Food and Wine Pairing

Food and wine pairing is definitely not as intimidating as it seems. But selecting the perfect wine for your meal can really bump your dish up a notch. Wines accentuate sweetness in your food, contrast saltiness and balance out tartness. So if you aren’t already the wine connoisseur that you wish to be – don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Here are the some of the basics to food and wine pairing:

Keep it Sweet and Salty

If you’re a lover of salted chocolate or maple bacon (we know we are!) – a food and wine pairing of salty food and a sweet wine (such as Robertson Rose) would be right up your alley.

Never combine Bitter with Bitter

Bitter food paired with bitter wine will only take away from your dish. So never give in to the temptation of pairing a bitter red with dark chocolate- it’s just not worth the calories!

Acidity goes great with Acidity

Unlike bitter, acidity of wine and food pairings can be added together to create a delicate balance. Although, if your wine has less acidity than your food, the wine will taste flat, and vice versa. You must consider the acid balance between the food and the wine.

Blending Bitter with Fat

Serve a pork belly dish and pair it with a wine with lots of bitterness or tannin. This will create a dish whereby the tannin has balanced with the fat in your dish. A classic example of this would be a fatty steak with a bitter red wine food pairing.

Acidity and Fat are a match made in heaven

There is nothing like a glass of champagne to cut through the fattiness of a dish. A drink of high acidity adds a variety of fascinating flavors to a lipid heavy dish. So the next time you have that big slice of cheesecake for dessert, pair it with a glass of something bubbly!

If all else fails, trust the bubbly.

When in doubt – sparkling wine goes with everything!

We hope that these tips and tricks have helped you master the art of food and wine pairings. Book a wine tour with us and experience some of these magical combinations at the most beautiful Constantia wine farms wine farms!

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