How to Match Wine to Food

Learn how to match wine to food in this wine pairing video series.

Hi, my name is Neil Smith. I am the owner of a wine shop in Ashburn, Virginia called WineSmith. Today, I am going to give you a few pointers for how to pair wine confidently with food. We’re going to cover some basic wine vocabulary to get us started and then I am going to give five simple rules for you to remember that as you plan your meals to pair wine with food. We are matching the weight of the wine with the food, complementing or contrasting wine flavors with the flavors and texture of the food, paying attention to sweetness and acidity in the wines, Dessert Wines and Sparkling Wines and then finally, practicing and experimenting often. But before we begin, it will be helpful to have a few items on hand to get the most out of this video. First is the Sparkling Wine, a dry white wine like Sauvignon Blanc and then a full bodied red wine like Cabernet Sauvignon. For food items, something salty like popcorn or salted peanuts, some crackers, two types of cheeses; one soft and creamy like goat's cheese and something else that's a little bit harder and firmer like cow's cheese, some barbeque sauce, plain grilled chicken strips, some cake donuts and some lemon wedges. So before we begin, let me tell you a little bit about myself. Prior to opening the store one year ago, I spent over a year studying and tasting wines. Since we’ve opened, I have conducted several classes on wine basics and how to pair wine with food. So with that said, let's get started on pairing wine with food and I hope you will take away lots of information from the video.