Don't Make These Common Food & Wine Pairing Mistakes

The perfect food and wine pairing can be magical. When all the components of a meal complement the characteristics of the wine, your dining experience is elevated to another level.

But when the pairings go wrong, it can absolutely ruin a perfectly delicious meal. Here are 6 mistakes to avoid when pairing wine with food:

1. Mismatching intensity or weight

When choosing a wine to go with your meal, it is important to match the intensity of flavors and weight or texture. Without this balance, the wine or the food can overpower the other. For example, if pairing a high alcohol and full bodied red wine like Cabernet Sauvignon with a delicate, flaky fish, the subtle flavors of the meal will be lost. Instead, look for a lighter bodied white wine to complement the lighter meal.

2. Only drinking white wine with fish

While many white wines are a lovely pairing with fish and seafood dishes, there is no need to eliminate red wines altogether. Certain red wines can pair beautifully with heartier fish such as salmon or halibut, particularly when grilled or served with a heavier sauce. Choose a red wine with lower tannins such as Pinot Noir or Gamay to avoid overpowering the dish.

3. Pairing spicy food with high tannins and alcohol

A wine with high tannins or alcohol is not the best match for hot and spicy foods. Tannin and alcohol accentuate the heat and can really set your mouth on fire! Avoid the excessive burning sensation and choose a wine that will balance the spiciness. Riesling and other off-dry white wines are a fantastic choice. The slight sweetness in the wine complements the bold spices of the food to create a delicious harmony of flavors.

4. Drinking champagne solely as an aperitif

Champagne is so much more than a celebratory drink for toasts. Sparkling wine from all around the world can pair beautifully with all the courses of your meal. The key is to match the food with a sparkling wine that has enough flavor and intensity to stand up to the dish. The acidity in sparkling wines makes a fantastic palate cleanser, which works especially well with higher fat dishes. For example, Champagne is a delicious pairing with fried chicken or potato chips. It can even go quite well with all sorts of main dishes including heartier foods like duck and pork.

5. Choosing dessert sweeter than the wine

The main rule here is to ensure that your wine is as sweet as or sweeter than your dessert. If the wine is not as sweet, its acidity can wreak havoc on the dessert and create a bitter combination. Many think that drinking Champagne with chocolate or cake would be divine, but that works only if the Champagne is made in a sweet style.

6. Stressing about it!

It is fun to experiment with different pairings. Step outside your comfort zone and try a new combination. The worst that happens is you don't love the two together and instead just drink your wine separately. Or perhaps you will find a match that breaks all the rules. Great! In the end, all that matters is if YOU like it.

The key to avoiding mistakes in pairing wine with food is to focus on matching the the acid, tannins, alcohol and sweetness of the wine with the fat, weight and sweetness of the dish. Ideally, the wine and food will enhance each other’s flavors, combining to create an extraordinary culinary experience.

At Cuvée Wine Travel, we plan custom trips for people who love food and wine. We also offer small group travel, river cruises and small ship luxury cruises escorted by a wine expert, winemaker or vintner. Would you like to travel with a group of friends or clients? Or perhaps join a winemaker on a river cruise? Let’s talk about your next wine adventure!