Food and Wine Matching

Now you’ve tried a few of these wines, turn your attention to what you are going to eat -

• Chinese: Riesling.
• Thai: Crisp dry white such as Sauvignon Blanc or Gewurztraminer.
• Steak: Cabernet Sauvignon or Shiraz.
• Cheese (especially creamy): Sauvignon Blanc.
• Shellfish: Semillon or Sauvignon Blanc.
• Plain Meat: Cabernet Sauvignon.
• Turkey: Shiraz.
• Salmon: Pinot Noir.
• Garlic: Gamay.
• Curry: Reisling or Sauvignon Blanc.

Wine & food matching

Wine should match and balance the meal. For example, a hefty steak needs an equally hefty red; A sharp, tart cheese needs a sharp, acidic white. A general rule (but often broken), is that the more acidic whites come from cooler climates such as France, Germany and New Zealand while the richer reds come from the hotter climates like South Africa, Chile and Australia.

If you are choosing a sweet wine it should ideally be as sweet as the food. Good choices include Semillon based Sauternes or German Eiswein. German sweet wines are often the lightest, while Australian varieties tend to be fuller bodied.

When in a restaurant, you don’t have much control over how cold or warm your wine is served so until you’ve memorised the recommended temperature to serve wines, best leave it in the capable hands of your sommelier.