Wine & Food pairing “rules”

* Nothing will complement your meal better than a wine you enjoy drinking, but a general “rule” if you enjoy exploring new wines is red wine with meat, white wine with fish or fowl.

* Select light-bodied wines to pair with lighter food, and fuller-bodied wines to go with heartier, more flavorful dishes. When pairing food and wine, the goal is synergy and balance. The wine shouldn't overpower the food, nor should the food overpower the wine. Think of wine as if it were a condiment — it should compliment the food.

* Drink light-to-dark, just as when you plan a meal you start with delicate tastes and work towards heavier tastes. For this reason, you normally don't serve a red wine with appetizers or opening courses in a meal. Red wines do go very nicely with heavier foods - beef, rich pasta sauces, and so on.

* Match by geographic location. Regional foods and wines, having developed together over time, often have a natural affinity for each other.

* Match flavors. An earthy Pinot Noir goes well with mushroom soup, while the grapefruit/citrus taste of Sauvignon Blanc goes with fish for the same reasons that lemon does.

* Consider pairing opposites. Very hot or spicy foods —some Thai dishes, or hot curries for example — often work best with sweet desert wines. Opposing flavors can play off each other, creating new flavor sensations and cleansing the palate.

* The #1 rule of wine and food pairing is judge with your taste buds. The idea behind pairing wine with food is that the flavors of one compliment or bring forward the beauty of the other. Rules are meant to be broken, so if you enjoy a light red wine with salmon, or a buttery Chardonnay with a juicy grilled steak, forget the wine critics, and bon appetit!