Which wine goes with which food?
Choosing the right wine to accompany a meal can seem complicated. Why does one wine taste good with a particular dish, while another does not? However, these basic rules make pairing wine and food much easier. In our article, Liebherr wine expert and master sommelier Frank Kämmer introduces you to the basics of food and wine pairing.
The key points
- The harmony of flavours is crucial, while the harmony of aromas plays a complementary role.
- Important factors include haptic properties such as body and astringency.
Wine with food – list of contents
It’s the taste that counts, not the aroma
Many wine lovers go to great lengths to match the aroma of the wine to the aroma of the dish, for example, pairing a particularly fruity wine with a fruity curry or a red wine with a black olive aroma with Mediterranean-spiced lamb. This is fundamentally correct, but it is actually putting the cart before the horse.
Much more important than the harmony of flavours is the harmony of the original taste sensations, which, as we know, can only be distinguished in five directions: sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami (protein taste).
With tactile properties for the perfect wine accompaniment
The tactile properties of the grape juice, such as body, the astringency caused by tannic acid and the perceptible “warmth” of the alcohol content, are also important factors in the selection of wines.
The harmony of taste is therefore virtually a “must”, while the harmony of the aroma becomes a “bonus”. And if you have mastered the former, you can hardly go wrong with the latter.
Meet the author
Frank Kämmer
I have worked for many years in high-end restaurants and during this time became one of the top sommeliers in Europe. In 1996, I achieved the title of Master Sommelier; the highest international qualification in my profession. Today, I primarily work as a consultant in the international wine and gastronomy sector. I have also published numerous books on wines and spirits and was the first German to be accepted into the British Circle of Wine Writers.
