Napa Valley Wine Train’s Guide to Wine Pairing

Here are some of the basic tenets of wine pairing, so next time you’re planning a dinner party, or even just coming up with a dish to pair with your favorite Napa Valley wine, you can use these tips to guide you.

Rule: When pairing multiple courses, go from light to heavy to avoid overloading your palate.

Drinking a robust, full red or heavy white before dialing back to a lighter varietal often causes the delicate flavors of a lighter wine to get lost so if you’re planning to pair a variety of dishes in a multi-course meal, start light (with a nice Napa Riesling perhaps?) and work your way up to the heavier wines, like our beefy Cabernet Sauvignons.

Rule: Opposites Attract.

Think: sweet and sour or salty and sweet. This is where molecules come into play. There’s something about the sweetness of a wine like a Zinfandel that compliments rather than competes with a salty dish.

Rule: Acid with Acid.

Salt also highlights the acidity in wine, so if you’re serving a salty dish, avoid a highly acidic wine. There is, however, something about a highly acidic dish that will stand up to the acid in the wine, balancing and mellowing it out. Think of the bright, citrus notes of an unoaked Chardonnay. Pairing that with food that you would add some lemon or lime to will pair beautifully—the acid of the dish bringing out the citrus notes in the wine.

Rule: Pair Tannins with Fats.

The tannins in a full, rich red, like a Californian Cabernet Sauvignon, pair beautifully with a rich, high-fat protein. Think duck, sausage, or even rich cheeses. The tannins cut through the fat of the dish, which in turn softens the effect of the tannins on the tongue.

Rule: Heat = Sweet.

Reaching for a hot wing or whipping up a spicy curry? The heat of a spicy dish is best mellowed with a sweeter wine which cools the spice and allows the more complex flavors of your dish to shine through. Even if a bold, tannic red is your most beloved libation, resist the urge to open that bottle of cab sauv…the tannins will actually amplify the heat of your dish and the heat in a dish often intensifies the tartness of a tannic wine.

Rule: Break The Rules.

There are a lot of rules when it comes to wine pairing, and yet there really is no “wrong” pairing anymore—no wonder the prospect can be daunting to start! The old world adages like white wine with fish and red wine with meat still hold up, but today’s complex wines and creative chefs allow for more flexibility when it comes to pairing your favorite wines with dishes. So, break the rules!

Some of our favorite “new school” wine pairing rules are:

–       Keep it simple

–       Don’t overthink it

–       Don’t be afraid to try something new

In Napa, of course, you ‘ve got the added benefit of being able to talk to the winemakers themselves. No one knows the flavors of a particular bottle than the people who crafted it, so whether you’re on a winery tasting as a part of one of our Quattro Vino Tours, or aboard the Wine Train for one of our special Meet the Maker Dinners, don’t be afraid to ask questions!

Here on the Napa Valley Wine Train, we’re passionate about sharing the best food and wines of Napa with you, and with this beginner’s guide to wine pairing, you’ll be able to share that enthusiasm long after you’ve disembarked. Cheers!