Food And Wine Body Chart - Viji's New Recipes

Traditionally, food and wine pairings have often been a dichotomy-either too simplistic or far too complex. We have all heard the French proverb, "Red wine with meat, white wine with fish." While it may be a good starting point, it is as limited as a restaurant menu whose entire menu selection offers only two plain entrees: meat or fish.

No one is really sure how and where this process of matching wine and food became so complicated. Food and wine are meant to be enjoyed and savored, since one enhances the other, As simplistic and pleasant as this marriage is meant to be, somewhere along the line, this practice became entirely too complex. The basic idea is the fusion of two flavors to create a third, as simple as that. The only wrong choice of food and wine is serving no wine at all.

Food	Examples	White Wines	Red Wines
Very Light Foods	Sole Flounder Clams Oysters	Pinot Blanc Alsace Riesling Chablis Muscadet German Whites Orvieto,Soave Champagne
Light Foods	Snapper Bass Shrimp Scallops Trout Pasta Marinara	Pinot Grigio Bardolino Sancerre Gewurztraminer Chablis Premier Cru Gavi Champagne	Valpolicella Chianti Rioja Beaujolais Villages Pinot Noir
Medium Foods	Veal Paillard Salmon Tuna Swordfish Duck Roasted Chicken Game Birds	White Graves Sauvignon Blanc White Burgundy (Chardonnay) – Chassange Montrachet – Puligny-Monteachet Full Boiled Champagne	Bardolino Burgundy (Pinot Noir) Dolcetto, Chanti Classico Chianti Classico Riserva Rioja Gran Reserva Syrah/Shiraz Cotes du Rhone
Medium to Heavy Foods	Lobster Poultry Most Cheeses Veal Chops Pork Chops Ravioli, Stews	Viognier Full-Bodied Chardonnay	Barbaresco, Barolo Chateauneuf-du-Pape Merlot Zinfandel Medium-Bodied Bordeaux Cabernet Sauvignon
Heavy Foods	Lamb Chops Leg of Lamb Beefsteak (Sirloin) Game Meats Steaks		Hermitage Full-Bodied Bordeaux Cabernet Sauvignon Amarone

The primary consideration of any match is to weigh the flavor and intensity of the food to the flavor and intensity of wine. The more powerful and flavorful the food, the greater the flavor of wine that accompanies the dish will need to be in order for everything to remain in balance.

Some factors to consider are:

Weight, body and texture of the food
Sauces
Spices
Combination within the food
The progression of the courses

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