Easy Food & Wine Pairings Explained (by a food loving winemaker)

After a tasting, I’ll send my guests a thank you note with a specific ask: “When you get home and uncork one of my bottles, please share with me your favorite food/wine pairing.” Not only do I look to you, dear readers, for dinner inspiration but also I love your creativity and stunning bottle shots. But this got me thinking, “Are newer wine drinkers intimidated by my request?” Surely I hope not, but that being said, food and wine pairings can be endlessly (needlessly) fussy or simple as pie. I fall into the latter category. Anything too precious undermines the joy of that 1+1=3 moment, when your cooking makes my wine better and my wines make your meal sing. So here are a few easy peasy food and wine pairing guidelines from a winemaker, a working mom who needs get dinner on the table, accompanied by an appropriate glass of wine.  

It Depends on the Vibe

I recently hosted a lovely young couple, newish to wine, who were gobsmacked by how different my Torrey Hill Vineyard Russian River Valley pinot noir tasted from my Soberanes Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands pinot noir. “I like them both,” he reflected. “It just depends on the vibe.” This is sage advice for food/wine pairings. Let the vibe be your guide.

When the Vibe is Chill & Breezy

I’d argue that most anything pairs with a rose of pinot noir. Tender greens + watermelon + feta? Uncork rose. Puff pastry appetizers topped with chevre or salmon mousse? Uncork rose. How about a grilled salmon burger? Roasted veggie pasta? Bulgur wheat salad? Yes, yes, and yes.

So, what makes a dry rose so versatile you ask? Well, a dry rose showcases the best of both worlds: the zippy, food loving acidity of white wine AND the lovely, cran-raspberry palette of a lighter bodied red. Furthermore, you’ll never go wrong uncorking rose alongside a big platter of charcuterie, olives, roasted nuts, and cheesy nibbles. Frankly, you don’t even need a platter. I usually eat prosciutto directly from the package.

Like with Like

A matchy-matchy food wine pairing is known as a “congruent pairing.” It’s defined as the balance created when food and wine together amplify shared flavor compounds. One example includes uncorking a savory wine alongside umami hits like sauteed mushrooms. You might even broaden the “like with like” adage by considering texture. For example, match a lighter bodied protein with a lighter bodied red wine. Let’s dive deeper.

Lighter Bodied Proteins with Lighter Bodied Reds

Lighter meats, like pork, salmon, or even tuna, pair well with lighter bodied reds like pinot noir. The recent Santa Lucia Highlands Sun, Wind, and Wine event featured a dazzling array of food options to pair alongside SLH’s iconic pinot noirs. Chefs whipped up salmon poke bowls

Salmon Poke Bowl - image courtesy of SLH Winegrowers

and ahi bites

Ahi Bites- image courtesy of SLH Winegrowers

to perfectly compliment the pinot noir of the region. A fuller bodied and more savory-style pinot noir matches the umami meatiness of a tuna steak. It’s a “like with like” congruent food and wine pairing. Actually, pinot noir is among the most versatile food wines. I’m not being biased, since I make 6 single vineyard pinots. Experts agree. Read on!

Pinot Noir Pairs with Many Foods

In their excellent food and wine pairing article, authors at Wine Enthusiast advise pairing pinot noir alongside meals as varied as:

Pork Chops with Pinot Noir Demi-Glace

Portobello and Red Pepper Burgers

Grilled Salmon with Olive Butter and Orzo

These menus ALL sound delicious. But technically speaking, why does it work? Well, because pinot noir is a light to medium bodied red wine with good acid and low tannin. Juicy acid cuts through excessive fattiness (think zippy wine + rich cheese). Low tannin diminishes the bitterness factor. Less bitter = more versatile. More bitter = limited options.

And About that Porterhouse…

Grilled tri-tip (no, not a Porterhouse!)- photo courtesy of SLH Winegrowers

The “classic” gold standard is pairing a bold, full throttle cabernet sauvignon with a marbled, butter drenched porterhouse. Cabernet sauvignon is typically a high tannin varietal. Tannins are bitter, and only a richly marbled porterhouse can tame cabernet’s palate grinding tannins. Ah ha! Enter the contrasting food-wine pairing principle.

