some are made in the United States and others wines are from Canada, New Mexico, South America, Chile, Argentina and several European Countries. Certain countries are better known for their wines than others, but French wines are considered some of the best in the world. There are many types and varieties of wine throughout the world and some wines simply blend better with certain types of foods than others. For wine enthusiast, it is an exciting adventure trying and tasting many different types of wines from various places and with many different types of food.

At one time it was common for most people to drink a white wine with light meat and a red wine with a dark meat; however, it has become more and more acceptable to have either regardless of the color of meat. Beef dishes got well with any type of medium, medium-full or a full body red wine or perhaps a rich flavored full bodied white wine. Poultry, veal and pork are complimented a full bodied dry or off dry white wines and even some light red wines. For any game entres a full bodied Bordeaux or Burgundy will nicely complement your meal. A nice sparkling white wine is suggested to be one of the better choices when choosing a ham and bacon type meal. And finally for the fish lovers, most fish and shellfish go nicely with any dry white wines and sometimes a sparkling, red rose and sweet wines are a nice suggestion depending on the type of fish being served.

If you are visiting your favorite Italian restaurant, many wine options are available to compliment any of your favorite Italian food items. Some common recommendations are: Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Chianti, Sangiovese, and Nero DAvola. When deciding which wine would go better with your favorite meal, remember there are no specific rules when coupling an entre and a specific wine. You may be surprised to discover what flavors complement each other. Don’t be afraid to experiment different flavors and a basic rule of thumb may be matching textures. If your food is salty or a tad on the sour side, this food will make your wine taste slightly more mild and savory flavors as well as sweet will promote a stronger taste with your wine. Whenever dining in your favorite restaurant or experiment with your own favorite meals read the label and see what foods the labels recommend to compliment each other