Which wines for dinner?
There are many rules for matching food and wine. Some argue, drink the wine you like regardless of the meal. We think matching food and wine does make a difference. It is not as complicated as you may think. These tips make it easy to decide which wines for dinner.
Stick to these eight wines
- Buttery Chardonnay for dishes with cream sauces, cheese, shellfish
- Sauvignon Blanc for light foods, shellfish, fish, chicken; good aperitif wine.
- Dry Rosé – versatile wine that goes with fish, chicken, cheese
- Pinot Noir – Red wine, goes with moderate to medium foods, salmon, pork, chicken – Thanksgiving favorite
- Zinfandel – pizza, pastas, grilled red meat
- Merlot – Red wine, beef, pork, lamb, chicken
- Cabernet – Red wine, the ultimate juicy steak wine
- Syrah – Red wine, BBQ red meats, pork ribs
Tips
- When serving guests, open two to three different bottles and let your guests serve the wine they like.
- Did your guest bring a wine for dinner? You should serve it along with other wine.
- If you open a bottle and it smells like wet cardboard, it’s bad. Bring it back to the wine shop.
Serving the Wine
- Make sure you have a good corkscrew. Use a knife or foil cutter to cut the very top of the foil on the neck of the bottle just below the top rim.
- Use clear medium-sized wine glasses.
- Pour the wine about one-third high in the glass.
- When serving white wine, it is a good idea to have a wine insulator.
- White wine is served chilled.
- Red wine is served at room temperature but better around the low 60’s.
- Make sure you have enough wine for your guests.
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