Choosing the Right Wine for Your Meal
Aazdak Alisimo
While we all know that wine can be an excellent accompaniment to any meal or dish, it can also be a great ingredient. Wine can be a good way to add flavor to food, while also tying in the vintage or varietal you choose to serve with your meal in an interesting way.
When preparing food for an adult gathering, such as a dinner party or other special event, it is a good idea to think ahead to what sort of wine will really make your food taste great. Wine is the ideal beverage for a dinner party, as cocktails and other flavored drinks can overpower your food.
Red wines are most often served with robust meals - meals that can stand up to the stronger taste and aroma of a dry red wine. These meals include beef, lamb, veal and also pastas with red sauces. Some people drink red wine with other foods, as they prefer the taste over white, but this is the standard.
Choosing which wine to use in your recipe will largely depend on what you want the outcome of your recipe to be. If you are planning to cook off the alcohol in the dish, you might choose a different sort of wine than you would in a dessert, where the wine's alcohol content may not be altered.
Blush wines are the ultimate compromise. The sweetest variety, they are perfect with any meal, or even just to drink on their own. Many people who are unaccustomed to drinking wine will find that drinking a blush, or ros wine is much more pleasurable, because it is less dry and heavy than other wine.
If your main course is another red meat such as lamb or veal, red wine would also be an excellent choice. If you are serving chicken or fish, you may wish to stick with the white wine that you were serving with your first course or even turn to a different variety of white wine.
For desserts and hors d' oeuvres, other types of wines may come into play. Sparkling wines or champagnes may make an appearance at either end of the meal, as they compliment items such as the cheese plate or simple desserts like delicate pastries or cookies.
For dessert, wines that are sweeter are often the best choice. You may wish to go with a fortified wine to enhance your cake or other pastry, or a sweeter after dinner wine such as a sparkling wine like champagne can also be an option. Either of these will go well with an after dinner treat.
The correct pairing of wines with your foods can help to enhance the flavor not only of your dinner or other meal, but also of the wine you are serving. The melding of the two ingredients - wine and food - will make for a great dinner experience.
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