Following on from Will Beckett's insight into the 'best grape varieties to stock in your pub', the Wine School takes a look at wine and food matching.
Chris Kelly, marketing manager at the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET), attempts to shed some light on the virtues of training and education and provides some top tips for matching your outlet's food offer and its wine list.
Matching wine with food
A good food and wine match can transport a meal to new heights, while lesser pairings run from inoffensive to downright acrid.
It is, therefore, worth considering some guidelines if you want to make your pairings intelligently. Ultimately, however, it is a matter of personal taste, so choose combinations that you find particularly pleasing.
The principle is to try to match (or contrast) the basic components in both the wine and the food so that neither overpowers the other. There are some helpful guidelines, but also remember that many wine styles evolved to complement the cuisine of the region, so this is often a good starting point for finding trusted food and wine combinations. Weight and tannin
To achieve balance, hearty fare must be teamed with an equally weighty wine. A full-bodied, tannic wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, with roast beef may not be an innovative choice, but it is hard to beat. Medium- to full-bodied whites combine well with the creaminess of rich sauces - Chardonnay's buttery flavour particularly complements butter sauces.
Lighter food, such as plain white meat or fish, is complemented by more delicate wine. Although white wines are the normal choice, light-bodied, low-tannin reds can also be successful, such as a Bardolino, Pinot Noir or Beaujolais.Acid
Salads with dressings high in lemon or vinegar need an acidic wine for balance - Sauvignon Blanc, dry and high in acidity, performs well. High-acid fruits can taste metallic and thin with too tart a tipple, but sweet whites, late-harvest or sparkling, provide the perfect counterpoint. Sweetness
Puddings generally taste unpleasant with very dry wines, so try to choose a wine with equal or more pronounced levels of sweetness. Dessert wines are the obvious choice, although these can also be delicious on their own. Saltiness Salty foods are enhanced by a touch of sweetness - think of the classic combination of Roquefort cheese with Sauternes. Tannic wines should be avoided as the salt seems to bring out the bitterness of the tannin. Olives, oysters and other shellfish go well with crisp, dry, light-bodied white wines, for example Muscadet. Manzanilla or fino sherry are fine partners for olives and nuts.