Current Recipe | Previous Recipes | Current BYO Restaurant | Previous BYO Restaurants 
Wine & Food Affinties

Some Specific Wine and Food Combinations
 
BEEF
  • Bourgognon - Red Burgundy, medium Zinfandel, top Pinot Noir or Chianti
  • Curry - Big red Rhone, Zinfandel, Petite Sirah
  • Hamburger, Plain - Good Beaujolais, light red Zinfandel, Valpolicella or other soft light red
  • Hamburger, The Works - Medium/full Rhone, good Chianti, light/medium Cabernet
  • Meat Loaf - See Hamburger, Plain
  • Roast Beef - Good Rhone, Bordeaux, Cabernet, Chianti Riserva, Super Tuscan, Rioja Reserva
  • Steak au Poive - Good Bordeaux or Cabernet, Barolo or Barbaresco, Amarone, Super Tuscan
  • Stroganoff - See Hamburgers, Plain
  • Teriyaki - Medium Rhone, Medium Zinfandel, Chianti Classico

CHEESE

  • Blue cheeses - Chateauneuf du Pape, big Zinfandel, Sauternes, Port, Riesling
  • Brie & Camembert - Good red Burgundy/Pinot Noir, Gattinara, & good Rhone red are traditional, but I find that Brie especially makes all wine taste funny. Choose another cheese!
  • Chèvre - Sancerre, Pouilly Fumé, or other crisp Sauvignon Blanc
  • Fontina, Gouda, Bel Paese - Light reds (Valpolicella, Montepulciano, Rioja, Pinot Noir) or Italian whites
  • Stilton - Port, Australian Shiraz, Amarone
  • Swiss, Jarlsburg, Gruyere - Rioja, medium Bordeaux, medium Zinfandel, Merlot

COUSCOUS - Spanish white, Riesling, light red Rhone

CURRIES - Full Alsatian/California Gewürztraminer, full Riesling, dry rosé, full beer or ale. See also: Beef Curries if there is a fair amount of meat in the dish.

FOIS GRAS - French Sauternes is decadently rich and wonderful, Good red Bordeaux

HOT AND SPICY - Beer, blush wines (dry or off-dry rose's), Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc. For a red, try Beaujolais, a fruity Zinfandel or a fruity Pinot Noir.

 JAMBALAYA - Australian Shiraz, big, spicy California Zinfandel

 MARSALA AND MADEIRA SAUCES - Light/medium Bordeaux, good Chianti, Merlot, light to medium Zinfandel, Rioja

MEXICAN - Beer, Barbera, Chianti, drier white Zinfandel or dry rosé, Beaujolais. See also: Hot and Spicy

ORIENTAL

  • Cantonese - Beer, light Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc, Vouvray
  • Hunan, Szechuan, Thai, Indian, Malaysian - Full beer or ale, Full Alsatian/California Gewürztraminer, full Riesling, dry rosé, Pinot Gris, Vouvray
  • Sushi/Sashimi - Very dry Champagne, Mosel Riesling Kabinet, Alsatian Gewürztraminer or Riesling, Sake, Beer, Pinot Gris

PASTA - It's hard to believe, but this is a very controversial subject.

  • Red sauce - Requires a red wine, preferably Italian. The disagreement here is whether a light, medium or full-bodied red is appropriate. Try Barbera , Cabernet Franc, Montepulciano (d'Abruzzo or Rosso Conero), fruity Sangiovese (Chianti, Vino Nobile or Scansano Morellino). It gets worse with:
  • White sauces - Some would only serve a white wine, preferably Italian (Soave, Bianco di Custoza, Orvieto or Pinot Grigio). Some would only serve a light or medium red (Valpolicella, light Chianti, unoaked Barbera. Prosecco works well. Others would only serve a full-bodied red. Most red wine advocates would consider a white wine with clam sauce, however. Confused? So am I! Drink what you like, but consider a red wine, even with a white sauce.
  • Rich, heavy cream sauce -Try a crisp Pinot Bianco or Sauvignon Blanc from northern Italy.
  • Clams, mussels, scungilli, calamari, shrimp, crab or lobster - Need a crisp light/medium, low alcohol white such as Gavi, Verdicchio or the sparkling Prosecco. Red wines generally don't work here.
  • Pesto - Unoaked Sauvignon Blanc, Gavi, Arneis

PAELLA - Light/medium Spanish red, light Zinfandel, good Beaujolais, light Bordeaux

PIZZA - Calls for acidity to match the Sauce and ripe, sweet fruit for the cheese: Chianti, Barbera, medium Zinfandel (red, of course), Dolcetto and a light/medium Australian Shiraz. With Sausage or pepperoni: big dark southern Italian reds like Salice Salentino or Primitivo. With peppers: try an herbal Cabernet Franc!

POULTRY

  • Chicken Cacciatore - Light red Rhone, light Chianti, light red Zinfandel
  • Coq au Vin - Good red Burgundy, full Cabernet, Barolo or red Zinfandel
  • Duck a l'orange - Riesling, medium red Burgundy (Pinot Noir) or Rhone, light/medium red Zinfandel
  • Fried Chicken - Beaujolais, Valpolicella, Chianti, Sauvignon Blanc
  • Goose - Big Rhone, good red Burgundy or Pinot Noir, medium/full Zinfandel
  • Partridge or Quail - Good red Burgundy or Pinot Noir, medium Cabernet, good Chianti or Merlot
  • Pheasant - Good red Bordeaux, top Cabernet, top Chianti
  • Turkey - For that special Turkey dinner, a light to medium red is perfect. Consider a St. Emilion or Pomerol, a good red Burgundy or Pinot Noir, a medium Zinfandel, a sturdier Beaujolais Grand Cru or a Chinon. White wine is fine but you need a full flavored white Burgundy or Chardonnay. A flavorful dry Riesling or Gewürztraminer would also work very well.

QUICHE - Light Chardonnay, Macon, Alsatian Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Vouvray or Chenin Blanc

SEAFOOD

  • Coquilles St. Jacques - White Bordeaux, Sauvignon Blanc, Vouvray or Chenin Blanc
  • Crab - White Rhone or Bordeaux, Semillon, light Chardonnay, light Sauvignon Blanc (Loire or California)
  • Lobster - Sauvignon Blanc if using a simple preparation (drawn butter & lemon). Otherwise, try Viognier, Meursault or other fine white Burgundy, Vouvray Sec.
  • Oysters - French Chablis is traditional. Try a Spanish Albariño, white Graves, Muscadet or Sauvignon Blanc based wine from the Loire,California, or New Zealand.
  • Scallops - Light Chardonnay, Macon, Orvieto, dry rosé, Sauvignon Blanc (Loire,California, or New Zealand), Viognier
  • Shad with Roe - Rich Chardonnay, fine white Burgundy, white Rhone
  • Sole - Good Macon or Chablis, light/medium Chardonnay, white Graves, Sauvignon Blanc, Sancerre or Pouilly Fumé
  • Shrimp Tempura - White Graves, light Chardonnay, Alsatian Riesling
  • Smokey flavored seafood of any type - Viognier

SOUFFLÉ - Beaujolais, Valpolicella, light red Zinfandel, Sauvignon Blanc

VEAL BIRDS - Medium Zinfandel, Bordeaux, medium Cabernet

VENISON - Good red Bordeaux, big Cabernet, big red Rhone, big Zinfandel, Barolo, Barbaresco, Super Tuscan

If you have discovered other pairings that really work for you, please share them with us: feedback

General Wine and Food Combinations


E-Mail: beekman@conversent.net

Website Design ©Maron Marketing Consultants, Inc.