Weekend Wine Pairings You’re Guaranteed to Love

by | | Drinks, Food, Headline

Though I’ve always been a fan of wine, I wasn’t fully able to enjoy the flavor until I learned how to correctly pair it with food.

To me, the simplest way to decide how to pair wine with food is comparing the weight of the food to the weight of the wine. For instead, if you’re eating a light seafood dish, you want to pair it with a light-bodied wine such as Pinot Grigio, rather than a full-bodied wine like Merlot.

In case you aren’t sure what the “weight” of your wine may be, wine is broken down into three categories: light-bodied, medium-bodied and full-bodied.

Light-bodied wines contain under 12.5% alcohol and are generally white. Good examples include Processco and Riesling. Medium-bodied wines contain between 12.5% and 13.5% alcohol. These wines include Rose and Sauvignon Blanc. Finally, full-bodied wines contain more than 13.5% alcohol and include wines such as Malbec and Cabernet. Chardonnay, though white, often fits into this category, too.

Using this method of pairing, read on for a few great combos to try this weekend!

Brownies and Merlot

The deep chocolate flavor in brownies make them the perfect complement to a full-bodied, dark red wine like Merlot. 

Click here for the Best Brownies Ever Recipe

Creole Food and Rose

Pink-colored wines are some of your best options for pairing with spicy dishes. Rose and blush wines are low in alcohol. The alcohol content of wines is important, since the higher the alcohol content — above 12 percent — the more it’ll bring out that spicy burn in your mouth. Pink wines won’t add to the harshness of your meal. Plus they’ll offer a subtle fruity finish that blends perfectly with seafood recipes, like creole shrimp, gumbo or jambalaya.

Click here for Shrimp Creole Recipe

 

Cheesecake and Riesling

Cheesecake’s creaminess makes it difficult to pair with many wines. But luckily for us, the fruity and light texture of Riesling complements the deeper notes in the cheesecake.

Click here for The Ultimate Cheesecake Recipe

 Tell Me: What are some of your favorite food and wine pairings?