How to Pair Wine with Food

It’s intimidating, isn’t it? You’re making a special dinner and want to pick the perfect wine to go with your fantastic creation, or maybe you’re on a date and want to impress the other person with your vast wine knowledge. How to pair wine with food is one of those elusive and scary tasks that we’ve all come across at one time or another. Does it have to be so difficult? I say NO!

How to Pair Wine with Food Made Easy

Here’s the real deal…you know what you like! And I would be willing to bet that your palate preferences span across both the food and wine that you like. what do I mean by that? Well, I know that in the Summer, I love fresh salads with lots of seasonal veggies and grilled meats with tangy seasoning. Just so happens that I also love chilled Roses and stainless Chardonnays in the Summer…guess what? All that stuff I just described would go together! I tend to cook with my emotions…I make things that inspire me, or comfort me, or challenge me. I can usually stick with those feelings and find a wine that fits in with the food just right.

Sure, there are some basic “rules” when it comes to how you pair your wine with your food, but the best guideline is to go with your gut. You may not want to pull out a hearty Cabernet Sauvignon to serve with a grilled shrimp salad, but you probably knew that already. After all, what’s the worst thing that could happen? The pairing doesn’t work for whatever reason and you turn it into a learning experience as to why it didn’t work instead of feeling bad about your choices. Trust yourself, trust your palate, and most of all, eat and drink what you like and you’ll do just fine!

P.S. We found this helpful little infographic over at WineFolly.com. If you dig it, you can check it out here!!!