Joining wine and food

Joining wine and food isn't as complicated as it sounds. First and foremost, joining wine and food is an experience that you can alter yourself according to your own tastes, says Eddie Osterland, Master Sommelier.

If you choose wisely, a wine is much rather a spice than a drink. Much like salt and pepper, or a drop of lemon on fish, wine magnifies the flavour of the meal. When you mix food and wine, the objective is to produce a synergy. Synergy is by definition the interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects.. In this particular case the aim is to obtain the maximum flavour from various meals. Have you ever tried eating meat alongside fries? It's exactly the same outcome. In order to properly experience synergy you will have to taste the food alongside some wine. You will therefore enjoy a more complex gustatory experience.

Some basic rules in joining wine and food:

1. Mix simple meals with simple wines. Put things in perspective. Wine and food should not compete with each other and the key word is balance.

2. However, opposite poles attract each other. Thus, you should try mixing opposite flavours, for instance: salt and sugar, a wine for dessert and some old cheese, or a Riesling and some smoked salmon.

3. Red wines are perfect with barbecue; however, not any red wine. Moreover, the simpler the meal, the better. Nevertheless, a sauce can change the association from a variety to another. For instance, beef barbecue with some green pepper sauce is perfect with a Syrah, and if you try basil and tomatoes sauce you will see that it is perfect with Cabernet Sauvignon. The truth is, however, that we mustn't generalise. Each wine has its personality and each meal has its beauty.

4. You always have to be careful with dessert wines. Always make sure that the dessert you mix the wine with, is not as sweet as the wine. Most desserts tend to ruin the sweet wine due to the fact that they are high in sugar.

These are only basic suggestions. Because wines have become more complex and so have meals, we recommend that you mix whatever meal you like with a wine to your liking.