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Wine and Food are a match made in heaven. 

First off, the parings can be as simple or complicated as you want to make it.  There are many different theories on food and wine matching.  The truth of the matter is that only a few parings are a complete disaster.  Most parings are “compatible” but may not be extraordinary.  A paring is truly magical when the wine makes the food better and the food makes the wine better.  This magical paring is not the “norm” so when it happens, it remains in your palate memory.

One good rule is to eat what you like and drink what you like.  Sounds simple, right? Chances are the food and wine will be at least “ok” together.  If the match is not very good, well, at least you like the wine and you like the food.  Having said that, know that wines you enjoy alone are often not the wines you will enjoy with food.

I beleive there are not really rules to follow but rather some easy guidelines that will help you discover what parings work for you.  There are also some “classic parings” as seen on the link above.  These are ones that you cannot go wrong with.  You may want to start with these first to get used to what a really good paring feels like. Also, try some of the “no-no’s” and see if you agree. Sometimes knowing what doesn’t work will help you to find what truly does.

In short, keep it simple and fun.  Putting wine a food together should not be work or create stress.  Remember, the world of wine and food should exciting and fun.  And don’t let a wine snob tell you a certain paring doesn’t work, because they read it out of a book somewhere.  If it works for you, then it is good. To truly know wine and understand parings, you have to eat and drink a lot, one of my favorite parts.

Wine expert Mark Oldman has noted “Food and Wine pairing can be like sex and pizza: even when it’s bad, it can still be pretty good”