1.  No matter how good your wine pairing is, you can’t make bad wine taste good.  Make sure you have a tasty wine.  That’s 90% of the battle.

2.  The next 8% is avoiding clashes.  Opposites tend to clash.  Vinegary foods will ruin a low acid wine.  Sweet food will ruin a dry wine.  Heavy foods will drown out a light wine.

3.  The final 2% is knowing some of the special combinations that really elevate your wine and food experience.  Riesling with pork.  Sauterne with foie gras.  Gewurtztraminer with stinky cheese.

4.  Know the safe wines.  These are food-friendly wines that are very likely to go with whatever it is you’re cooking.  Beaujolais, Riesling, Dolcetto, Chenin Blanc, and Pinot Noir rarely fail.

5.  There are exceptions to all of the above, and a range of different views, so it’s hard to be wrong no matter what you do.  Some sommeliers think that opposites complement rather than clash.  Some sommeliers thing that Sauterne with foie gras is a disaster. Here are a few super safe wines for pairing with a wide range of foods:

Binner, Saveurs Prinaneurs

– An all natural field blend of Alsation grapes.  Great with any “white wine” food (fish, salads, lighter meat dishes), and can also work with
Asian.

Cadette, Bourgogne Blanc

– 100% Chardonnay.  But not the oaky stuff common in California, which is disastrous with most foods.  This is a racy, Chablis-like Burgundy that will refresh your seafood dinner.

Brun, Cote de Brouilly

– Beautiful Gamay from one of the 10 crus of Beaujolais.  Again, all
naturally made.  You like your food to be natural, why not the wine you
drink with it?  Flexible enough to handle most white wine foods, but big enough for roast chicken.

Produttori, Nebbiolo

– One of our biggest selling reds, no doubt because it is great with just about any meat dish.  A big wine for sure, but with enough freshness to complement your dinner.