On our last article we talked about the most basic notions in wine and food pairing: complementarity and contrast, and we promised we’ll continue with the actual characteristics of wines that bind or divide the match: acidity, sweetness, bitterness and the alcohol level.

Acidity is a key factor in pairing wines and food, because on a physiological level it affects our ability to perceive flavours. Remember that acidic wines tend to go great with acidic foods (for example, those where lemon or vinegar is used) or with fatty, oily, salty or rich dishes, but they’re very unlikely to go well with creamy sauces.

Sweetness is the combined result of the initial fruits’ sugar and the fermentation process. The general rule is that the wine should be sweeter than the dessert it accompanies, and yes, sweet wines are usually associated with desserts. But they can also go well with foods that have a certain sweetness (for example a sweet sauce), they balance spiciness and they can also contrast with certain salty foods.

Bitterness is linked to tannins, caused when the skins, seeds and stems of the grapes enter the wine creation process. Bitter wines are a wonderful match for foods rich in protein (meats, especially red, fatty or not) and they really help cleanse the palate. Fish oils, spicy foods and sweet dishes should not be your first options when you’re considering tannins, and also keep in mind that bitterness in foods and bitterness in wines combine.

Alcohol is linked to the wine’s weight and body, in the sense that the less alcohol, the less weight a wine has and that means less texture and density. Usually, wines with higher alcohol levels are good matches for salty and spicy dishes.

But there are other factors to consider and the most important one is probably your own taste. Since we all have different perceptions over reality (taste included), we’re all likely to make (at least) slightly different choices when it comes to wine and food pairing. And then there are those matches so famous that they’ve almost become clichés – for example, Chablis and oysters. Basically, the choice is yours and you should feel free to experiment over time.  While you’re exploring, try to taste the wine and the food separately, think about each part’s specific flavours and characteristics and only then taste them both and try to figure out what works and what doesn’t.

In the last couple of years I’ve heard quite often that the old rule of thumb of pairing red meats with red wines and white wines with white meats is no longer fashionable. And even though the pairing rules have changed over time, it’s not something that is based on random trends. The goal of pairing wines and dishes is to maximize your experience with both of them, and that’s why it’s important to consider aspects such as: acidity, sweetness, bitterness or weight.

But where did all this begin? Well, just as for everything that lasts in time, it started with a basic need. The truth is that way back in the past, when mankind had very limited ways of filtering water, wine was simply the cleaner alternative, so it became naturally associated with food. And some of the ”classic” associations derived from the correlation of wine produced in the region and that region’s specific diet. For example, lamb was a very frequent dish in Europe in the past, including in regions like Bordeaux, Greece, Rioja, Rhone and Provence, and that’s the main reason why red wines produced in those regions are still paired with lamb.

However, not all of these matches have been kept as such. Today, specialists consider an array of more refined criteria and base their decisions on the complementarity or contrast between certain characteristics of the wine and the dish. In other words, a wine and a dish make a good match only if they share a trait (for example, the subtle note of a certain spice in a wine and the presence of that spice in the dish), or if they are complete opposites, in order for each to emphasize the other.

So what characteristics are taken into account? Since we are all very different and we perceive reality in different ways it wouldn’t be fair to consider those traits that are very subjective to the sensory glands of the taste buds. Wine is not made exclusively for sommeliers and the rest of us could simply not be able to perceive a subtle note of pineapple or melon in a wine. However, we can all perceive basic tastes: sourness (correlated with the wine’s acidity), sweetness (derived from the residual sugar in the fruit and the fermentation process) and bitterness (a consequence of tannins). Also, we can all perceive hotness with ease, and this sensation in the back of our mouths is the ultimate judge when it comes to the wine’s body.

These are the most basic notions you need in order to start concluding what goes with what when it comes to wine and dishes. Keep an eye out for our next article, because we’ll be getting into more details about wine pairing.