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: