How to improve your restaurant meal experience by pairing it with the right wine
Living in Cape Town and being spoiled for choice, it’s hard not to love all things wine. Although the number one rule to enjoying your food and drink is to simply trust your palate, here are a few easy facts to remember to make your experience that much tastier:
Pairing food and wine creates a delicious meal experience
- Pair the weight of the food with the weight of the wine – This relates to the famous rule of matching the colour of the meat with the colour of the wine, which works, but this allows you to cast your net wider. A Pinot Noir would go much better with a chicken dish, than a steak for example. Steaks are heavy, and therefore need a heavy wine, such as a Cabernet Sauvignon, or a full bodied blend.
- Pair the wine with the sauce of the dish – Focus on the sauce, seasoning or dominant flavour of the dish when choosing which wine to drink with your meal.
- Concentrate on the characteristics of the food and wine – Laurel Gray Vineyards breaks down how to use characteristics to find balance in in your wine and food pairing. Some basic points to remember are:
- Sweet wines with salty foods complement each other well.
- When it comes to dessert, always make sure that the wine is sweeter than the dish
- Always avoid pairing bitter wine with bitter food. This is never a good combination as it will just compound and become even more bitter!
- Spicy dishes should be matched to wine that is slightly sweeter than most or is low in alcohol. This helps to ease the possible burning aftertaste of the meal.
- Match the wine and the food by location – In more recent years, the development of pairing the location of the wine to the country of origin of the dish, bring it all together quite nicely.
- Make sure you’re in good company – Always ensure you’re drinking delicious wine and eating excellent food with wonderful friends. If you’re with great people, sitting in a restaurant with a great vibe, everything else will come together. That’s a fact!
What delicious wine and food combo’s do you recommend? We’d love to hear your comments.
Speaking of great food, wine and a restaurant with a vibe, come visit us at La Vista, for lunch or dinner.
Experience our gourmet menu and top staff who will be more than happy to give you their expert advice on wine selections for our tasty dishes. Click here to make a reservation.
La Vista Restaurant 
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