Both red wine and white wine come in myriad styles, from delicate to robust. They taste best when paired with the right foods. Fortunately, you can find a red or a white wine to go with any meal you might serve at home or order in a restaurant — or to enjoy on its own or to suit your mood.
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Finding the Right Red Wine
Not sure how to choose a red wine to complement your meal? If you’re new to red wine or don't have time to browse at the wine shop, this reliable chart can help.
| If You Want a . . . | Try . . . |
|---|---|
| Crisp, light-bodied red wine to go with light meat dishes, sausage, hamburgers, pasta, pizza, or casseroles | Bardolino or Valpolicella Beaujolais Inexpensive U.S. Pinot Noir Inexpensive Chianti Loire Valley reds (Chinon, Bourgueil) |
| Medium-bodied, firm red wine to go with lamb, venison, simple roasts, or hard cheeses. | Less-expensive Bordeaux wines Chianti Classico Rioja Cabernets or Syrahs from southern France Less-expensive red Burgundies Beaujolais crus |
| Medium-bodied, soft red wine to go with spicy meat dishes, grilled meats, roast chicken, game birds, turkey, lamb, venison, or salmon | Most U.S. Pinot Noirs Inexpensive California Cabernets and Merlots Inexpensive Zinfandels Many Australian Shiraz wines Australian Cabernets Most Côtes du Rhône reds Chilean Cabernets and Merlots |
| Full-bodied, intense red wine to go with rich meat dishes, venison, game birds, roast turkey, or spicy pastas | Better California Cabernets, Merlots, and Zinfandels Better Bordeaux wines Barolo, Barbaresco, and Brunello di Montalcino Châteauneuf-du-Pape Hermitage and Côte Rôtie Better red Burgundy wines |
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Choosing a White Wine
Choosing the right white wine to enjoy with dinner or to serve guests doesn't have to be hard. Try one of the white wines recommended here and save yourself some hassle.
| If You Want a . . . | Try . . . |
|---|---|
| Crisp, lighter-bodied, dry, unoaked white wine to go with fish, shellfish, game birds, pork, veal, Thai dishes, or Chinese food | Soave, Pinot Grigio, Frascati, or other Italian white wines Muscadet Sancerre Dry German Riesling Chablis Inexpensive white Bordeaux wines |
| Fuller-bodied, dry, unoaked white wine to go with fish, shellfish, chicken, spicy sausage, or vegetarian dishes | Mâcon-Villages St. Veran New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc Alsace wines Oregon Pinot Gris Most Austrian whites |
| Fuller-bodied, dry white wine with oaky character to go with fish, shellfish, poultry, veal, pork, cream sauces, or egg dishes | Better California Chardonnays Australian Chardonnays White Burgundy wines from the Côte d’Or district Most Pouilly-Fuissé wines Most Rhône Valley whites Some California Sauvignon Blancs Better white Bordeaux wines |
| Soft, fruity white wine that’s not fully dry to go with shellfish, chicken, pork, light cream dishes, Asian dishes, light curries, or smoked fish | Inexpensive California Chardonnays Liebfraumilch Many German Rieslings Many U.S. Rieslings Most U.S. Gewürztraminers Vouvray |
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Taste-Testing a Bottle of Wine when Dining Out
The process of tasting wine from a bottle that you've ordered in a restaurant can be intimidating, but this quick guide to the wine-tasting ritual makes it easy. Evaluating wine involves a bit of ceremony, but there’s logic behind it. Step by step, the wine-presentation goes like this:
The server or sommelier presents the bottle to you (assuming that you’re the person who ordered the wine) for inspection. Check the label carefully and feel the bottle with your hand to determine whether its temperature seems to be correct. If you’re satisfied with the bottle, nod your approval to the server.
This step enables you to make sure that the bottle is, in fact, the bottle you ordered.
The server removes the cork and places it in front of you. Inspect the cork and sniff it to make sure it’s in good condition.
In rare instances, a wine may be so corky that the cork itself will have an unpleasant odor. On even rarer occasions, the cork might be wet and shriveled or dry and crumbly; either situation suggests that air has gotten into the wine and spoiled it.
If the cork raises your suspicions, wait to smell or taste the wine itself before deciding whether to reject the bottle.
The server pours a small amount of wine into your glass and waits. Now is when you swirl the wine in the glass, take a sniff, perhaps a little sip, and then indicate whether you find the wine acceptable.
If the wine is fine, you can nod or murmur, “It’s fine.” If something is wrong with the wine, now is the time to return it — not after you’ve finished half the bottle!
If you decide that the bottle is out of condition, describe to the server what you find wrong with the wine. If the sommelier or wine specialist agrees that it’s a bad bottle, he may bring you another bottle of the same, or he may bring you the wine list so you can select a different wine. Either way, the ritual begins again.
If you accept the wine, the server pours the wine into your guests’ glasses and then finally into yours.
Now you’re allowed to relax.
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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/wine-allinone-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html
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