Easy Wine Pairing Guide

I received the products mentioned in exchange for an honest review on my blog. The opinions expressed are 100 percent my own. This post contains affiliate links.

A few years ago, I went to a grand opening event at a clothing store. The store promoted itself by offering a wine tasting to visitors. When I arrived, a nice person asked if I'd like to try the wine. After she asked what type I'd like, I asked her what types she had. Her answer, "Red and white." I started to laugh out loud; I couldn't help myself.

I am no where close to being a wine-o or claim to have any inside knowledge about wine. But living in the heart of the wine country region of my state, I've learned a thing or two about it. It seems like people have the hardest time knowing how to pair wine with food.

Simple Wine Pairing Rules

1. When in doubt, match the wine with the food's color. For example, use red wine for red meat. Pair a chicken or fish dish with white wine. The reason for this is because of the how the acids and tannins (a compound in red) wine interact with the acids and fats in foods.  
2. Champagne goes with anything (for me, anyway).

Click image to enlarge

 Basic Wine Pairing Rules

• Red wines go well with fatty foods.
• Pair the flavors. If the food has a delicate flavor, for example, accompany it with a delicate-tasting wine.
• Show off a great wine with a simple dish.
• If a food seems as if it would taste great with a splash of vinegar, lemon or lime, go with white wine.
• Serve sweet white wines with low alcohol levels with spicy food. Stay away from reds because the tannins intensify the heat in foods. 
• Pair sweet wines with salty snacks. 
• Serve a dessert wine with dessert. 
• Some foods sometimes don't seem to go well with any wines, such as: 
• Artichokes
•  Asparagus
• Egg yolks (Who eats just the yolks?)
• Green beans
• Brussel sprouts
• Seafood that's high in iodine, like cod, mackerel, haddock and some shellfish
• When in doubt, offer red and white wine with a meal.

Click to enlarge

Wine Hacks

• Chilling wine: One of the lamest things that I've ever seen is a glass of wine with ice cubes in it. Some wines taste better chilled, while others taste better at room temperature (this is a topic for a different blog post). If you don't have a fancy wine refrigerator or didn't have time to chill your wine in the fridge, use a wine chilling rod. The hardest thing about it is remembering to put it in your freezer and then remembering to use it.
  
  
  FrescoVino's wine chilling rod comes with a plastic-like chilling rod that you keep in the freezer until you need it, a built-in aerator (some wines need to "breathe" before you drink them), pourer and a stopper. Place the chilling rod in the bottle of wine for at least 5 minutes and then pour yourself a glass of vino. It's just that simple.
  
• Storing wine: I don't finish bottles of wine for the sake of finishing them. I'm a person who re-corks the bottle after drinking a glass or two. Unfortunately, an open bottle of  wine does not get better with age. The last thing you want is an expensive bottle of wine turning into vinegar-like nastiness.
  
  Fabulously Functional's Sip & Save is a wine pump that saves your wine using special stoppers instead of corks. All you need to do is place the stopper in the bottle's opening and remove the air that's inside the bottle using the included pump. I like that the set comes with two stoppers. Because of the vacuum seal, the wine stays good for another four to seven days. If you opened a bottle of sparkling wine, you'll need a different gadget.

What wine pairing tips do you have?

Infographic credit: Wine Folly. Check out their other cool infographics here. 

I received the products mentioned in exchange for an unbiased review on my blog. This post contains affiliate links, meaning that I receive a small commission if you click on an Amazon.com link and make a purchase.