Classic Pairings

What grows together often goes together. It makes sense, too— the land in any particular place supports only so many crops, which in turn inspires the local cuisine.

What people eat in a particular place also affects what wines they make. The wines, in a sense, are preselected to go with the cuisine. For instance, Galicia's fish-based cuisine seems perfectly suited to its light, fresh white wines, and even the few red wines Galicia claims are so light they are almost white. Sure, climate has something to do with it, but you've got to think that the vintners also made some good choices. Wine is made to drink with food, and light white wines are what they wanted to drink.

Tuscany is another good example—heavy pasta, tangy, high-acid tomato sauce: This isn't food that needs a rockin' red wine. It needs something medium-bodied with good acidity, with flavors that will bridge the whiteness of pasta and the redness of tomato sauce. Hey, look—that describes Chianti, Tuscany's main wine.

Think of classic pairings, and you can learn something from each one of them (even if it's just that you don't like it).

Champagne and caviar:

This illustrates best the power of expensive wines and expensive food: whether or not it's a great match, it sure says "celebration" like little else. You could also make an argument for texture, as good caviar bursts like little Champagne bubbles on the tongue.

Muscadet and oysters

Muscadet is the region around where the Loire River flows into the Adantic— home to oyster beds galore. The wine—light, crisp, and mineral-tinged—seems made for washing down cold oysters filled with the salty flavor of the sea.

Chablis and oysters

Chablis might be far removed from the ocean, but not as far as it looks on the map. The area where the wines of Chablis grow used to be an ocean bed, and the soil is still filled with ancient oyster shells. The wines seem to pick up a bit of chalky, oyster-shell flavor, too—which makes them great pairings with oysters themselves.

Chianti and pizza or red-sauced pasta

Tomatoes are acidic, and that acid can be tough on a red wine unless it has acid to compete. Traditional Chianti does.

Gewurztraminer and choucroute

Alsace's famous sauerkraut-and-sausage dish has no better match than one of the region's Gewurztraminers. The wine has both the acidity to cut through the richness of the dish and the body to stand up to it.

Fino Sherry and olives, chips, and other salty snacks

Visit a bar in Spain, and along with tapas—those little plates of salty and often fried snacks—people will be drinking Fino Sherry (or Cava). The wine's extremely high acidity and salty tang cut through the richness of the food and make for an addictive pairing.

Port and Stilton

Big, sweet red wine and big, stinky, sweet-tangy cheese—it's a match that goes so well together that some people actually make a hole in the cheese and pour the wine in. It's volume that counts most of all here: Both of these have very big, mouth-filling flavors and rich, palate-coating textures. Sweetness counts, too, to play off the cheese's tang.

There are classic pairings, but there are no such things as correct pairings. If you like oysters and red wine, go for it. There are no rules; only suggestions.

Find more food pairings at Vinolist.com - The Wine Database.