What wine with what food .

This is the sort of thing that people are always asking me and I always say the same thing it all depends on what kind of wine you like. If all you have ever had is light sweet wine and I recommend a dry wine as you are having fish is that what you want. Probably not, so why recommend a dry white wine, because that is what is commonly suggested to go with fish. But that does not mean that it is for you. Now for me to do what I am about to do I am only going to use examples of old world wines. His is for two reason one, one I know them and two new world wines do not follow the same rules that old world wines have to follow. This means that you can have a wine that you expect to be one thing , is completely different. That is not to say that there is anything wrong with this , it just make a exorcize that is trying to simplify wine a lot more complicated.

Already  think I have started to make this more complicated that it needs to be so let’s just start by splitting the wine in to what I think the main categories are.

The basic white wine and food match. This is fairly easy as you have a very distinct range of white wine from dry to sweet.

Very dry wine,  for shellfish , salmon and oily fish.

Dry wine, white fish.

Spicy dry wine, smoked fish.

Medium dry wine, chicken.

Medium sweet wine, soft cream cheese, fruit and fruit puddings.

Sweet wine, Foie gras, cream desserts, puddings and chocolate desserts and puddings .

Rose wine is a a wine that is in most case like medium dry but has some other quality’s. So For rosé wine you have salad, cold meats, light soup, white fish, plain chicken.

The basic red wine and food match is a little more complicated. You have full on full boded red wine and you have light red wine.  So for the light think of Valpolicella and fir the full red Shiraz.

Light red, chicken, veal and pork.

Soft red, chicken, veal, pork and some game like duck.

Medium reds, lamb and game birds.

Full reds , beef , lamb most game.

Very full reds , beef , venison and very rich stews.

Now if you have got to grips with that then we can move on to the next part of this and list some names to put to the food and wine.  And some kinds of food to the wine so you know what I am talking about.

What wine goes with fish, all depending on what kind of fish it is , tradition say white but what kind.

Cold fish , terrines, prawns  have Chablis a light dry wine

Fish soup, with mayonnaise or cream sauces, have a white burgundy , light crisp wine

Smoked fish, barbequed,  stir-fried, or curried  have a Alsace white wine , something spicy.

Chicken you can have red or white wine , all depending on how it is coked

Chicken with mayonnaise or cream sauces  have a Macon Village , something clean and dry.

Chicken in a stir-fry try Macon as awell but if in a light curry try Alsace , full whites and spicy whites.

Roast or casseroled chicken have a Beaujolais , a light fruity red.

For chicken that is Barbecued, or in a strong powerful curry  or spiced dish then try Cotes du Rhone, or a fuller red wine.

Veal and pork have a similar taste profile and you can have the same wines with both meats more or less.

With a buttery or cream sauce or roasted have a Valoplicella , or a light fruity red or a medium red like a Burgundy.

If in a casserole or none cream sauce then try a Chianti , or a fuller red.

If in a Chinese or spiced dish then try something like a Beaujolais , or a light red.

Now lamb is always recommended to have a red wine with so let have a look at the different wines to have with that.

Stewed or roasted you want a Chinon or  Claret  something like a light red or up to a medium red.

If the lamb is spiced or curried, or barbequed then a Crozes-Hermitage, a fuller spicy red.

Now beef as the main red meat you have red wine classically but here you have a lot of ways of cooking it as well , so .

With cream or butter sauces have a Burgundy, or medium red.

Casarol or roasted have a Châteauneuf du pape or a fuller red.

And for spice and barbequed beef , well I said I would use old world wines but a Australian Shiraz or a Californian Cabernet must be favourite, something that is a full spicy red.

Now with game I would say that you want red wine but with what as game can cover a lot of things

Venison you want a rich full red, Duck a burgundy or medium red and with some game birds like pheasant  a Claret or full red.

Now with pate try a spicy red, a light red or a rosé. But if you are going to have something like Foie Gras then a sweet white like Sauternes really cut through the taste and goes well.

For soup you can have a dry white but things like consommé try a dry sherry , it really goes well .

Plain vegetable dishes go well with most dry to medium white wines as well as rosé .

Then with cheese everyone always thinks port but there are so many cheese you can mix things up.

Light flavoured cheese try Alsace Tokay, slightly spiced and sweet.

Cream cheese , blue cheese a light sweet wine , a Loire

And with hard cheese and full flavoured cheese try a burgundy or medium red.

And finally for a pudding do not just grab the really sweet pudding wine, but normally it is a white wine no matter what the dessert is.

With a plain fruit pudding have German light slightly sweet wine.

Ice cream and sorbet try sweet wine

Rich and creamy desserts and puddings Sauterns, or sweet Champagne, something rich and sweet.

And if you are having a rich chocolate pudding then try something like a fortified wine as well , or a muscat.

Well I think I have cover all most all the different kinds of food and how they might be cooked . But the thing is to every one of these rules, there is an exception that goes to prove it all wrong. It was not so long ago I had a Argentina red that had a strong pepper flavour that went really well with strawberries.  And roast cod with red wine or Alsace wine with, well with almost everything really if you ask me. But that is my taste and not everyone likes Gewürztraminer and strong flavours but I do. So I hope that this is of some help tp you if you have ever asked the question what wine will go with this food.