Creating Contrasts

A contrasting pairing creates balance by contrasting tastes and flavors. This is why a prime aged beef tenderloin is so freaking good alongside high tannin cabernet! But this concept also applies to pairing a rich, decadent scallop with a high acid, Sonoma Coast chardonnay. A scallop is rich, sensuous, and fatty. The high acid wine offers a flavor contrast.

Scallop ceviche- image courtesy of SLH Winegrowers

The same holds true for pairing sweet, butter drenched lobster claw with a something zippy. That said, I suppose you could also pair that same lobster with a full bodied, “buttery” chardonnay, making it a like with like congruent pairing. And so we’ve come full circle.

Consider Your Flavor Components

Break foods down into fat, acid, salt, bitter, sweet, and texture. Understanding this principle, apply congruent (same same) or contrasting (opposites attract) wines as you see fit. Common sense tells you that a very light bodied white wine won’t do justice to veal chop. Nor will a Bordeaux blend be satisfying alongside delicate Dover sole. But a smokey, fatty, bacon topped cheeseburger is awfully good alongside zinfandel.

Wow- look at that, a 2015 Rockpile!

Pair the Wine to the Sauce

Pairing barbecue is actually somewhat tricky. Your best bet is to pair the wine to the sauce. Flavor elements include fat, sweet, salt, spice, and even a little bit of acid. Complicated, right? Luckily spice and fruit forward zinfandel pairs swimmingly with barbecue sauce slathered meats (and dry rub, too!). Naturally, barbecue ribs are another classic zin partner.

I remember those ribs…excellent!

Smokey meaty flavors are great with zin. Anything slow braised sings with zin. Meaty goodness travels hand-in-hand with zinfandel. If you crave a bougier like/like pairing, uncork a rustic, savory, rich zinfandel alongside a rustic, savory rich pate. As the editors at Food and Wine remind us, zin pairs stunningly with pate, chicken liver mousse, or a layered terrine.

One More Pitch for Pinot

I’d be remiss if I failed to point out the simplistic beauty of a fried, savory falafel bite alongside a sip of pinot noir. Here’s another food-wine stand out from our recent SLH event.

Crispy Falafel Bites - Image courtesy of SLH Winegrowers

Flummoxed by Salty?

What is the ultimate bottle to uncork alongside fried chicken, potato chips, or even salty popcorn? The answer is Champagne. The combination of high acid and carbonation clears your palate and balances the salt. I recently opened bubbles with Arielle Nir Mamiye’s recipe for crispy za’atar chicken. Perfection!

Crispy Za’atar Chicken

Be a Sweetie

Olive Oil Cake- recipe NYT

Dessert wines are delicious and need not be a complicated food/wine mystery. You already know I fancy my late harvest viognier alongside a crunchy, orange scented biscotti. Dessert wines are also classic with cheese, like stilton or even fatty/savory options, like foie gras. I’ll humbly add Samantha Seneviratne’s luscious olive oil cake to the mix. Her subtly sweet and unctuously moist crumb is heaven alongside any dessert wine that prizes sweet with some acid. And oh, that just so happens to describe my very own late harvest viognier!

There Are No Wrong Answers

If you like it, then it’s perfect. Your 1+1=3 combination may be different from mine. And that’s OK. Since we consume 365 dinners/year, we have ample opportunities to experiment and fine tune our food-wine pairings. Happy cooking. Happy sipping!

Kerith & Bruno, Sun, Wind, and Wine 2024 - photo courtesy of SLH Winegrowers

but wait, there’s more

Looking to score some library wines of your own? While that iconic 2015 Rockpile zin is long sold out, we intend to release a small (SMALL) number of library wines in the upcoming summer release starting on June 3rd. If you enjoy library wines, please stay tuned!

Finally, if you’ve read all the way through to the end I do have a small favor to ask. As a fan of Bruliam Wines, it would help me tremendously if you could post a Google review recounting your favorite Bruliam experience - be it at the winery, a restaurant, a tasting, or just opening a delicious bottle at home. Every 5-star review helps. Please click here to add your review!