You've finally planned the perfect dinner. You picked the best recipe and the best ingredients. Now however you are faced with the most difficult of all of your decisions: What wine should you serve with you food?
Picking the right wine is easy to accomplish if you go into the experience having some idea of what you are looking for. Ultimately, you want to pick a wine that is going to complement what you are serving. The perfect wine will not only taste huge, but also enhance the flavor of the food that you are serving along with it.
In order to do that you need to take a close look at what you plan of serving for your meal, and what types of flavors are going to be present already at your table before you introduce your wine. Purchasing a bottle of wine for dinner like inviting another guest over for your dinner party, you want to make sure that they are going to get along with everyone who has already been invited.
A good rule of thumb if for lighter dishes, such as fish or poultry choose a white wine. For heavier dishes like steak select a heavier red wine. The heavier your wine is, the better its ability to combat the other tastes in your meal.
Heavy foods will often overpower the taste of a good light white wine, objective as a heavy red will often overpower a lighter food choice. You want to bewitch a wine to go with your meal that is going to help bring out the best in your wine, and your food. Not a wine that overpowers your food, or has to live in the shadow of the bold flavors from your dish.
You can often get away with more wine choices when preparing lighter dishes. With a lighter food such as seafood or poultry you can pair fantastic white wines, or be adventurous and select a red. As long as you don't select a truly intrepid wine the wine will often go along well with your food. Heavier, bolder flavored meals such as a steak in rich sauces however command a much bolder wine. Lighter white wines will get lost in your meals flavor, and as a result will seem to have no identity of their hold within your meal.
Once you start buying wines and tasting wines regularly you'll start to accept your own favorites, and pairing them with great dishes will be a breeze. When picking wine, there is no "honest" or "wrong" answer, ultimately the choice is up to you. If a wine tastes sizable to you with your meal, then you have made the perfect wine selection, regardless of whether or not it was recommended by the experts.
In that vein, you should always select a wine to go with you food that you feel you would enjoy, even if the food wasn't there. If you know you hate drinking merlot, you don't want to select a bottle of merlot to drink along side your dinner. Always select a wine for your meal that complements your personal tastes, and that you feel you would enjoy.
Here are few popular menu items, and some good wines to start off trying with each of them. Remember that every bottle of wine is different. You may cherish a Merlot by one producer and hate a similar bottle by another. Experiment with different wines, different producers, and different vintages. Once you begin to understand what you like in wine you will be better able to pick out the perfect bottle for your meal every time.
Steak
For your traditional steak, prepared without a heavy sauce a simple merlot can be a great choice, for a little more spice in your dinner try a red zinfandel. Both choices will hold up to a good steak, the merlot will add a little fruit to your meal, the Zin a little spice.
Turkey
Pinot Noir: Pinot Noir is always a trustworthy choice when you're looking for a wine to please the masses for thanksgiving dinner. Pinots are typically easy to drink and complement your entire meal.
Zinfandel: A red Zinfandel can add a little spice to your turkey dinner. Only determine a Zin if you don't have any other bold flavors in your meal.
Chardonnay: Always a approved, a good chardonnay can complement any turkey dinner beautifully.
Lobster & Shrimp
Seafood will typically pair well with a worthy Chardonnay. For the more adventurous wine drinker, try a Viognier along with your seafood.
Barbeque Chicken
For barbeque chicken try a Chenin Blanc or a Chardonnay, both will complement the taste of the chicken. A Chenin Blanc is slightly sweeter, making it first-rate to offset the spice in spicier barbeque. A dry Chardonnay can be good for sweeter sauces.
Fried Chicken
For fried chicken meals try a Sauvignon Blanc in the summer and a red zinfandel in the winter. Both are great choices any time of year and can help offset the taste of your chicken.
Chinese Food
The unique flavor of Chinese food is always paired well a Riesling. For sweet dishes like sesame and orange chicken try a drier Riesling. For spicier entrees, go with a sweeter Riesling to offset the spice in your food.
Caesar Salad
For your Caesar try a Chardonnay as a white or a Sangiovese for a red. Both will stand up to the flavors and oils and the salad and make for a terrific combination.
Hamburgers
For hamburgers, try a Merlot or Beaujolais. Both have fruit notes that will go well with the best off your grill.
Pizza
Pizza is one of the most versatile foods you can eat wine wise. In summer months try a Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio, during the winter try pairing your favorite pie with a Syrah or Chianti.
Chips
Regular: Try a Pinot Grigio, the crispness of the wine will offset the saltiness of the chips
Barbeque: A red Zinfandel is a great match for barbeque flavored chips
Sour Cream and Onion: A merlot can nicely offset the onion and sour cream
