HARMONIZATION

Pairing wine and food is not always easy, but there are some techniques that are quite simple to apply.. 

These are the 6 basic principles to take into account when pairing food and wine:

  1. The acidity in wine pairs well with fatty and sweet foods. 
  2. Fatty foods need an acidic or high-alcohol wine. Otherwise, the wine will taste flat. 
  3. Bitter wine must be balanced with sweet food. 
  4. Salty shouldn't compete with acidity in a wine. Use sparingly, if necessary, to maintain the sharpness in the meal. 
  5. Sweet foods/wines benefit from a little acidity.
  6. Alcohol can be used to cut down on fatty foods or balance out a sweet dish.

Structure

One of the basic rules is the harmony and balance between wine and food. Therefore, we must pay attention to the structure of the two elements, so that the dish and the wine do not overlap.

  • Light dishes combine with lighter and fresher wines – for a seafood salad, the best wine will be a light and fresh white.
  • More structured and spicy dishes should be combined with more full-bodied wines – cod in the oven calls for a more structured white wine or a light red. A succulent and well-seasoned piece of lamb calls for a complex red.

Contrast

The principle of contrast also works very well in harmonization. There are some rules to keep in mind, listed below:

  • Acid + Acid – unlike bitter, acidity can be added to food and wine. 
  • Sweet + Salty - a combination of a sweet wine and a salty meal will likely delight you.
  • Bitter + Bitter – bitter doesn’t go with more bitter, and it’s the main reason why red wines and chocolate don’t mix.
  • Bitter + Buttery – The fat in food helps to soften the tannins in red wines, making them less dry and astringent.
  • Acid + Buttery – A drink with a high acid content will add a variety of interesting flavors to a fatty dish.
General Tips
  • Start by serving the lightest wines and work your way up to the more complex ones. And keep in mind, lighter dishes call for lighter and fresher wines and more structured dishes call for more complex and full-bodied wines.
  • Strongly acidic seasonings in food (eg vinegar and lemon) can make the dish too acidic. In these cases, we must harmonize the food with even more acidic wines, in order to prevent the wines from seeming less intense and tasty. The same goes for food paired with sweet wines. The wine must always be sweeter otherwise it will seem flat.
  • Spicy food should be paired with fruity, slightly sweet and alcoholic wines to neutralize the spicy taste. Just as bitter food calls for less complex wines, with few tannins, as they intensify the bitter taste.
  • Salty food attenuates the tannins in wines, softening them and making them more neutral. However, salt must be used in a balanced way.
  • The wine used in the preparation of the dishes must be of high quality and, preferably, the same wine that will be served with the meal. In this way, the food will have a more refined taste.