'Would you like red or white wine,' "the waiter asked.
"I don't mind at all. I'm colour blind,' the guest replied.
Obviously there is more to choosing wine to drink with a meal than simply going by its colour, and problems can arise because of the huge choice now available from around the world.
But help is at hand. Here is an easy guide to matching food with wine. The two clearly go together wonderfully on occasions but this is not by accident. They are not likely to compliment each other unless some thought goes into each meal and the wine to be served with the various dishes.
How many times for instance have you had a wine which is fantastic when drunk by itself but a massive let down as soon as you start to eat? A wonderful full-bodied red might be great by itself, but try it after s grapefruit starter and it will taste dreadful. The wine has not changed but our perception of it has been influenced by the food.
Wine needs to be tasted for four basic components, sweetness, acidity, fruitiness and tannin. Most of us can easily identify the first three and for those who are not quite sure how to determine tannin, try sipping a strong cup of tea that has been left to go cold.
That dry, almost tingling, mouth-puckering feeling is caused by the tannin. Very tannic wines often have a cold tea smell and taste about them. Add a dash of lemon juice or a little sugar to the cold tea and it tastes completely different. The main reason it is not recommended to chill red wines is that as the wine gets colder the tannin becomes more pronounced.
As we can see therefore there are a few pointers when trying to decide what wines to serve with particular dishes. Generally: sweet, salty and smoked foods usually need sweet wines. Acidic and fatty foods need acidic wines. Strong meats and sauces need a full bodied wine to cope. Delicate dishes need light elegant wines.
As a general rule a young wine tastes much softer and mellower if drunk with cream cheese but harsher if taken with a mature Cheddar. You can have quite acidic whites if you are serving the dish with a lemon sauce because the lemon juice balances the acidity and makes it appear less aggressive.
