Pairing is Caring: How to Pair Wine with Food

When it comes to selecting the perfect wine to pair with your dish, the choices can be truly overwhelming. Sure, there are classic pairings like chocolate and port, or foie gras and Sauternes (a personal favorite), but what is one to do with a meal like pulled pork with an Eastern Carolina-vinegar sauce? Or fried green tomatoes with goat cheese grits and red pepper coulis? Or watermelon salad with spicy arugula, honey yogurt dressing, country ham and candied basil?

If your mouth is watering, then we are at least in the right place to start because pairing wine with food begins with the food, and how much we love it. Wine should always be the complement to a great meal; the additional sip that takes a good dish and highlights flavors in a way that makes it an outstanding dish. How we get to that amazing, mouth-watering experience is a matter of personal choice more than anything, but here are some starting points for the next time you look to pair a wine with your meal:

1. Start with the basics.

While many throw out the conventional ‘white with fish’ and ‘red with meat’ as passé’, these time-honored methods rarely fail the pairing method. They are based on matching the primary flavors of the dish to the wine so that the wine doesn’t overpower the experience. Another way to think of this is in color: the lighter the color of the meat of the dish, the lighter the wine. So, a white fish like tilapia, does well with a very light and bright wine like a South African Chenin Blanc, or a dark meat like Angus beef ribeye does well with a dark wine like a Syrah-blend. Right in the middle would be grilled salmon, which is delicious with either a Rose’ or a light red like Pinot Noir.

2. Non-meat dishes can play, too.

Not every entrée features meat as the star player. Many times we see amazing vegetable-focused entrées or appetizers that don’t want conventional rules of wine pairing. For a watermelon salad with arugula, honey yogurt dressing, country ham, and candied basil, a pairing should play to the flavors of the dish that can be noticed in the aroma of the wine. Honey and herbaceous notes are hallmarks of the aromas of both Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc-based wines. The acidity of these wines can highlight the beautiful and sweet flavors of the watermelon while also complementing the salty and rich flavors of country ham.

3. Don’t overdo the spicy!

One of the most common mistakes made in pairing a wine with a meal is thinking that a big, spicy, bold dish needs a big, spicy, bold wine. More often than not, bold and big wines (like a California Cabernet or an Australian Shiraz) have higher alcohol, which will actually raise the spice factor of a dish. Tannins in wine, which are represented by the presence of oak and the dark colors from the skin of the grape in red wines, also make a dish taste spicier. For an entrée like pulled pork with corn jalapeño slaw and a vinegar-based barbecue sauce, a good pairing is a lighter red wine that is fruit-forward like Zinfandel, or, if you are feeling adventurous, a Gamay. These wines have enough body and character to keep up with the flavors of barbecue, but won’t make the heat too intense.

When in doubt though, pairing wine with food is about enjoying what is in front of you. It is also always safe to ask for a recommendation, or more details about a dish’s preparation to help you recognize flavors or ingredients that will key you to a good pairing. At Tupelo Honey, we also list recommended pairings on our menus that are not only for wine, but beer and cocktails, too. Because who doesn’t love a taco and a margarita?!

To learn more about classic wines and pairings, you can check out one of Tupelo Honey’s favorite training resources for our staff, Wine Folly.

Cheers to complementing the experience with great drinks, and be sure to visit us during Happy Hour!

This post was written by Tupelo Honey Cafe VP of Operations E. Tyler Alford.