Food & Wine Pairing Links
Our favorite places to go for food & wine pairing advice
Greg is a Master Sommelier and also the owner and winemaker at a favorite winery of ours: Gramercy Cellars.
Greg Harrington’s Wine Pairing in 5 sentences
“1) If a white wine is crisp without oak, if you can put lemon on the food, the pairing works
2) If a white wine is full bodied with oak, if you can put butter on the food, the pairing will work
3) If you have a red wine that you can read the newspaper through, it will go with fish that weigh more than 20 lbs and two legged animals
4) If you can’t read through the wine, it will go with 4 legged animals.
5) Fruity sauces get fruity wines, earthy sauces get earthy wines.
Anything more than that, and you are over thinking it.”
I like Greg’s advice, but I would add 6) if the wine is sparkling and a bit sweet, it will go with spicy foods.
Here are some our favorite places to go for good food & wine pairing advice in no particular order:
- Fiona Beckett’s Matching Food & Wine – A British take on the subject
Here are some books we like. You might try them out at your local library first. If you like them, add them to your library:
- Andrea Immer: Everyday Dining with Wine – Andrea includes some very accessible everyday recipes to pair with specific types of wine. They just work. This book was the source of the Prosciutto Sage Chicken with Barolo recipe I enjoyed so much.
- Dornenburg & Page: What to Drink with What you Eat – Most useful as a cross reference guide. Have a wine that you want pick a food to pair? Have a food you want to pick a wine to pair? This is your book. Very few recipes, but lots of good ideas.
- Francois Chartier: Tastebuds and Molecules – Fascinating book with a theory of aromas that can guide wine and food pairing. Not a complete food & wine pairing text, but it has some very cool ideas.
foodwineclick 
food and wine pairing…. our passion!! http://blog.tayloryandell.com/post/109475008225/the-polygamous-world-of-food-and-wine-pairing-much
Wonderful, very specific wine and food pairing. Most of wine and pairing articles online are the general paring rule. It hard to choose the right paring. I love this post. Very useful! Thank you for sharing with us!
Stella Pan
The Wine Elite
http://www.wineelite.org
Just bought “What to Drink with What You Eat.” Thank you for the recommendation!
Cheers, and Bon Appetit!
~Sarah
grapepairings.com
Thank you, Sarah! It’s so nice to know when someone finds my advice useful! I hope you enjoy the book.
Great resources here! Thanks.
I love how this breaks down wine pairing so simply—sometimes the advice out there gets way too complicated! It really reminds me of my time on the Ghorepani trek in Nepal, where life is simple but incredibly rich. Staying in cozy mountain lodges surrounded by rhododendron flowers and wild herbs, I felt that same natural harmony between flavors and the environment. Just like Greg’s tips, the mountains offer their own perfect “pairings” — the fresh air, the local herbs, and the warmth of a meal after a long day on the trail all blending effortlessly. It’s a beautiful reminder that the best pairings come from understanding and appreciating what’s truly natural and genuine.
https://www.himalayaheart.com/trip/10-days-ghorepani-poon-hill-trek