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Food & Wine Matching - The GuidelinesThe whole subject of food and wine matching can be a minefield tonavigate. The most important thing to remember is there are no setrules – and the customer is always right, even if they like drinking vintagePort with oysters. That said, here are a few simple guidelines that willhelp you create your own perfect matches:

Match the IntensityFoods that are intensely flavoured can overpower the flavour of wines, and intenselyflavoured wines can overpower lightly flavoured foods. Try to match the intensity offlavours in both so that you can taste both the wine and the food, without oneoverpowering the other.

Match Acids with AcidsIf you have a dish with strong acidic content such as pasta with tomato sauce or a saladwith vinaigrette, match the food with a wine that has high acidity too. The acid in the foodwill balance the wine, making the wine taste fruitier and less acidic.

OilinessIn the same way that lemon cuts through the oiliness of smoked salmon, acidic wines workwell with oily and fatty foods by cutting through the richness.

Chilli HeatWhen you put chilli heat and tannin together, they accentuate each other, making thefood seem spicier and the wine more tannic and alcoholic. Chilli heat can also make awine taste less sweet and fruity.

Local food likes local wineIn many regions of the world, traditional foods have developed alongside the local winestyles, which is why regional dishes are often best paired with wine from the same region.Try for example, Chianti with a big bowl of Tuscan pasta, or dry Fino Sherry with salty tapas.

1.Match the WeightMatch the weight of the wine with the weight of the food. Heavy dishes like braised redmeat casserole will need a full-bodied wine. Light dishes like a salad needs a moredelicate light-bodied wine.

6.SweetnessSweetness in food can make a wine taste drier, so when it comes to desserts, it’s a goodidea to make sure the wine is sweeter than the food. Sweet wines are also a goodcontrast for salty foods, for example, try pairing blue cheese with Sauternes (a sweetdessert wine from Bordeaux in France).