Wine Pairings Tips for Beginners

Wine pairing is an elegant process of combining your favourite food dishes with the perfect wine to help elevate the dining experience. Food and wine pairing involves matching complementary flavours with the goal of heightening the enjoyment of each ingredient.

All of our wine recommendations are paired with a simple and student friendly recipe. Here are 6 guidelines to help you find the perfect pairings.

Enjoy!

Chardonnay with Fatty Fish or Fish in a Rich Sauce

Chardonnay is a great white wine, which pairs beautifully with hearty seafood such as Salmon. A dry, medium-bodied Chardonnay goes splendidly with seafood in flavorful sauces. A lovely cheap Chardonnay is the 2019 Canyon Road Chardonnay at LCBO for $9.95.

RECIPE

Cabernet with Red Meat

A rich wine must be paired with a rich dish. That’s why Cabernet is the exemplary pairing for red meat. The blends are terrific with any steak and lamb dishes. The tender meat smooths out the Cabernet making it the perfect relationship in each bite. The outstanding 2020 Robertson Winery Chapel Red Cabernet Merlot Pinotage at LCBO for $9.95 has a swirl of fruity flavours and a smooth body.

RECIPE

Pinot Grigio with Light Fish Dishes

Light seafood dish’s delicate flavours pair elegantly with an exquisite light Pinot Grigio. As a delicate, neutral wine, Pinot Grigio pairs best with fresh flavours and light sauces. The affordable 2019 Barone Montalto Pinot Grigio Terre Siciliane IGT at LCBO for $10.00 has a light body with floral elements.

RECIPE

Rosé with Cheesy Dishes

When it comes to wine and cheese, Rosé is your go to! There are lots of rosés that pair perfectly well with various cheeses like feta, mozzarella, cheddar, and baby swiss. Rosé goes well with these cheeses due to its light acidity and fruitiness. A great Rosé to pair with a cheesy dish is Toro Bravo’s Shiraz Garnacha Rosado which you can find at the LCBO for $8.45.

RECIPE

Sparkling with Salty Flavors

You can pair sparkling wine with just about anything as its taste is super versatile. That being said, here at Wine University, we believe sparkling wine is best paid with salty snacks. This type of wine usually has hints of sweetness in them, which gives a perfect ratio of sweet and salty when paired with salty snacks such as popcorn or even potato chips. Our favourite sparkling wine to enjoy with salty flavours is Yellowglen Pink Sparkling, which you can find at the LBCO for $13.00.

RECIPE

Riesling with Sweet, Spicy Flavour

Since Riesling is usually fairly sweet and has a strong acidity, pairing it with spicy foods helps to balance the spice while also complimenting the sweet taste. We recommend pairing authentic Indian and Asian spices with Riesling to bring out these complimenting flavours. Open Riesling Gewürztraminer VQA is a perfect option and you can find this wine at the LCBO for $13.95.

RECIPE