Home > Home And Family > Health

Food and Wine

by Jason Gluckman

The perfect combination of food and wine can turn a simple dinner-date into a romantic one, a small gathering or celebration into a fun-filled and memorable party, virtually any ordinary occasion into an extraordinary event.

There are really no rules to follow in deciding what food to serve and what wine to buy. And, because there are no strict rules, pairing food and wine can indeed be a challenging and difficult task. It requires not only some familiarity with food and wine, but more importantly, some creative thinking.

It would be helpful to remember the basics: white wines are best served when chilled and are perfect with fish, pork or chicken, and red wines are best served with red meats such as grilled beef or lamb. These are not strict rules, however, so you can always reinvent and discover new exciting food and wine combination.

Experts suggest that the weight or taste of the food and wine should complement each other. It's not good to match very dry and strong wine with sweet food, because the strength of the wine will overwhelm the taste of the food.

It is a known fact that white wines are too acidic, so they are perfectly matched with oily and salty food especially seafood dishes with rich cream sauces. Acid reduces oiliness and saltiness in food. Sweet wines have an acidity of around 1%, while table wines have 0.6 to 0.7 % acidity. Most wines are not sweet and have a strong flavor, so they are best matched with sweet food. Grilled foods that are bitter to the taste match well with a slightly bitter wine - like a dry red. Wines made of grapes that are grown in colder regions typically have low sugar content and a high acidic content, while those grown in warmer climates are lower in acid and higher in sugar.

If you can't decide what wine to buy, settle for a sparkling wine. This kind of wine has higher acidity and a delicate taste and is low in alcohol content. It goes go with almost any kind of food.

More articles >>