Why do people think wine pairs well with food?
Honestly, the acidity and sourness, especially of Red Wine, overpowers the food I eat.
I think it’s just a trend that everyone blindly follows.
Water or a crisp lager beer goes much better with a nice steak / rack of lamb or any food.
Tagged with: acidity • lager beer • rack of lamb • red wine
Filed under: All Things Wine
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Well maybe its all down to your taste buds if people are always doing it they must enjoy it simple as!
If the flavor of the wine overpowers the food that you’re eating, then that means you’re pairing them wrong. I’m not a wine snob — that’s too much work, when I’d rather be drinking a beer anyway — so I don’t know how to pair wines either but I’ve got wino and chef friends who combine things that really complement each other.
Basically, all I know is that a mellow red wine brings out the flavor of a good steak. With each bite of meat, a film begins to cover your tongue and your taste buds don’t work so well with each successive bite. ("The first bite of the apple is always the best.") The acid in the wine dissolves this film so you can keep enjoying that steak… as long as you have the properly balanced one in a million bottle of wine to go with that exact steak. This is an important science!
On the other hand, you just can’t go wrong with a good beer.
metabolism.
I only like to drink Cherry Pepsi when i eat.
every food (and pretty much every situation) has something that can go well with it, liquor wise (except operating any sort of vehicle, since the loss of mechanical skills and quick reflexes). that’s why no one drinks a dark merlot on a hot ass summer day. they drink a refreshing beer. i am not a wine expert but i do know its not a fad. i used to work in the liquor industry, but i really specialized in beer.
if you want to know more about wines and food, go find a grocery store that has a wine stewart/stewartess. they can help you with picking a good wine with each meal, or beer, in some cases. i find wine to be like beer. i don’t drink super dark beers like guinness with turkey because all i’ll taste is beer. and if i’m having something at a bar to eat, like pizza, maybe an amber or lager (but never domestic).
alcohol is a great thing to get interested in. its cool and fun and everyone likes it. keep an open mind.
Maybe you’re not pairing the right food. The right wine compliments and enhances a meal. For big reds, you need big sauces and heavy flavors to stand up to the tannin and acidity. That’s why you traditionally pair Chianti (mostly Sangiovese) with foods like spaghetti.
As for a "trend", you’re talking about a culinary tradition that goes back centuries. That’s a bit more than some trendy following. I think the question is: why don’t you put more effort into understanding wine rather than bashing it? Or just skip wine altogether if it isn’t for you.
If you’re finding acidity too high in wine, it begs to question…what wine are you drinking?
Very cheap wine (think under $5) will often do that.
That being said, there is plenty drinkable wine being made in that price range, choosing wine from areas which have higher degrees of ripeness in their fruit sounds like it would be a good fit for your palate. That means stick to California, Italy, Spain, Chile and Argentina.
Without knowing more about what you’re drinking it’s impossible to say.
Of course, it could simply be personal taste.
FOOD
The problem is not if wine pairs well with food but which wine is the perfect pairing…
One of the greatest italian sommeliers used to talk of "marriage of love" referring to food and wine pairings.
When you choose a wine to go with your meal you should follow some basic rules.
You need to know the characteristics of both food and wine to find the correct pairing: to give you a hint keep always in mind wine should always balance the food. For example with a nice steak, sweet and succulent, you need a young red wine, medium bodied and rich in tannins, that helps to dry your mouth.
If the wine overpowers the food you eat, the problem is that probably you have chosen the wrong one.
Always keep in mind that you should follow sensations given by the food you are eating and choose a wine that not overcomes food taste.
I can’t explain here all the rules to pair food and wine but I’ve written a whole bunch of guides that can help you finding the correct pairing.
Just follow the link below to read all the paring guides
A good pairing will enhance the taste of the food and vice versa. One can create a situation where the final pairing is greater than the sum of its parts.
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Well, why does peanut butter go well with Jelly? Or, why does the beer you mentioned go well with what you said it pairs with? Because of the taste and because of your past experience.
However, it is extremely true that if you have a wine that overpowers the food you are eating, it’s the wrong wine. And, if it’s sour, it’s bad wine. Wine should NEVER be sour, wine snob or not.
For example:
Chicken = Pinot Grigio or a Sauvignon Blanc. If you choose a Chardonnay, it may overpower the chicker a little as Chard is a much fuller bodied wine.
Turkey - goes well with the same as above and even a Gamay Beaujolais (Red), but if you have a Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot or a Zinfandel with Turkey, it’s way too much.
Steak - on the other hand, I wouldn’t choose a white wine, other than Chardonnay with a Steak, because the meal would overpower the wine. My preference is a heavy Pinot Noir, Cab, Zin or Merlot (or even a Malbec) with a steak.
Wine is not about snobbery and I find it pretty funny the "battle" between the beer drinkers and the wine drinkers. Just drink what you like in the end - if it’s beer, cool! Go for it!