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It all starts from Barolo and Cheddar

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One day, my dad handed me a piece of mature cheddar when I was having a glass of Barolo. It was from that moment, a joyful hint of sweetness just like a dancing angel on the tip of my tongue led me to a journey of wine and food matching.

'My Barolo never tastes like this before.' I was stunned by the feel of a sweetness and creaminess lingering in my mouth.
'Sure, just like you can't tango by yourself.'

So just like the girls are matching shoes with their dresses and the guys are matching ties with their suits, I started matching my wine with the food. Some wines do taste amazing even when they are drunk alone. But the most fascinating tasting experience I've had is definitely when some strange yet beautiful tastes come out of a combination. That is some taste I've never encountered in the wine alone. Hence I started this blog to share these amazing moments I captured with all the wine lovers.

To each his own

Without doubts, taste is one of the most subjective senses we have, almost like the chemistry between people, beyond words can describe. Although there are many rules and guidelines about matching wine with food, there is no single choice of wine that must be drunk with a certain dish. In the end of the day, it's all down to personal preference. However, some guidelines definitely help to avoid disastrous combinations. I've summarised four general principles below which I think are a good starting point.

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1. Match the flavour intensity of the food and the flavour intensity of the wine

Neither the wine nor the food should overpower the other, thus the classic combinations appearing throughout the centuries - Lightly smoked salmon with Brut Champagne; Smoky barbecued flavours with Australian Shiraz.

2. Match the sweet food with sweet wines

Sweetness in food makes dry wines seem more bitter and astringent. Therefore sweet food is best with wine that has a similar or greater degree of sweetness; hence the sweet Muscat is the ideal choice for desserts.

3. Match acidic foods with high-acid wines

Sour food makes wines taste sweeter and fruiter but less acidic. In lots of wine regions, wines styles originally evolved to complement the cuisine of that region. For example, Italian cuisine is dominated b tomatoes, olive oil and other acidic ingredients. Hence the Italian red wines are noticeably found with a high acidity level.

4. Avoid combining very savoury foods with high-tannin wines

'Umami' is a savoury taste that is not very widely understood. It is the main component of many shellfish, mushrooms and aged cheeses. Umami in foods makes wines taste more bitter, astringent and acidic. It can make tannic red wines taste extremely bitter and unpleasant. Therefore, a best match will be unoaked white wines.

To match or to contrast?

Remember, just like a kid is going to throw away the Lonely Planet one day and start his real journey, surprises often come from experimentation. The beauty of pairing wine with food comes from the unexpected result it yields. Some wines have got the most playful characters that await us to explore - subtle and complicated.

For anyone likes to experiment wine and food pairing, there are generally two approaches here. You can try to match the flavours (for example, using a cherry-flavoured Pinot Noir to match venison with a cherry sauce) or you can try to contrast (for example, putting fruity, floral sweet Muscat against a nutty, dark chocolate dessert). Both approaches can be equally successful, again, to each his own.