Finding the ideal wine to go with a meal isn’t always easy. For one thing, we all have our own taste buds and not everyone agrees on what flavors go best together. But according to sommeliers, these are some of the most common mistakes we make when matching wine with food.
- Insisting on only white wine with fish - According to Aldo Sohm, chief sommelier at Le Bernardin, you can do a red with fish, it just depends on the sauce. He suggests reading the menu description first, or asking the wine pro for help choosing the best bottle.
- Serving champagne with wedding cake or any sweet dessert - Master sommelier Evan Goldstein says the tartness of the wine will clash with the sweet cake, making the wine taste more acidic. So it’s better to serve a light sweet moscato or prosecco instead.
- Choosing rosé as a compromise wine - When one person orders fish and another steak, master sommelier Ronan Sayburn says a lot of people order rosé, thinking it’ll go with both. But he says it won’t go with either and you’re better off each ordering a glass of something that’s appropriate.
- Always drinking red wine with cheese - Sommelier Raj Vaidya points out that only a few reds can balance out the tart acidity of most goats milk cheeses. And a rich cows milk triple-cream cheese “needs a round, creamy white Burgundy” to complement it.
- Believing there is one perfect wine for a dish - Fiona Beckett started the food and wine pairing site com and she explains that people have different palates so there should be options instead of just one choice. Her view is that if a fruit goes with an ingredient - like duck goes with cherries - then a wine with those flavors will work well, too.
Source: Bloomberg