Three tips for creating the most delicious wine and food combinations

Creating good wine-food pairings is an art in itself. There are wine-food pairings that are so perfect that they enhance both the dish and the wine. A great taste sensation. That is exactly what sommeliers and top chefs strive for. You don't have to be a professional to find the ideal combination between a dish and a wine. It is mainly a matter of trying it out.

If you enjoy wine tasting and good food, it is great fun to look for your ideal wine-food combinations. For example, place different wines next to each other with a certain dish and try out which one combines best. The other way around is also possible: open a bottle of wine and place different dishes next to it. Perhaps the ideal combination is among them! We give you three tips that will help you with this:

1. ‘If it grows together, it goes together’

It is an old rule that every sommelier knows. Because in many cases it is true. Wines from a certain region often combine remarkably well with the typical dishes from that region. This is especially true for European wines. The sturdy Malbecs from Cahors in the South of France, for example, combine excellently with the fatty stews that they make there. Italian Chianti combines well with pizzas and the fresh white wines from Galacië in Spain are delicious with the fish dishes that are served here. If you ‘think regionally’, this will help you a long way in finding an ideal wine-food combination.

2. Look for balance

A good wine-food combination is ‘in balance’. For example, a hearty dish of grilled, fatty meat requires a fuller red wine than a light dish. This applies to both white and red. A meaty piece of catfish in a creamy sauce requires a completely different – ​​fuller and riper – white wine than a light trout. Therefore, consider how the dish is put together, what ingredients it contains and which ingredients you want to match the wine to. Find the balance in the flavour intensity of the wine and the dish. Finally, consider how the dish is made. For example, is it a crispy fried fish? A crispy white wine goes well with that. Or is it a steamed fish? A softer, rounder white wine goes well with that.

3. Match specific flavors

Is the dish sour, sweet, spicy or salty? The answer to that question has consequences for the wine that goes best with it. In general, a dish with fresh acids - for example a salad with a vinegar dressing - goes well with a dry wine with fresh acids. Sweet dishes go best with wines that are just as sweet or even sweeter. Dishes with bitters in the taste go best with wines that also have bitters (such as tannin), but also with wines that are very fruity. Salty dishes often go well with wines with fresh acids, sparkling wines or even with sweet wines.

If you want to read more about pairing wine with food, we recommend the book 'What to drink with what you eat” by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page. As far as we are concerned, the ‘bible’ for this tasty subject.