Guide to classic wine and food pairings

There are so many wines in the world that pairing them with food seems like a daunting task. Well, the process isn’t as complicated as you think once you grasp a few basics.

Here’s a simple guide on how to match your delicious dishes with the best wines:

Understand the six basic tastes

The complex art of pairing wine with food can be broken down to one simple concept – there are six basic tastes across wines and foods.

Knowing how these tastes combine with each other can help you match the wines to the foods that you are eating.

Here’s a list of the basic tastes you need to pay attention to when pairing food and wine:

Acid

This taste is present in both wines and foods. Acidic wines taste great with fatty foods. You can also pair acidic foods with acidic wines.

Fat

Aside from being a nutrient, fat is also one of the six basic flavours. Since fatty foods tend to be heavy, you need a wine that will balance this tendency. Wines that are high in either alcohol or acid balance these foods well.

Bitterness

Tannins naturally occur in wine, and they create a bitter taste. Some wines have a greater bitter flavour than others, and these wines need to be balanced with sweeter foods.

Reversely, bitter foods pair well with sweet wines.

Salt

Salty flavours tend to conflict with the acid content of wine. With salty foods, select wine with a low acid content, such as sweeter wines.

Sweetness

Naturally, sweet wines have low acidity. Pair these wines with anything that doesn’t require high acid. In general, sweet wines, like dessert wines, go best with sweet foods.

Alcohol

Some wines have a higher alcohol content than others. These wines taste especially good with fatty foods, as well as with sweet dishes.

For fine wines to pair with foods of your choice, check out the wide selection at aeclub.com.my.

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