The food and wine pairing, remains for any neophyte, amateur or professional a real headache regardless of the dish. The "good" food and wine pairing corresponds to the search for a complementarity of flavors by responding and enriching themselves. The main rule to remember: the wine served should never make you regret the previous one.
In order to impress your customers or guests, it is necessary to respect some important points, without making it a generality because each culinary preparation remains unique:
For the aperitif:
An effervescent wine (Champagne, Crémant, ...) or a mineral white wine (Muscadet, Menetou-Salon, ...) to be combined with iodine or even spicy flavors, or bites based on cheese.
For entry:
White wines and rosés will be featured on most starters such as pies, cakes, mini pizzas, donuts and other puff pastry.
For fish:
As for fish and seafood, they are served with a dry white wine. Indeed, the fish is a delicate dish that would be quickly spoiled by a tannic or woody red. For most seafood, such as oysters and for oily fish, choose a white wine that has not been farmed in barrels, so as not to crush the flavors.
For meats:
The chosen piece, the cooking of the meat and the sauces that accompany it are just as important in the choice of your wine. For lamb, prefer a full-bodied and mature red for a fruity and tannic red for beef. For poultry, a light red wine and little tannic, ideal also on pork. Finally for duck, prefer a powerful red wine, tannic and spicy, which will also suit a game but with a more important evolution.
For cheese:
Contrary to tradition, red wine is not a must with cheese. The best pairings are made with white wine (there are as many types of cheese as white wines that can match), because the richness of the cheese brings out the tannins of some red wines. If you really care about reds, it's best to opt for a low tannic, light, supple and ghoulish red.
For desserts:
To find the right wine and dessert pairing, pair sweet wines whose colour is closest to the dishes. For example: a mild tannic red wine (Maury) with a dark chocolate dessert, a sweet wine amber with caramel, muscats and exotic fruits go hand in hand thanks to their respective aromatic richness or opt for a fruity effervescent if you prefer them red fruits.
The Vinothèque team stays at your disposal every day to match your dishes, do not hesitate to contact them on 00352 49 89 582