Matching food and wine is little like introducing friends – you hope they’ll hit it off but you really get nervous in case they don’t. What a pleasure it is when they take to each other. It’s well worth the effort – a successful pairing of food and Australian wine, whether simple nibbles, a modest dinner of full blown dinner party, will more than double the pleasure they provide individually.

As with people, the basic trick is to match like with like, and occasionally take a gamble that opposites will attract.

Rules are made to be broken

There is a lot of sense to the “rule” that red wines go with red meats and cheeses and that white wines go with fish and white meats such as chicken. But sometimes it can be great fun and rewarding to break the rules and get away with it. It helps to create flair and style. You can really make people sit up if you offer, say, an oaked Chardonnay with a light, soft cheese such as brie or even a mild cheddar.

There’s a reason for the success of this unorthodox pairing. Under the surface, cheese and wine have things in common – the refreshing acid from the fruit in the Chardonnay match the lactic acid in the cheese, and both have an essential creaminess. However the science doesn’t matter, apart from the reassurance that there is a simple reason, rather than just magic – the important thing is how it tastes to you and your friends.

Similarly, you can pair red with fish. At a barbecue for example, a lighter style red such as Grenache Shiraz or Merlot would team wonderfully with a char-grilled snapper or a tuna steak lightly marinated in lime juice.

Weight for it

A good rule of thumb is to think of food and wine combinations in terms of “weight”. Think of a dish as light, medium or full bodied, then team it with its wine counterpart. A lemon tart with a Riesling or Semillon Chardonnay will zap the palate with zingy, citrus flavours. Whereas a full bodied Australian Shiraz would team beautifully with roasted lamb or beef.

Making the ideal partnership also depends not just on the food itself, but how it’s prepared. It’s helpful to match like with like – light lemony sauces on fish or chicken calls for the gentle citrus flavours of Riesling, Semillon Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay. Spicy, peppery Grenache Shiraz would be perfect to accompany a subtly curried dish or peppery stew.

 
Australian Wine topics:

» Australian Wine Growing Regions
» Australian Red Wine Varieties
» Australian White Wine Varieties
» Making Australian Wine
» Australian Wine Evaluation and Tasting
» Serving and Storing Wine
» Matching Australian Wine with Food
» Australian Wine and Health
» Glossary of Australian Wine Terms