Matching Wine with Food
The right wine with the right food is a simple statement but difficult to define. In reality, the right wine is the one that you enjoy drinking. There are well tried and tested conventions that will allow you to match food and wine so that you will be able to get more out of your dining experience. Some generally accepted rules are:

• Delicate wines with delicate flavors
• Medium-bodied wines with medium-weight or intensity flavors
• Sweet wine with sweet food
• Sour foods with acidic wines
• Bitter with bitter
• Salty food with acidic wines
• Red wine with red meat
• White wine with white meat

There are of course many exceptions to these rules. Experience is the answer. Improvement of the palate and your perception of the four primary tastes of wine and food, sour, bitter, sweet and salt (in food only).

Wine and Food Pairing Interactive Table
To help you keep things simple, we’ve put together the following chart of pairings. Like anything, these pairing are not absolute and are subject to taste, but good guidelines to follow to help create the most successful and interesting pairings. Double-click on the headers to sort the interactive table accordingly:

Food Type	Food	Wine
Appetizer	Caviar	Champagne, Chardonnay, Rosé, Port
Appetizer	Shellfish	Champagne, Dry Riesling, Chardonnay,
Appetizer	Shrimp	Champagne, Pinot Grigio, Vidal Blanc, Seyval Blanc
Appetizer	Smoked Salmon	Pinot Grigio, Savignon Blanc, Chardonnay
Appetizer	Mushrooms	Pinot Noir, Zinfandel
Appetizer	Escargot	Chardonnay, Dry Riesling, Fumé Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewurtztraminer, Beaujolais
Appetizer	Green Olives	Spanish Fino, Manzanilla
Appetizer	Paté	Chardonnay, Pinot Gris
Appetizer	Fruit	Sweet Sparkling, Fruit wines, Gewurztraminer, Ice Wines
Soup	General	Champagne, Dry Riesling, Chardonnay, Vidal Blanc, Seyval Blanc
Soup	Bouillabaisse	Rosé, Pinot Noir
Soup	Seafood Bisque	Pinot Gris, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc
Soup	Vichyssoise	Fino, Manzanilla, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Chardonnay
Salads	Green	Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Rosé
Entrée	Steak	Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, Merlot
Entrée	Roast Beef	Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, Merlot
Entrée	Tenderloin	Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, Merlot
Entrée	Lamb	Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel
Entrée	Veal	Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Vidal Blanc, Seyval Blanc
Entrée	Venison	Merlot, Shiraz, Zinfandel, Cabernet, Cabernet Franc
Entrée	Pork	Full-bodied Shiraz or a crisp acidic Chardonnay, Dry Riesling, Fumé Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir
Entrée	Ham	Rosé, Pinot Noir, Gewurztraminer
Entrée	Chicken	Vidal Blanc, Chardonnay, Dry Riesling, Fumé Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio
Entrée	Turkey	Rosé, Chardonnay, Dry Riesling, Fumé Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Champagne
Entrée	Duck	Mid weight Shiraz or Merlo , Pinot Noir, Beaujolais
Entrée	Quail	Rioja Reserva, Bordeaux, Pinot Noir
Entrée	Fish - Seafood	Chardonnay, Fumé Blanc, Reisling, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Champagne
Entrée	Fish - Salmon, Tuna	Delicate Chardonnay and dry Riesling. Pinot Noirt. Tuna will also go well with medium bodied Merlot and Shiraz.
Entrée	Pasta with Red Sauce	Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Pinot Noir
Entrée	Pasta with White Sauce	Pinot Grigio, Vidal Blanc, Chardonnay
Entrée	Spicy Foods	Cabernet, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel
Entrée	Salty Foods	Champagne, Chardonnay, Rosé, Port
Entrée	Vegetables	Seyval Blanc, Vidal Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Cayuga
Dessert	Ice Creme	Sweet Riesling, Fruit wines
Dessert	Sorbet - Fruit	Sweet Sparkling, Fruit wines, Gewurztraminer, Ice Wines
Dessert	Crepes	Sweet Riesling, Fruit wines
Dessert	Chocolate - Nuts	Port, Madeira, Sherry, Zinfandel