what's the best wine with food?

Question

i enjoy drinking casually, or a nice martini after dinner. but i dont know much about wine at all, and from what ive tried its pretty bitter tasting. so whats the big fuss of wine lovers? what are good sweet tasting wines, and what kind of foods go with what kind of wine?

Answer 1

Wine is a very personal thing, especially because of individuals taste. When done correctly, wine pairing can make an amazing meal. Wine pairing is about matching taste of the wine with tastes of the food. For example, garlicy-seafood dishes are best with a Rose wine, where a hearty pepper steak would be nicely complimented by either a shiraz or a chardonnay. It is not always red wine for red meat, and white wine for white meat. You want to match flavors. So, red wines tend to be drier and match very will with sweet things, like chocolate. White wines, especially chardonny match cheeses. However, different vineyard's chardonays will taste different. A good way to start learning about pairing what you enjoy, would be to go to a restaurant and decide what you want to eat. Then, ask the server for wine suggestions. If they do not know, they will get someone who does. They will typically make a suggestion and tell you why i.e. "I would suggest a chardonnay for the balsamic tenderloin alfredo because the oakiness will compliment the balsimic nicely, while the creaminess of the sauce will compliument the butteriness of the chardonnay." Try something new everytime and soon you'll be apiring your own meals. Have fun and try everything!

Answer 2

If you don't like the bitterness, then stay away from dry wines. Don't do red wine or any dry wine or dry champagne (sparkling wine). Try some of the lighter white wines or blushes to get started. Or, stick with dessert wines as they are very sweet. I've recently started drinking wines with dessert when out. I tried one just over the weekend with a creme brulee and it was excellent. It was Icebees 2005 Vidal Icewine.

This may not be the popular thought, but in spite of the wine rules, drink what you like. If you really love a certain white wine, drink it with your steak. What's most important is that your drink of choice enhances your meal for YOU.

Answer 3

In general a red wine goes with a heavy hearty meal. White wine complements lighter dishes. The sweetest wine is Riesling, German Riesling is my favorite. Usually a liquor store in your area with a large wine department has someone there that can help you find a wine in your budget and something that you might like. As far as the wine to match the meal, drink what you like because if your not a wine connoisseur then you probably won't develop a taste for many different kinds anyways.

Answer 4

I agree with Veronica & Guiness personally. I didn't like wine when I first started out. But I just really started tasting everything. I personally do not like sweet wine and I am surprised if you like a nice martini that you enjoy sweet wine and dislike anything bitter. I personally think martini's taste like lighter fluid.

Sweet wines are extremely difficult to pair with food of any kind. Except maybe some port/dessert wines that go well with desserts.

That said, i personally find the following wines to be the most food friendly:

red - sangiovese, zinfandel (red not that pink stuff), shiraz/syrah
white - sauv blanc, chardonnay, viognier, pinot grigo/gris
rose - dry rose (not white zinfandel)
sparkling wine - most all sparkling wine, especially blanc de noirs and rose pair wonderfully with food

You need to be careful when you say you like a sweet wine. to most of us who work in the wine industry that immediately makes me think of either port dessert wine or white zinfandel, gewuztraminer or riesling (not all rieslings are sweet though). However, if you mean something fruity, not dry or bitter, that's an entirely different animal. I once had a glass of red zinfandel that literally tasted like I was drinking a glass of liquid black berry jam. it was amazing.

Best advise, go to some wine bars and just try stuff out. if you know specific wines you don't like tell the server that. And they might be able to steer you in a different direction.

Good Luck

Answer 5

Sweet wine questions are asked on answers numerous times a day. You might want to use the search box and look for "sweet wines" to get some additional recommendations.

The sweetest wines are dessert wines. These will be ice wines, late harvest wines, and ports. These are typically easy to find in any supermarket wine section or liquor store. They range from being disgustingly sweet to being fabulously citrusy or vanilla-y with a hint of sweet.

From there, white wines that are sweet include a non-dry Reisling, Viognier, Muscat, and Gewurtztraminer. Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Fume Blanc, and similar whites are not typically sugary sweet. Generally, the cheaper, the more sweet. And be aware that it is difficult to pair "sweet" wines with foods. They work well with spicy Asian or spicy Indian, but they tend to overpower other types of food.

Frequently, beginners confuse "sweet" with fruity or "not dry". Red wines are not traditionally sweet unless they are the cheap wines with flavours added. You can find non-dry red wines that have fruity undertones, like Zinfandel and Shiraz/Syrah. These will frequently have a flavours of plum, cherry, black currant, and rich dark fruits. Steer clear of inexpensive cabs.

Some to try:

Maryhill Viognier
Maryhill Gewurtz
Fetzer Gewurtz
Allegro Muscat (in a cool tall bottle)
Sineann late harvest Zin
Reuscher Haart Reisling
Six Prong Red
Cycles Gladiator Syrah

The next best thing to do is to start attending tastings. Most wine shops have them, so start going. This may help you understand "the fuss". Write down wines that you like and what you like about them. Also, do the converse. If one tastes like dirt, write down that's why you don't like it. Don't get hyperbolic and write things like "it tastes like gasoline" or simply "it sucks" as you'll never be able to pinpoint what it is that you are disliking. Once you have your list, talk to the shop person about it. Have them help you pick something out that has the traits that you like while avoiding the traits that you don't.

As far as what goes with what, you pair the richness and you counter the sweetness/dryness.


Good luck and have fun!

Answer 6

It took me a couple of years to get my palette trained to accept 'bitter' in with all the other marvelous flavors and aromas of a good wine.

That's not to say that some cheap/bad wines may be *really* bitter -- I don't know what you've been drinking.

If you want to start drinking wine, to learn to enjoy it, start with sweet whites, then gradually expand your tastebuds. Try dry whites next, then sweet rose's and fruitier reds, then finally, graduate to full-bodied reds -- the ones with those bitter tannins that hold every other flavor in. Don't rush this journey -- let it take a year.

Rent the movie "French Kiss" and watch the scene where Kevin Kline lets Meg Ryan smell the little bottles of aromas, while at his home in France and listen to that explanation of what wine is all about.

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Answer 7

Which wine you want to drink with a particular food is always a personal choice. However, there are some guidelines that will help a person choose wines that go well with certain foods. Check out this online guide: http://www.cheers2wine.com/food-and-wine.html

Answer 8

Rieslings are the best food pairing wine in the world and don't have a bitter taste. They usually range from slightly sweet to sweet and many are inexpensive.

Try: Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling available at http://www.ste-michelle.com/ OR "River Guide White" at http://www.troonvineyard.com/

Answer 9

The "rule of thumb" is white wine with fish and poultry, red wine with pasta and pork and Burgundy (room temp) with steak. If all the wine you are tasting has been bitter then you aren't buying the correct thing. A nice chardonnay (Kendall Jackson is nice and not too pricey) is never bitter and can be fabulous with some real good cheese and apple slices.... before giving up do a little more research.

Answer 10

If you drink sweet wine, you are going to have a tough time pairing it with food.

If you don't understand the the big "fuss" about wine, try this.

Open up a bottle of Cabernet Savignon and drink it with a peice of Lindt dark chocolate.

After trying that you will understand why people pair wine with food.