Food - Wine Pairing Tips For French and Italian Wines

Many people are intimidated by the task of selecting wine in a fine restaurant. This article is intended to provide a simple guide that will enable anyone to feel confident enough to choose a wine that will impress their dinner guests. The focus is on French and Italian wines.

While there are no set rules for pairing wine with food, generally a full-bodied red wine should accompany rich and seasoned food. White wines are better suited for lighter fare.

These are some of my personal favorite wine and food pairings for French and Italian wines:

Beef = Amarone,
Cheese = Beaujolais,
Chicken = Chardonnay,
Cold Meats = Tavel,
Chile = Grumello,
Chinese Food = Soave,
Clams and Oysters = Champagne,
Duck = Pouilly-Fume,
Fish = Muscadet,
Ham = Pinot Grigio,
Lamb = Saint-Emilion,
Ossco Bucco = Barbaresco,
Pate = Saint-Veran,
Pheasant = Vino Nobile di Montepulciano,
Pork = Pouilly-Fuisse,
Red Sauce = Chianti,
White Sauce = Pinot Grigio,
Sauerbraten = Riesling,
Shell Fish = Gavi,
Steak = Gattinara,
Stew = Barolo,
Veal = Soave, and
Venison = Pomerol

In the end, it is really a matter of personal preference and what suits your palate. If your restaurant does not have these particular recommendations in their wine cellar, you can always ask the sommelier to recommend something comparable.

These suggestions should enable you to at least buy or order to the proper wine to accompany dinner. Of course, there is a lot more to know about ordering wine, wine tasting, wine production, and wine conversation.

Please feel free to email me at sales@thewinebook.com with questions on French or Italian wine. You may also visit my website at www.thewinebook.com for more information.

Angelo Cataldo is an avid wine collector with over 20 years experience in Italian and French wines. He has also travelled extensively in the wine producuing regions of Italy and France.

For those interested in learning more, Mr. Cataldo's book, The Wine Book, is the perfect beginners wine guide: short, easy to read, and small enough to take with you. In addition to food wine pairing examples, it includes wine descriptions you can use in conversation or at wine tasting parties, wine tasting tips, and information on Italian and French wine regions and production. The Wine Book is small enough to carry to a restaurant and refer to discreetly.

The Wine Book also includes checklists for tasting notes. This has made it a favorite give-away for wine tastings and events. Fine New Jersey Restaurants, such as Aldo's, The Brickhouse, and Pane and Vino have provided it to their customers for just that purpose.

In The News:

SpaceX’s Dragon Endeavour spacecraft crewed by NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken has docked with the International Space Station on its historic Demo-2 mission. .

As economic activity resumes in China following the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, levels of the air pollutant nitrogen dioxide (NO2) are rising to traditional standards for the first time this year.

SpaceX has launched NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken on their historic Demo-2 mission to the International Space Station. The mission is the first time that astronauts have launched from American soil since the final Space Shuttle flight in 2011.

SpaceX and NASA are edging closer to the second launch attempt for the historic Demo-2 mission that will send astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the International Space Station.

SpaceX and NASA are keeping a close eye on the weather ahead of their second attempt at a historic crewed launch from Florida. The launch will see astronauts travel to space from U.S. soil for the first time since 2011.

The asteroid that slammed into Earth some 66 million years ago and wiped out the dinosaurs also produced a gigantic pool of magma many times larger than the crater at the center of Yellowstone National Park, new research reveals.

Ten percent of COVID-19 patients with diabetes die within one week of being hospitalized, according to the first study of the virus to examine its impact on hospitalized patients.

Two altars in an ancient shrine in Israel have been revealing their secrets.

A South Carolina town is investigating how a massive alligator was removed from a mini-golf course this week, according to local officials.

Elon Musk and President Trump have been working toward the common goal of sending American astronauts to space from U.S. soil, which could come to fruition on Saturday.

Food - Wine Pairing Tips For French and Italian Wines

Wine & Spirits Wine & Spirits