The right wine (and we’ve tried a shocking number) takes fresh flavors to an all new level
Written bySara SchneiderMay 13, 2009
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Annabelle Breakey
1 of 28Annabelle Breakey
Spiced Short Ribs + Petite Sirah
Don’t be fooled by the name. First, Petite Sirah is anything but little. It’s a deep, dark bruiser of a wine—a stain-your-teeth-purple kind of wine. Petite Sirah is no cocktail wine—it needs hearty food alongside. Pull out a deeply flavored dish, like these Spiced Short Ribs, with enough protein and fat to coat those tannins, and you’ll taste what all the excitement is about.
Asian Duck Wraps with Hoisin Dipping Sauce + Pinot Noir
Duck is always a good starting point with the bright red fruit of Pinot Noir. But with a riper, sweeter-seeming California Pinot, we’ve matched a sweeter sauce and the warm range of spices included in Chinese five spice.
Sweet, succulent shrimp are a great flavor and texture match with Chardonnay. But the minerality and bracing acidity of a Burgundian Chard make an excellent foil for Dijon mustard and fresh tarragon.
Lamb Chops with Moroccan Barbecue Sauce + Cabernet Franc
Cabernet Franc is a very aromatic cousin to Cabernet Sauvignon. One of the five Bordeaux grapes, it has almost always been blended in with one or more of the others ― until now. Coming on strong on its own in the West, it has an exotic combination of florals and spices that make a great foil for Moroccan flavors and pungent lamb.
If you remember Riesling as a syrupy-sweet starter wine in the 70s, give it another try now!
Crisper and drier, it’s an incredibly interesting food wine ― cutting through fried foods like our favorite fish tacos and bringing enough citrus to the match to act like a spritz of lime.
A juicy burger deserves a juicy wine: Zinfandel’s your bottle. And its sweet, ripe fruit seldom comes with hefty tannins, so it can handle all the tangy, spicy condiments you care to pile on the patty.
With its natural grassiness, Sauvignon Blanc is one of the best partners for herbs and green veggies. The peppery watercress pesto on this halibut creates an exciting match.
Set out fajitas, and people might be thinking Corona or margaritas. Shock them instead with a good Chardonnay, with enough crisp citrus to handle orange- and lime-marinated chicken with lots of onions and sweet peppers. Recipe:Tequila-Marinated Chicken Fajitas
James Carrier
15 of 28James Carrier
Double Salmon Burgers + Pinot Noir
Pinot loves salmon, no matter what form it takes. Put the fish in a burger, and the wine’s juicy berries still set it off.
And since many Pinots have an earthy, smoky edge, a salmon burger from the grill has an even better chance of being the perfect Western partner.
Best-Ever Chinese Chicken Salad + White Meritage (Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon Blend)
In France’s Bordeaux region, a white wine is a mix of mostly Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon ― two grapes that balance each other well, the Sauv. Blanc bringing tart citrus and earthy minerals to the table, the Semillon rounding them out with a little creaminess and sweet pear.
As it turns out, the result tastes great with many Chinese dishes, including our favorite chicken salad.
Yellow Squash and Split Pea Soup with Shrimp + Chardonnay
With its creamy citrus and buttery side, Chardonnay has an uncanny affinity for squash (both summer and winter). It’s also often a great texture match for legumes. We capitalize on all of that here ― plus its partiality for sweet seafood ― in a summer soup made for Chard.
Pepper Steaks with Balsamic Onions + Cabernet Sauvignon
Sometimes you just have to give in to a cliché: What could be better than a good steak and a glass of Cab? Only a good steak coated with crunchy-hot pepper and loaded up with tangy balsamic onions.
Few wines go with as many foods as crisp, aromatic Riesling does.
The pungent herbs, garlic, chiles, and Indian spices here would intimidate most other varieties. Not a slightly off-dry Riesling, though, with delicate peach and apricot flavors and exotic floral aromas.
Grilled Rib-Eye Steaks with Miso Butter + Nebbiolo
Big, tannic, red Nebbiolo needs a cut of beef that’s both flavorful and marbled with fat. Rib-eye’s your steak for this one. And the miso butter on ours adds a remarkable savory bridge to the wine.
Dungeness crab and Chardonnay are a perennial treat. The sweet fruit flavors a Chard offers keep step with the sweet shellfish, and the wine’s typical butteriness ― which can get in the way for some foods ― is an asset with crab.
Choose a Chardonnay with a bright lemon profile to echo the Meyer lemon juice in this salad. And if you find one with a hint of tropical fruit, you’ll have a link to the sesame oil in the dish too.
Pork ribs and Zinfandel are one of summer’s best pairings ― and an all-American one, since Zin is as close to a native grape as we have: While it traces its roots to eastern Europe, no one in the world does Zin like California winemakers.
We’ve shamelessly spiked our homemade barbecue sauce here with the wine to lock in the match.
Corn and Chardonnay are such an inspired pair, they can get you through the whole summer.
Find a Chard that’s bright with lemon flavors and crisp enough to work well with the other veggies in our chowder yet buttery and rich enough to thrive with the bacon.
We’ve dressed this steak down for summer with sauce and greens, so find a Cabernet that’s not so ripe that it’s lost its natural acidity (so it can handle the tomato) and one that has an herbal layer as well, to offer a bridge to the arugula.
A good Pinot Gris ― with crisp layers of lemon, herbs, and minerals over a creamy mouthfeel ― is a great foil for pasta laced with basil and cream. Our version can be on your table in just 15 minutes.
In spite of its name, Petite Sirah isn’t little, and it’s not Syrah. A hearty wine, often with big textures (it can have tannin in spades) and deep fruit, it’s a match for casual, big-flavored foods.
We love it with retro ground-beef chili piled onto Fritos, with all the fixings.