When it comes to entertaining, whether it's an intimate dinner party or a summer barbeque, most of us put a lot of thought into the food being served, but far less into the wine that's on offer. But ask any wine connoisseur and they'll tell you just how important your choice of wine can be, and how it can make or break the overall experience of your menu.
Unfortunately, successfully matching food and wine is a little more complicated than simply 'red wine with meat, white wine with fish', as making the wrong choice can result in the wine overpowering the food (or vice versa), whereas a complimentary pairing can ensure your guests leave impressed and raving about your culinary prowess.
So how do you ensure your pairings are complimentary? You can of course dig a little deeper into the basics of food and wine pairing, but it will require some practice, patience and experimentation on your part. You'll need to understand the impact of weight, acidity, fat, flavour intensity, saltiness, sweetness and tannins and feel comfortable with some of the rather confusing language employed by wine tasting aficionados.
Alternatively, you can take advantage of some of the wonderful pairing guides on offer, and few are quite as pleasurable to use as the European food and wine pairing guide from Oliver's Travels. Feauturing really gorgeous illustrations and an intuitive and easy to use interface, this interactive piece takes you on a virtual journey through seven stunning European countries, from the UK and France to Greece and Croatia.
Choose a destination and you can navigate to different regions within that country, where you'll be met with 2-3 regional delicacies. Each one is beautifully pictured and described, and every dish has a complimentary wine that can be paired with it. The great thing about the way this is done is that you can quickly get a suggestion for a wine to pair with your dish, but it also explains why each match works, helping you understand the basic mechanics of successfully pairing food and wine.
As with any great piece of content there's plenty more on offer too, from regional highlights to interesting facts and figures about each region. Not only that, but there's a downloadable PDF for each country, as well as an overall food and wine 'cheat sheet', which will give you a quick and easy reference guide to the best food and wine pairings for each region.
So the next time you're planning a dinner party, barbeque or even just a European takeaway, why not put a bit of time into choosing the wine you enjoy with your meal, as it could make all the difference when it comes to the impact of your menu.
