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Everything You Should Know About Wine Pairings

Determining which wine you’ll serve at your next dinner party might feel a bit intimidating. After all, some people create entire careers out of pairing wines with meals. The good news is that anyone can learn about the art of wine pairing. Here’s what you need to know to make your next gathering a success.

1. Identify Your Meal’s Main Ingredient

You should always match your wine to the most prominent element in your dish. Envision your next dinner party with that in mind. You’ll start crafting your experience according to whatever food most interests you instead of trying to pick a wine at random. 

Once you have two or three ideas for your primary dish, identify the main ingredient, which is what your guests will taste most vividly when taking a bite. If you’re serving a steak salad, the juicy, seasoned steak will be the primary ingredient unless it has a strong salad dressing.

What flavor will your primary ingredient have? What are the seasonings or sauces? Once you can describe your desired recipe, you can move forward with the wine pairing process.

2. Check Your Main Flavor Profiles List

Wines and meals typically share the same flavor profile. They don’t have to, but it’s a great place for beginners to start. Consider which of the six main flavor profiles will be most present at your table:

  • Fatty
  • Acidic
  • Salty
  • Bitter
  • Spicy
  • Sweet

You can match that with the flavor profile in the descriptions of the wines you consider. It’s easy to bet that their flavors will go well together if they share a profile. If you want to get a bit more creative, explore the best profile matches.

3. Find What Typically Matches

Imagine eating sour candy. If your next bite was salty potato chips, you would have a more positive reaction than if you drank an acidic soda. Wine-pairing experiences can have similar results. Match the flavor profile of your meal with wine that typically goes well with it, like:

  • Fatty: any of the flavor profiles
  • Acidic: fatty, sweet or salty
  • Salty: any of the flavor profiles
  • Bitter: fatty, sweet or salty
  • Spicy: fatty, sweet or salty
  • Sweet: any of the flavor profiles

When you find the best wine flavor profile for your upcoming meal, make sure to store it correctly until it’s time to serve your guests. The ideal temperature to store wine at is between 50 and 59 degrees Fahrenheit.

4. Understand Wine Pairing Methods

If the wine pairing process still feels a bit murky at this point, consider the two types of pairing methods — contrasting and congruent. Contrasting pairings use the previously mentioned wine pairing matches and reverse them. You might serve spicy enchiladas with a bitter, dry wine to enhance the flavor experience of your meal. 

Likewise, congruent pairings stick with the flavor profile list. They utilize the same element to bring out more of your wine and meal’s primary ingredients. You could pair a creamy macaroni and cheese dish with a Chardonnay. Your taste buds will be swimming in a luxurious buttery heaven all night long.

These two types of pairings mean you can’t really go wrong. You’ll only know if your contrasting or congruent choices were successful after you take your first bite and follow it with a sip of wine.

5. Prepare Your Serving Supplies

You’ll need a few crucial supplies to serve wine like an expert. First, you’ll need a wine bottle opener and a decanter. Choose an opener that most suits you. There’s nothing wrong with using an electric version if you’ve never been great at uncorking.

Decanters are the wide glass containers that hold wine instead of the bottle. They help you separate your wine from the sediment at the bottom of your chosen product. It’s important to pour your wine carefully into a decanter if you’re sipping a vintage bottle because aged varieties have more grainy sediment along the bottom.

Next, choose the right glass for your wine of the evening. Red wines get wide-brimmed glasses so they have more contact with air. It produces a more noticeable aroma from the glass with each sip. White wines get thinner glasses because they don’t need to aerate. Champagne gets a narrow flute for the same reason.

You’ll know you’ve found well-made wine glasses if they can withstand various temperatures. Investing in a good set will open the possibility for refreshing cherry vanilla wine beverages in the summer and room-temperature red wine in the winter. The glass won’t shatter with slushy drinks or warm ones because the manufacturer made it to withstand both temperatures. 

6. Save Universal Pairings for Backup

When you feel like there’s no way to understand which wine goes best with a meal, opt for a universal pairing with a bubbly beverage. Sparkling wines have higher acidity and sweet notes that make them complement almost any dish. Match a light prosecco with an equally light braised fish. Sparkling rose would taste great with a flavorful Italian lasagna. You can’t go wrong with something bubbly and fun.

Become the Local Expert on Wine Pairings

Once you understand the basics of wine pairings, your friends will hail you as the resident expert. Practice your skills to get better over time. You’ll develop an intuitive sense of flavor profiles and primary ingredients that make you feel like a pro.

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