With the Santa Barbara festival just a couple weeks away, we thought we'd give you a crash course in wine and food pairing. After all, not only will there be nearly 300 different wines, there will also be 20+ restaurants offering delicious delights.
While a lot of wine tasting and food pairing is left to the discretion of the tasters palate, pairing the right wine with the right dish can enhance the flavor experience of both the wine and the food.
Below is a brief crash course in the types of foods that go well with some of the most popular wine varietals:
- Cabernet Sauvignon: Hearty meats, pastas with heavy red sauce, sausage, dark chocolate
- Pinot Noir: Lighter meats like pork, salmon, mushroom risotto
- Syrah: Richly flavored meats like lamb, grilled meats and veggies, stews
- Zinfandel: Spicier foods, pizza, hamburgers, gamey meats
- Chardonnay: Seafood and shellfish, risotto, pasta with heavy cream sauce
- Sauvignon Blanc: Mussels and clams, grilled chicken, summer salads
- Pinot Gris: Pasta primavera, pesto pasta or pizza
- Viognier: Light Asian cuisine like Thai or Vietnamese, seafood and shellfish
With so many different mixing and matching going on, it may be hard to remember what goes with what. An easy rule of thumb is to match the flavors of the wines with the flavors of the food. Rich, heavy wines pair well with rich and heavy cuisine, whereas lighter wines with lighter style foods.
Stay tuned when next time we focus specifically on what cheeses go with what wines.
Cheers and bon appetit!
