Do people still get all prissy with white wine only goes with white meat, red with red? I thought that died a while ago. Do you have a problem when someone goes outside these guidelines? Chardonnay tastes damn good with hamburgers and steaks. And pinotage tastes great with creamy pesto pasta and sharp parmesan. I am sure that there are some guidlelines that probably offer helpful suggestions, but is it a low-class sign to color outside the lines on this?
-Tcat
While in general red wine complements red meat and so forth, if you know you’ll like the combination of chardonnay and steak then go for it, I say. They’re only guidelines, not immutable laws.
When you move up the price lists to a certain quality of wine, however, you have to start considering whether the food complements the wine rather than the other way around, else you’re overwhelming the subtle flavors that presumably led you to choose the posh wine in the first place. Which would be a waste of good wine, IMO.
Hmmm…good point. I just don’t buy wine that expensive for numerous reasons. I do admit to being a “quaffable” wine kind of guy…if it tastes good, drink it.
-Tcat
Well, as Gyrate said, it is more of a guideline than an enforceable rule. However, I have been in the company of people who would certainly turn their nose if you drank a Pinto Grigio with a steak, but then again these are people who don’t go to the bathroom like we do either…they’ve probably never had flatulence either for that matter.
Well, they are wine snobs…it really doesn’t matter that you drink Chardonnay with a steak…if you drank the wrong red, the wrong brand of red, they would be just as disgusted…
Or, perhaps worse, they are uneducated wine snobs who know only one rule “red wine with red meat” and choose to trot it out at every opportunity - “see, I know more than you.” But of course, they don’t, because you know what you like.
No. I think most wine experts would agree that if you like that flavor combination, then drink it.
The problem is mostly that the guidelines were set up in Europe, where the wines tend to be less robust and more subtle. So a white wine was really light, and very easily overwhelmed by certain foods.
When California started producing top-shelf wines, they found they were more robust and less prone to being overwhelmed than most European wines. Combined with the new flavor combinations that were being developed over there at the time, people found that the old rules didn’t always apply anymore and became far less of a faux pas to break the pairing rules.
So really, white with burgers is fine, but you might not want to do it with a French white and stick with California or Australian.
I’m also more of a “if it tastes good I drink it” kind of person when it comes to wine, and don’t stick to the guidelines. Lately, though, red wine has been having nasty effects on my constitution and I’ve decided to drink only white, and that in moderation. Plus, red wine completely stains my teeth and the inside of my mouth, resulting in a ghastly appearance at social functions.
Some of the wine rules were also developed when people ate differently - you’re not “supposed” to have wine with salad, for example, because a traditional oil and vinegar salad makes your wine taste awful. Now that salads come in a wide range of dressings, you can of course have wine with salad if you like it. Ditto soup - when the soup you had at a fine dinner was likely to be a consomme or other light brothy soup, the texture wasn’t really right with a glass of wine. You are more than welcome to have wine with your beef stew. So some of the rules are to give you a hint of what would taste nasty, but they were developed for different sorts of meals than we often eat now.
I forgot and took a swig of pinot gris with my oil and vinegar salad last night, BTW, and dude is that ever nasty! That’s like forgetting the milk vs. grapefruit thing.
True, true. Of course, the best rule of thumb I’ve found is to match the region for traditional dishes. Eating Italian? Drink an Italian wine. Eating nouveu California cuisine? Drink a California. Eating French? Drink a French. Eating Mexican? Drink a beer.
I totally agree with what Neurotik and others said, most oenophiles would tell you there are no rules, drink what you like.
I’ve only just very recently begun experimenting with pairing foods and wines, and while I understand why some guidelines are in place, they are by no means a set of rules that must not be broken.
I find my tastes are often quite unconventional by the old standards, as many people do, and that’s perfectly fine, that’s the point of pairing, find a combination that sets both the wine and the food off and brings them both to another level. I also follow many of the guidelines, because, well, they are classics for a reason, they just work.
Anyone that would have the nerve to correct your preferences is just attempting to be hoity toity.
Drink what you enjoy, that’s the point.
Y’all need to stop talking about us wine snobs. A true wine snob would tell you that you can of course have a white wine with red meat and a red wine with chicken, pork, fish, and so on. [sniff] It just depends on your taste and how you perceive the pairing of a particular wine. For example, years ago I had an excellent French white wine with a Korean style beef dinner. The wine was a 1994 Pursang by Philippe Daggeneau I believe. Anyway, it was outstanding. 
I recall a few years ago, I had an excellent French Merlot that tasted like butter. Oh my god was that good. If I’d been thinking I could have had it with salmon or mackerel or shrimp or sushi even. I can’t remember the name of it, though, and I’ll probably never find it again. Ooh, I’m gettin’ hungry.
So drink up y’all and have fun experimentin’.
[celestina goes to see what wine she’s got in the house.]
One time I ordered a steak and a white zinfandel.
Obnoxious Waiter: May I suggest a red wine with the steak? Perhaps a claret?
friedo: No thanks, I’ll have the white zinfandel.
OW :rolleyes: Red wine is the appropriate choice for a beef entre.
f: I can’t drink red wine. Red wine makes me barf. I don’t want to blow chunks all over your nice fancy restaurant. Therefore, please bring me some white wine!
OW: Yes, sir.
The Obnoxious Waiter then walked away with steam shooting out of his ears.
“No, no! Poisoned red wine with the meat, poisoned white wine with the fish!”
The only time it would be a faux pas is at a private dinner where the host is providing specific wines to go with specific courses in the meal. In such cases it would be like asking for tomato ketchup when the steak arrives. For someone who doesn’t drink red wine, water would be more appropriate (or the host might provide a normal white wine, rather than the wine they chose to complement hte pear and gorganzolla tart that was the first course).