Wine and food have always been very good companions. Red wines are tastier with fatty foods, white wines are exceptionally delicious with less fatty foods. Regardless of the grape variety, wine flavours are derived from sugar, acid, fruit, alcohol and tannin, while food flavour components are fat, acid, sugar, salt and bitter. When these components are randomly mixed, the result is an explosion of superior and delicious tastes, regardless of wine type.
Although there are some basics when it comes to pairing red and white wine with food, it all comes down to creativity and taste preferences. When pairing white wine with food, the most important thing is to balance the flavours of the food with the wine. Sounds difficult, right. It really isn’t. Once you have enough knowledge of white wine, pairing it with food will be a no-brainer. Until you master your wine skills, here are some white wine and food pairing tips to get you started.
How To Taste Food And Wine Together? – If you want to match the right wine with the right dish, you first need to learn how to taste food and wine together. Here’s how. Take a sip of wine, roll it around in your mouth and swallow. Try to recognize the taste and smell and identify if it is a light or heavy wine. Consider the acidity or sweetness of the white wine and start looking for foods with similar characteristics. Then, try the food and define its taste and aftertaste. If the taste is pleasant, you’ve found your favorite white wine and food pairing.
Use Your Imagination – The most important tip when it comes to white wine and food pairing is to use your imagination and never set yourself boundaries. Try pairing white wine with different foods to find your most delightful combination. Remember, taste preferences vary with each person, meaning you may not like the pairing your friend recommends. The main idea of pairing white wine with food is to be creative.
Avoid Bitter Wine + Bitter Food – Tastebuds are very sensitive to bitterness, thus avoid pairing bitter foods with high tannin wines. If you want to pair a high tannin wine, fatty and sweet foods are more suitable.
Wine Should Be Sweeter – This is a general rule, the wine should be sweeter than the food to make your white wine-food pairing successful. If the food is sweeter than the white wine, the resulting taste will be more bitter and more tart.