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When making a food
and wine match, think about the four basic taste components your tongue
recognizes: salt, sweet, bitter, and sour. How the food tastes can dictate
the perfect wine selection for your meal.
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Generally, wines and foods belonging to the same culture are the most
compatible; for example, serve Italian wines with Italian food.
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Red dinner wines are usually dry and rich, sometimes with a tart or
astringent quality. They go well with hearty or highly seasoned foods,
such as beef, pork, game, duck, goose, and pasta dishes.
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White dinner wines are lighter in body and flavor and can be dry and tart
or sweet and fragrant. Serve these white wines with foods such as chicken,
turkey, fish, shellfish, ham, and veal.
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Rose wines are pale red wines that can be either dry or sweet. These wines
complement ham, fried chicken, shellfish, cold beef, picnic foods, and
buffet foods.
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Appetizer wines are served as a cocktail or before the meal to sharpen the
appetite. Dry sherry and chilled dry (white) vermouth can be served with
any type of appetizer. Soft, light-bodied wines that are simple and
fruity, such as chenin blanc, are usually suitable accompaniments for hors
d'oeuvres.
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Dessert wines are heavier and sweeter than dinner wines. Serve dessert
wines alone or with items such as fruits, nuts, pies, dessert cheeses,
cakes, and cookies.
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Nonalcoholic or dealcoholized white, red, and even sparkling wines are
available. They are pressed and fermented like any wine but have been
filtered by a special process to remove virtually all of the alcohol. Pair
them with foods according to their type.
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The "red with red" rule works well with beef because the tannin in red
wine "scrubs" beef's rich flavor off the palate. Reach for a tannic
cabernet sauvignon, petite sirah, or zinfandel, especially if the meat
boasts a heavy sauce. Rare prime rib tastes almost sweet, so it's perfect
with a fruity Beaujolais.
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Pair a sweet smoked ham with a sweet wine—a chenin blanc, gewurztraminer,
or riesling. If you enjoy rose wines, now's the time to pop the cork; and
for those who believe a wine's first duty is to be red, serve a lightly
chilled Beaujolais.
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If your holiday menu features sweet side dishes such as glazed carrots or
marshmallow-topped sweet potatoes, choose a white wine with similar
sweetness, such as a chenin blanc or gewurztraminer. If your menu items
are savory, you can lean toward a Johannisberg riesling, savignon blanc,
or even a light, fruity chardonnay. If your bird boasts a spicy sausage
stuffing, sip a Beaujolais or lightly chilled pinot noir.
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dessert and wine match is most successful when the sugar/acid balance on
the plate and in the glass are similar. With rich cheesecake, bring out a
syrupy late-harvest wine. Complement chocolate cake by choosing a red wine
with chocolate or spice components, such as a zinfandel or cabernet
sauvignon. With fruitcake, open a dessert wine such as a marsala.
Supersweet or tart desserts make most wines taste sour and flat.
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