Winemakers will always tell you that food is never complete without a glass or two of wine. Of course it is in their best interests to push that line. But is there any substance in this claim? Well, actually there is. There are certain properties in wine which compliment and enhance food, particularly in the texture side of things. Acidity in wine, for example, is a great combatant to fat or oil. If you thing why a vinaigrette works so well as a combination, it is in the balancing of oil ( generally virgin olive oil) and acid (also generally balsamic vinegar - acetic acid ).

Wines of fuller alcohol will often give food a longer aftertaste. Meats which are served dry ( as opposed to being served with a sauce) often have a minimal aftertaste, so once it has been swallowed there is little to savour. Wine helps to lengthen the flavour. Most people have heard of the wine and food edict that you serve red wine with red meats and white wine with white meats.

While this is a safe yardstick, there are two more modern rules which better suits the array of interesting flavours we experience today. Firstly, whatever wine you want to match, the wine and the food must be of the same flavour intensity. You can do this by scoring a mark out of 10 for how strong the food tastes, then find a wine you would give the same number. Obviously much trial and error will occur before you find the best options. Great fun trying though!

The second rule is purely to taste, and hence everyone will have a different perspective. Try to fin links between the wine and food which are either in common or are complimentary. For example if the food has a mushroom character, match a Pinot Noir which also has a mushroom character. The complimentary flavour match is like how seafood likes lemon as a flavour accompaniment. If a wine has a high degree of lemon like character, like Sauvignon Blanc, then it will match to seafood, as long as the intensity levels align.

Wine and food matching is a very personal thing. Have fun trying new combinations. If it works for you, then it is right. Bon a petit.