Welcome to Drink & Pair where I write articles about food and wine pairings. Most of my content is directed to those new at drinking wine and thus I try to keep my pairings simple, while still going into enough detail as to why that food and wine pairing works.
The beautiful thing about Food and Wine Pairing is that it can be as simple or complex as you want it to be. With Drink & Pair, my goal has always been to keep it simple, while dropping enough hints to allow you to get more in-depth with your pairings if you wish. I do this by writing blogs that explain the more advanced nuances of Food and Wine Pairings, yet I offer tables with Food and Wine scores to keep it easy for those of you in a rush.
My blogs are from a North American view, with my most popular wine pairings being ham, chicken alfredo, filet mignon, turkey and roast beef.
I refuse to embrace Artificial Intelligence, and I assure you, all of my pairings do not use AI like I am seeing many other newer wine pairing websites use. This site and wine pairing database have been around in one form or anther since 2010 and has been built slowly over the years. Pairings have either been tried out by myself, with others in a restaurant/gathering, or heavily researched by consulting other sommeliers. (certain food allergies prevent me from trying every dish)
The food and wine pairing database above is a great tool to find an excellent wine pairing match. A 3.5 star match means the pairing is good, and your guests will enjoy it. Also at a 3.5, either the wine or food will taste better (or taste enhanced) in the company of one another, but not both. For example, at a 3.5 your burger loaded with ketchup and Dijon mustard might taste better with a Rioja Reserva, however, the wine’s flavour will not improve with this pairing.
A rating of 4 means we are starting to see the food and wine influence one another, and you’ll taste notable improvements for both when they are paired together
A 5 star ranking means the pairing is a Holy Grail and you are in for a meal you will never forget.
The matching tool does not specifically use branded wines, so you need to type in the type of wine (Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Chianti, Shiraz, Bordeaux, Cabernet Sauvignon, etc). You can also use the filters at the bottom of the tool to narrow down your searches.
Latest Food & Wine Pairings
Cassoulet & Wine Pairing
Cassoulet pairs best with savoury medium-bodied red wines with ample tannin and crisp acidity such as Cahors, Syrah, Bandol, Irouléguy, Côte-Rôtie and Corbières. Cassoulet is a slow-cooked dish consisting of white beans, duck, garlic [...]
Carménère & Food Pairing
Carménère is a red wine that pairs best with lean but meaty dishes such as Lamb with Mushrooms, Pork Tacos, Turkey, Beef Stew, Pasta with Meat Sauce, Tuna Steak or grilled chicken. Herbal, smoky, [...]
Grouper & Wine Pairing
Grouper is a mild fish that pairs best with white wines like Chardonnay, Chablis, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc and Roussanne. Grouper doesn't grill up very nice as it is not oily enough like salmon, but [...]
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo & Food Pairings
Montepulciano d'Abruzzo pairs best with hearty meat and pasta dishes such as lamb kebabs, lasagna, hamburgers loaded with mushrooms, baked Ziti, beef Bolognese, and pasta carbonara. Montepulciano is lower in acidity and medium in [...]
Moussaka & Wine Pairings
Greek Moussaka pairs best with rich, peppery and lighter red wines such as Tempranillo, Sangiovese, Barbera, Zinfandel, or a young Greek Xinomavro. Middle-Eastern Moussaka often contains a meaty tomato sauce, which makes acidic red [...]
Liver & Onions and Wine Pairing
Liver and Onions pairs best with red wines such as Amarone, Côtes du Rhône, Shiraz, Merlot and Zinfandel. Since Liver and Onions is a sweet dish, you can go two ways with it. You can [...]
Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni & Wine Pairing
Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni pairs best with acidic Italian red wines such as Sangiovese, Barbera, Dolcetto, and Valpolicella Classico. Italian white wines such as Trebbiano, Fiano and Soave will be excellent with your Cannelloni. [...]
Pinot Gris & Food Pairing
Pinot Gris pairs best with chicken, fish (especially Salmon), pork tenderloin, quiche, shellfish like clams, oysters and mussels, and finally, veal. Spicy Indian cuisine and Asian cuisine (such as sushi) are also exceptional with [...]
Savennières & Food Pairing
Savennières pairs best with shellfish such as lobster, mussels and crab, along with white fish, salmon, pork tenderloin, turkey, chicken and veal. Made from the Chenin Blanc grape and hailing from the Loire Valley [...]
Crab Legs & Wine Pairing
Crab legs pair best with Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Champagne, Muscadet, and Pinot Gris. A dry Rosé also works nice with Crab Legs as it has just enough sweetness to work with the saltiness [...]
Chicken Peri Peri & Wine Pairings
Chicken Peri Peri is spicy and demands light red and fruity red wines such as Beaujolais, Pinot Noir and Valpolicella Classico, or low tannin reds from the Douro and Dão region of Portugal. Crisp white [...]
Valpolicella Classico & Food Pairings
Valpolicella Classico is an everyday drinking red wine from Italy that pairs best with everyday food such as pepperoni pizza, red-sauce pasta, risotto, roasted chicken, pork chops in a red sauce, and barbecued foods. [...]