What Dads Need To Know About Pairing Wine With Food
It’s a common enough scenario – you are out on a romantic date night, you are staring at an unfamiliar menu and the waiter is hovering over you waiting for your wine order. It seems like an interminable waiting time, and you are desperate to make a good impression on your wife or partner as an accomplished guy who can take charge of any situation.
The food order seems easy enough, but man, you are really getting dazed and confused by the wine menu.
What do you do? Should you order a robust red wine, a dry white, a rose? Is a Burgundy wine red or white, sweet or dry? You don’t’ read French or Italian, the wine names look like gobbledygook.
It can be summed up by this joke “What wine goes with Captain Crunch?” -George Carlin
And in the meantime, the waiter is still…well. Waiting. Your face is starting to turn red as you feel that the whole restaurant is staring at you
Help is at hand, we at Everything For Dads are here to rescue you (and your shattered) ego from this nightmare. Read on for a quick easy guide to wine and food pairing.
Wine paring doesn’t have to be complicated
1. Worry about your food preference first, before you choose the wine. Whether you are an enthusiastic steak eater (in which you can learn how to choose a good steakhouse at this website), a vegetarian or pescetarian, it’s all about the food.
There is a certain logic to this – if you choose the wrong wine, you’ll still have your delicious favorite food to eat.
If you choose a wine that you know and like, even if it doesn’t go with well the food you’ll still be able to enjoy your drink. Just take a bite of bread, or drink some water between your eating and drinking of your wine.
2. Think about the richness and weight of your food, then choose a wine to match. This rather than the actual food itself. Try to balance the weight (oven fired, baked or seared dishes would be regarded as weightier, for example), and richness of the food with the wine. They should be equal partners in the meal.
3. Remember the basic rules about the components of wine. Now, there are myriad variations, but if you memorize these basics and you’ll be on the right track:
a) Red wines tend to be sharper and more bitter in taste
b) White wines, Rose wines and Sparkling wines tend to be more acidic
c) Red and White Sweet wines are…you got it, sweet!
The stronger the weight and richness of the dish, the stronger and more robust the wine should be to match. In general, the sauce may well govern the correct choice. A heavy rich flavor will lend itself towards a soft flavorful red wine, whereas a lighter creamy sauce will be better complemented by a lighter red wine or a white.
Why not experiment at home before you face the stress of choosing in a restaurant. If you want to find amazing wines online, click here now and you’ll see how wide the world of wine really is, you need not spend a fortune to enjoy delicious wines.
With a little practice, by the time to go back to your favorite local restaurant down the road, that awkward waiter will be blown away by your new found knowledge and confidence in your choice of wine. No more embarrassment for you and your date!