How do I combine wine and food?

In this blog:

• Tip 1. Kick-start your taste palette
• Tip 2. Make a good line-up
• Tip 3. Tension or harmony?
• Tip 4. Look beyond color
• Tip 5. Combining wine & food - sweet, salty, sour, bitter, umami and spiciness
• Tip 6. Mouthfeel
• Tip 7. Wine & soup
• Tip 8. Mix & match
• Custom wine & food advice

Tip 1: Kick-start your flavor palette

Did you know that an amuse-bouche in a fancy restaurant often has a double function? It is there to provide the guests with something tasty, but also to refresh the palate. What you eat and drink throughout the day lingers and can have an unwanted influence on your taste experience. Just think of the taste of a glass of orange juice after brushing your teeth. Then the juice can still be so nice and fresh, it will not taste really nice at such a moment. Things like coffee and garlic can strongly influence the taste, so our tip: 

Start with an aperitif

Cleanse and kickstart your palate with a nice bubble. Sparkling wines usually have more acidity than a regular white wine. This makes you produce more saliva, which makes you taste more and better. This makes sparkling wines the ultimate kickstarter for your taste palette and it is also nice and festive. Serve the bubble with a fresh sour amuse-bouche to complete it. 

Brut – Wine Estate En Passant

Aperitif

Tip 2: Make a good line-up

Build flavor intensity in food and wines

It seems a bit obvious - but build up the flavor intensity in your menu. So don't start with a heavily spiced starter when the main course isn't going to surpass it. To give an example: Scampi Bourguignonne will not easily be surpassed by a naturally fried sole. A steak with red wine sauce, on the other hand, trumps the scampi. Make a good line-up and adjust the use of herbs, sauce or ingredients if necessary. You select wines at the same intensity as the food, if your line-up in dishes is correct, then the wine structure is also correct.

Tip 3: Tension or harmony?

Choose & share

Are you going for harmonious or exciting combinations? A harmonious combination is a wine pairing where you emphasize the same flavors. Think of a fatty fish, with a fatty wine. A playful combination is a wine pairing where flavors contrast or complement each other. You can think of the same oily fish, with a tight wine that has more acids. This combination is usually a bit more exciting. Whatever you go for, make sure that the intensity of your dish and the wine are equivalent.

Example

Harmonious: A mussel pan is salty and mineral, combine this with a salty and mineral white wine without wood aging
Playful: Combining a mussel pan with a fat white wine with wood aging and aromas of nuts

Tip 5: Wine & Food – Combining flavors

A dish is a combination of flavours, the art of wine pairing is to create a beautiful combination. Think of it a bit like colours, a color can be beautiful on its own but look hideous in the wrong combination or setting. This is no different with wine and food, fortunately there are some tips that teach you what works and what doesn't work well.

Commonly used foods with a higher acidity are: yogurt, ceviche, tomato, vinegar, lemon, lime & berries

Acidic food combines well with wine, as it accentuates the fruit tones in the wine. Please note that the wine has more acidity than the dish itself, if the dish is more acidic, the wine will appear very flat.

Acid in wine & food

• Pair acidic foods with wines that are higher in acidity than the dish itself
• Wines with a higher acidity will become softer due to acidic food
• White usually goes better: White wines usually have more acidity than red wine
• Acids bring out the fruitiness of the wine
• Acids become sweeter in combination with sweeter wines
• Wines with tannin become harder due to acids

Common salty foods: meats, cheeses, bread, fish, salty sauces

Salty food and wine combine well. Salt brings down the sharpness of alcohol, so you can taste the wine better. In addition, it accentuates the body of wine and makes the wood soften aromas & tannins. To make an exciting wine & food combination, it is good to combine salty food with wines that are slightly higher in acidity.

Salt in wine & food

• Combine salty food with wines that are slightly higher in acidity
• Eating salt softens tannins, making fruit notes more noticeable
• Pairs well with wood-aged wines
• Salty food gives wines more body, so they appear fuller.

Common sweet foods: sweet fruits, desserts, baklava, caramelized dishes, sauces with sugar

Sweet dishes trump most wines. Fruity wines are completely blown away in combination with sweet food. The wines will taste more sour, bitter and more alcoholic.

When you eat a sweet dish, make sure that the wine is just as sweet, or even sweeter. Dessert wines and some fortified wines are a good alternative.

Sweet in wine & food

• Do not combine sweet with fruity wines
• Make sure the wine is as sweet or sweeter than the dish

Common umami foods: mushrooms, onion, ripe tomato, parmesan cheese, salmon, tuna, mackerel, miso, beef and pork

Umami is a taste that is difficult to define, it is not sweet, salty, sour or bitter but rather savory. Many hit dishes and seasonings are full of umami and yet have a completely different taste experience. Think of the difference in umami dishes such as smoked mackerel or green asparagus. Umami brings out the acids and bitters in wines. The body and fruitiness of the wine decreases due to umami. Therefore, preferably combine umami dishes with a fruity wine that is low in tannins.

Umami in wine & food

• • • Go for fruity wines
    • Choose a wine that has little to no tannins

Common bitter foods: chicory, grapefruit, arugula, endive and Brussels sprouts

One thinks it's great, the other prefers to avoid bitter flavors. Basically, wood tones and tannins in the wine are accentuated by bitter dishes. You can also enhance the bitter taste of the food with a bitter wine (this is only possible if you like extreme bitters). Do you want to soften bitters a bit? Then go for wine with a residual sweetness.

Bitter in wine & food

• Want to accentuate bitters? Then combine with wines that have a lot of bitters, such as orange wines.
• Do you want to soften the bitter notes? Then choose a wine with a residual sweetness
• Wood notes and tannins are accentuated with bitter food

Common spicy foods: pepper, sambal, curry, spicy paste, chili (con or sin) carne

Spicy food brings out bitters and acids and sharpens the alcohol experience. Fruitiness, aromas and body of the wine, on the other hand, decrease. Therefore, go for aromatic wines with lots of sweet and fresh fruit notes that are low (less than 12%) in alcohol.

Spicy with wine & food

• Bitters & sours are accentuated
• Choose wines with a low alcohol content (12% or less)
• Choose wines with little to no tannins
• Pair with aromatic and fruity wines
• Do not go for very tight, dry wines

Tip 6: Mouthfeel

The mouthfeel, also known as the structure or texture of the wine, plays an important role in the perception of wine and food combinations. The mouthfeel determines how the wine moves over the tongue and how the flavors and aromas are absorbed by the mouth.

For example, a wine with a round and soft structure will pair better with delicate dishes, while a wine with a firmer and more pronounced structure will match better with robust and full-bodied dishes.

When assessing the wine and food combination, the mouthfeel is just as important as the taste and smell of the wine. The mouthfeel determines to a large extent how the wine and the dish complement and reinforce each other.

Tip 8: Mix & Match

Combining wine & food is and remains tailor-made. Many dishes are a combination of the different flavors. In addition, wines themselves are also complex. The aftertaste often gives a completely different taste experience than when the wine is still in your mouth. Therefore don't be shy to ask for advice to our sommelier!

Customized Wine & Food advice

Send us your menu or dish and receive tailor-made advice from our sommelier.

Tip: the more specific your menu is, the better the advice.

Think of: method of preparation, sauce, ingredients and spices

Come by the store

Drop by with your menu – a stone's throw from Amsterdam Central.

Our sommelier gives personal and tailor-made advice and has a selection open for you to taste.

Design & Wine

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