Food and Wine Pairing - Discover The How To Secrets!

Food and wine pairing - Even love and marriage don't go together better. You don't have to be a blue blood to excel in food and wine pairing. All you need to know is a few simple rules that I'll outline here for you.

What wine goes with which foods? Here's the answer to the age old food and wine question.

If it comes in a screw-top bottle from your grocer's beer cooler than it goes with anything that comes from a fast food restaurant. If it comes with a cork in the top then things get a wee bit more complicated so follow along with me.

First of all, don't panic. It is absolutely, culinary (is that a word?) impossible to "ruin" a meal by selecting the wrong wine. You can ruin your dress, you can ruin your tie and you can ruin the tablecloth, but I assure you that your meal will survive an "improper" food and wine paring.
One last parting thought. Probably the easiest food and wine pairing combination is Italian food with Italian wine.

With that being said, let's take a quick but effective look at the basic rules of cork, I mean thumb, when it comes to food and wine pairing.

Red goes with meat and white goes with fish or fowl. There you go. That's about all you need to know. OK, for those of you that were hoping that it was a bit more complicated than that, let's take it to the next level.

Actually, the "red and white" rule got thrown out the window years ago. Conventional wisdom dictates that you pair your wine with your food according to the wine's FIT (flavor, intensity and texture).

The flavor of the wine will ideally compliment the flavor of the main course. The intensity of the flavor (how strong the flavor is) should match the intensity of the food's flavor. Finally, the texture of the wine (how it feels in your mouth) should match the texture of the food.

A light-bodied wine goes well with light foods. Wine is meant toenhance the flavor of the meal, not bury it. Rich and hearty foods, like roasts and stews tend to favor your fuller bodied wines.

Remember that the taste of wine changes according to the taste of the food that it is accompanying. Spicy food tends to want to be paired with a lighter wine which will react nicely with the food's bite. Pasta with red sauce and meatballs cries out for an Italian Chianti and nothing less will do!

In the end, the key to successful food and wine pairings is this: If it tastes good with whatever is on your fork then you got it right!
If you don't believe me then take yourself over to either of the two Calgary Italian Restaurant locations and see what I mean. They have the best Italian food West of Italy and a selection of Italian wines that go with anything. If you're not sure, just ask.

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