Does white wine go with roasted chicken? Should I serve goblets of red wine with rack of lamb? The rules of food and wine pairing can be confusing to most.
Although some people say there are no "hard and fast" guidelines, others will vehemently disagree.
The best approach to choosing a great wine for dinner is to plan it out course-by-course.
You will especially find this guide to food and wine pairing useful if you're making preparations for a dinner party: Appetizers A typical dinner party would start with an hors d'oeuvre.
Since appetizers are generally used to warm up the palate in preparation for the main course, a light wine with a crisp and dry flavor would fit the bill.
A Riesling with a citrus flavor will work well when paired with most appetizers.
Salad Salads can be a bit trickier.
Not only do you want to consider the salad itself, but think about the salad dressing as well.
Creamy dressings are best paired with a different type of wine than salads with oil- or vinaigrette-dressings.
Certain wines like Sauvignon Blanc have more of an acidic taste and would be best paired with a Caesar or Greek salad.
If your salad has a creamy dressing, another choice may be appropriate, such as White Zinfandel.
Main Course Choosing which wine goes with dinner depends wholly on what is being served.
Any meal with a creamy sauce should be paired with a "creamy" tasting wine.
If pasta with creamy sauce is on the menu, try serving Chardonnay.
Err on the side of another choice if your meal has an "acidic" taste.
As far as food and wine pairings according to the meat served, these are the wine pairing rules that most people have heard about.
Red meats tend to be more fatty and flavorful.
Those tastes work best with red wines like Cabernet and Red Zinfandel.
Fish usually has a very light taste to it.
And so, food connoisseurs often recommend that fish is paired with a crisp white wine.
Dessert Dessert is usually the richest meal of the dinner party.
If you're serving chocolates, deep red wine works great with these flavors.
Try a Port wine.
Strong red wines serve to balance out the richness of dessert dishes without masking any of the flavors.
Keep in mind that there are no guidelines set in stone about pairing wine and food.
But generally, wine choices should follow suit with what is served for each dinner course.
And a basic rule of thumb is to proceed from light to dark wine - the more intense and flavorful the food is, the flavor of the wine should match accordingly.