The Food & Wine Pairing Guide

Book excerpt: Finding the perfect wine to complement a carefully prepared dish is often a hit and miss affair, but this handy guide aims to change that. Written in an accessible manner, it seeks to convey the basic principles that underpin a good wine and food match and to enable the reader to make an appropriate choice. The bulk of the book consists of an easy-to-use directory of dishes, from soups and salads, through main courses to cheese and dessert. Each dish is briefly explained and matched with a wine recommendation, based on the ingredients and cooking methods used. The introduction covers topics such as how to pair food and wine, likeness and contrast, the relevance of sauces, and cooking with wine. Wine styles and grape varieties are given in-depth coverage so that the reader can understand the essential characters that make particular wines good matches for specific foods. Established ‘rules’, such as ‘red wine with red meat’ and ‘white wine with fish’ are examined and the authors provide sound reasons for retaining, or rejecting, them. Packed with practical, useful information, The Food and Wine Pairing Guide is set to become an indispensible reference for anyone who takes an interest in what they eat and drink.