Choosing The Best Wine For Your Meal

Which wine goes with which food? The answer is both simple and complicated all at the same time. As a basic rule of thumb, the color of the meat should match the color of the wine. However, there are some exceptions. Where as roasted chicken goes well with a Chardonnay, a spicy chicken dish will be complemented by a good Zinfandel or even a Cabernet. The tannins in the wine will help to cleanse your palate, and improve the taste of the dish. Pork, known as “the other white meat”, also pairs well with white wines. Chardonnay always seems to be the choice for most people. This wine goes wonderfully with grilled or roasted chicken. However, a medium-sweet Riesling, or Pinot Grigio goes spectacularly with BBQ chicken and will only lend itself to bring through the different spices in the sauce.

Fish is another oddity when trying to choose a wine. Light textured fish such as Sole or Snapper go well with a Sauvignon Blanc, even more so if prepared with lemons or in a lemon sauce. Tuna is bold fish, and as such needs a bold wine to go with it. Chardonnay is the perfect solution to this problem, and doubly so if the tuna is served in a butter sauce. Salmon is an entirely different animal. It’s big flavor and heavy texture call for an entirely different approach. A Pinot Noir or Burgundy are excellent choices for this fish. Both of their underlying tones of strawberry and raspberry compliment the fish while still having the underlying structure to keep up with the salmon’s boldness. If the consumer is an ABC drinker (Anything But Chardonnay) this is an excellent selection. Some people can’t stomach anything but white wine with fish, Pinot Gris is another choice that goes well with salmon. The honeydew melon and kiwi notes will make the flavor of the salmon pop across the palate.

Now, West Texans, they eat steak. A lot of steak. This food is the primary choice for cookouts, especially when it is for a summertime get together. Nothing compliments a good steak like a good bottle of red wine. Cabernet, Merlot, Malbec, Shiraz, or Zinfandel, at least one of these is essential to the enjoyment of a good steak. People’s taste in wine is as varied as the way they eat their steak. Some people like their steaks cooked rare, while some like them well done. Some people love a dry wine, while others prefer a sweet, or at least semi-dry wine. Steak requires a dry, or at the very minimum, a semi-dry wine. The tannins, which come both from the grapes and the wooden barrels in which the wine is aged, provide a great flavor and help cleanse your palate. These tannins strip the tongue of the fats from the beef, leaving the mouth ready for more.

Desserts are the perfect end to a perfect meal, and like other foods, have their own wines that pair with them. Chocolate, or any chocolate based dessert, especially dark rich chocolates, favor a Sparkling Rose, or Sparkling Moscato wine. The addition of a few bubbles will tickle the nose and the taste buds.

All this being said, there is one rule that trumps all other rules on wine selection: “Find a wine you like, and drink it.”

Looking for liquor, wine, beer and spirits in the Amarillo or Perryton area? Contact M&R Liquor today! For those in Amarillo, give us a call at (806) 358-4726 and for those in Perryton, give us a call at (806) 648-3330. You can also Contact Us via email with any questions you may have. Be sure to check out our specials! You could find your next favorite drink.