Wine Folly tips on pairing wine with food

Forget what you’ve learned about drinking white wine with white meats and red wine with red meats! In this video, Madeline Puckette shows us how the texture, dryness, acidity and the aromatics of a wine can be matched to the flavours we add to our foods.

“More often than not, it’s the herbs and spices in a dish that makes a wine pairing taste so good. Pairing with herbs and spices is easy to do when you know how to pick out individual flavours in wine. Not surprisingly, many herbs and spices share the same aroma compounds as wine. A real-world example is matching a black pepper with Syrah; both wine and spice contain the spicy-but-floral compound called rotundone. When you match like flavors together they magnify each other… “

Wine Folly herb spice wine pairings

Wine Folly has created a chart of herbs and spices for wine pairing sorted into 9 categories, as well as recommended pairings. It’s handy knowing which grape varieties are in your favourite wines. Grenache and Syrah (or Shiraz) are the stars of our Provence Rosés.

Wine Folly styles of wine and herbs

I find it very exciting trying to combine different flavours. My big surprise was matching Pure with lamb chops that had been heavily flavoured with garlic and rosemary. With its finesse, I thought that the delicate rosé wine wouldn’t stand a chance. But no, Pure stood up confidently and said, “I’m here and I’m making your dish even more delish!” After seeing this chart and how Syrah pairs very well with rosemary, it makes a lot of sense. Also, the acidity is a good balance for the fattier meat.

What works for your palate? What’s been a success and what should we avoid? For instance, I’ve not been able to match a wine with Dutch ‘Snert’; a thick pea soup. Then again, perhaps some dishes really don’t lend themselves to being paired? Or perhaps you know a little secret? Share your thoughts, ideas and favourite pairings with Provence Rosés via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram (don’t forget to tag @mirabeauwine so we can see it).

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