Pairing food and wine is an important French food culture.
The French enjoy pairing most of their meals with a glass of wine almost on a daily basis, a luxury most French families or individuals can afford. The wine is usually local and home-grown and –made. Only on special occasions and meals do the French drink complex wines.
Rules for Pairing Food and Wine
- Red wine is best paired with meat while white wine is perfect with poultry and seafood.
- Forget rule number one and enjoy drinking your favorite wine.
However, these fast and hard rules for pairing food with wine have become irrelevant and archaic. This means that you need to take pleasure in drinking or sipping your wine to improve your dining experience.
Factors to Consider When Pairing Food with Wine
Pair your meals with different wines to comprehend wine tasting basics. This is true if your favorite wines are few and you’ve never experimented beyond them.
The factors to consider when pairing food with wine include:
- Body
- Acidity
- Flavors
- Aromas
You can pair specific dishes with wine based on the four factors above. Each factor or attribute means something unique to every palate.
- Body – your mouth feel and weight when tasting wine is its body. The body of wine can be thin or light, oily, heavy, or even creamy. The body is your personal opinion of the wine as the taster.
- Acid – the acidity level of wine is dependent on its sharp and sour notes. This is like biting into a super sour apple to feel the palate as it touches your tongue with a sharp sensation.
- Flavor – This is the bouquet, or aroma of wine; it’s all about the scent of the wine. The nose of wine can be a single or two notes, or a sophisticated mix of aromas that easily blend and change as wine is exposed to air and swirled. Identify earthy, fruity, floral, and nutty notes in your wine.
- Flavor – the aromas of wine determine its flavor. The smell of wine is as good as its taste. For instance, wine may have deep, earthy flavors, or light, fruity bouquet. Some also have nutty aromas with notes of coffee-chocolate flavor.
Matching food with wine is easier than you think. To match it to your dish, find out if it’s spicy, light, rich, or sweet. Pair wine with food or meals equal its intensity.
For example, a light, spicy-sweet white wine pairs well with a flavorful chicken dish while a full-bodied, strong red wine goes well with a steak with a heavier sauce. At La Ras Casse, we’ll show you how to pair your French meals with your preferred bottle or glass of wine.
