Food And Wine Pairing Chart from the Virginia Wine Guide The chart is a work in progress and by no means the final word on pairing food and wine. People do have different tastes and not everyone agrees with the experts. Choose a Food Below;
Appetizers & Starter   Soup   Salad Beef Lamb Veal Pork Game Poultry Fish Shellfish Pasta Desserts Cheese Chinese Food
*Appetizers
Type of Dish	Preparations-Sauces	Wine Options	Food and Wine Pairing Notes
Caviar	Fresh	Dry Champagnes like ultra bruts and blanc de blancs, and top Sparklers	The slightly salty delicate flavor of caviar is best with champagne and sparklers. But well chilled vodka is best
Pate		White Burgundy, Sauternes, Late Harvest Vidal and Pinot Noir	The rich flavor and texture of pate requires whites and reds with firm acidity
Green Olives	Marinated	Spanish Fino and Manzanilla	A match made in heaven
Escargots	garlic	White Burgundy, Gewurtztraminer, Beaujolais
Roasted red peppers	Rich, smoky, sweet	Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc Pinto Grigio, Beaujolais, Grenache, Dolcetto
*Soup   |   Back to Top
Type of Dish	Preparations-Sauces	Wine Options	Food and Wine Pairing Notes
Vichyssoise		Fino, Manzanilla, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon
Seafood	Bisque	Pinot Gris, Burgundy and New World Chardonnay, Amontillado, Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc	A dry white with good body
Bouillabaisse		Dry Rose	Provencal dry roses are ideal, but others can work well, if not too fruity
*Salad   |   Back to Top
Type of Dish	Preparations-Sauces	Wine Options	Food and Wine Pairing Notes
Green Salad	Lettuce, arugula, frisee, radicchio, green herbs,	Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay	Try to avoid having vinegar in your salad dressing since vinegar destroys the flavor of wine. Herbaceous whites with good acidity are best with vinaigrettes; Balsamic are more wine friendly.
Salad Nicoise		Dry aromatic white or dry rose or pungent Sauvignon Blanc
Spinach Salad
*Beef   |   Back to Top
Type of Dish	Preparations-Sauces	Wine Options	Food and Wine Pairing Notes
Brisket	Barbecue	Shiraz, Chianti, Zinfandel, Petit Verdot	Make sure they are young and hearty reds that can stand up to your barbecue sauce
Stew	Beef Bourguignon	Bordeaux blend, Syrah/Shiraz, Malbec, Zinfandel	A lusty full flavored red will taste wonderful with beef stews and other braised beef dishes
Steak	au poivre	Cabernet, Merlot or peppery Zinfandel	Full flavored, big textured red is needed here to counter the pepper
T-bone	Grilled	Cabernet, Shiraz, Merlot Bordeaux	Full flavored, big textured red
Meat Loaf	Veal, Pork, Beef	Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel.	Medium-bodied reds with some spice would go best
Chili	Chile con carne	Zinfandel
*Lamb   |   Back to Top
Type of Dish	Preparations-Sauces	Wine Options	Food and Wine Pairing Notes
Leg of Lamb	Roast	Bordeaux from Pauillac or St. Julien, New World Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, Cote Rotie, Shiraz	Complex deep red goes here
Chops	Grilled with Lemon,-thyme butter, white beans	French wines from the South like Bandol, young Bordeaux, Cabernet, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Sangiovese
Stew	Tomatoes, onions, potatoes, peas	Spanish riojas, earthy New World Pinots
	Curry	White Rhone, Bandol Rose, German Kabinett, Gewürztraminer	Pungent, spicy curry require a high acid white, crisp and young, or a rose.
Souvlaki	Grilled	Cabernet Francs, Cabernets,	Medium-bodied reds with herbal notes
*Veal   |   Back to Top
Type of Dish	Preparations-Sauces	Wine Options	Food and Wine Pairing Notes
Chops	Served with wild mushroom (porcini ) sauce	Barolo, Brunello, Barbaresco, Tuscan blends, youthful Bordeaux, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, rich Spanish reds from Ribera del Duero or Priorat.	Rich full complex reds best here
Scaloppini	Served with egg plant and tomatoes	Nebbiolo, Chianti; Cotes du Rhone, Spanish Rioja, Red Burgundy
Osso Buco	Veal shanks, carrots, celery, rosemary, sage, lemon peel etc. etc.	Barbaresco, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, or Taurasi. Herbal white wines also work: Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Vernaccia, Greco di Tufo, Amarone	Some folks argue that Amarone and Osso Buco are a marriage made in heaven.
Wiener Schnitzel		Riesling, Grunerveltliner	Light red, dry medium bodied white
*Pork   |   Back to Top
Type of Dish	Preparations-Sauces	Wine Options	Food and Wine Pairing Notes
Chops	Red wine marinade	Rhone reds, Chianti, Shiraz, Barbera, Zinfandel, especially, if the marinade is fruity	Select a bigger wine to drink than the wine used in the marinade
Roast Loin	Tarragon and Mustard Sauce	Sancerre, Pouilly-Fume, Grave, Meursault, New World Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc from Virginia and the Loire Valley, herbal Pinot Noirs	Whites with high acidity, rich full flavors, and herbal; soft easy drinking reds herbal in character. A classic white Burgundy or similar quality New World Chardonnay
Spareribs	Smoky Barbecued Ribs	Zinfandel, Petit Verdot, Primitivo
Ham	Baked and honey-glazed	Full Flavored Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Dry Rose, Pinot Noir,	If smoked ham, try German Riesling; Pinot Noir works well with the saltiness of ham
Sausages	rich onion gravy, olives, capers,	Malbec, red Bordeaux	Whites that have spicy, oily character like Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio also work
*Game   |   Back to Top
Type of Dish	Preparations-Sauces	Wine Options	Food and Wine Pairing Notes
Venison		Merlot, Shiraz, Zinfandel	Big rich supple fruit forward red is best
*Poultry   |   Back to Top
Type of Dish	Preparations-Sauces	Wine Options	Food and Wine Pairing Notes
Roast Chicken	Salt, pepper, garlic, lemon in the cavity	Rioja and Ribero del Duero, Barbera, Dolcetto, Grenache, Petite Syrah, Red Burgundy, German Riesling or other similar style delicate Chardonnay	Chicken is usually neutral in flavor so pay closer attention to marinades, accompanying vegetables, herbs and spices when pairing with wine.
Sauteed Chicken	Tomato-based sauces	Chianti, Rosso di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Rioja, Dao
Grilled Chicken	Marinades of garlic, saffron, paprika, cilantro, ginger	Off-dry whites Rieslings, Hoorays, Sauvignon Blanks, off-dry roses, Cotes-du-Rhone, Gigondas, Minervois	Medium-bodied reds with good acidity and spice, off-dry whites and roses; ginger needs sweetness of Vouvrays and off-dry wines; cilantro needs more herbaceous wines like Sauvignon Blanc
Jamaican Jerk Chicken	Fish, chicken, vegetables dishes	Sparklers, Gewurztraminer, and fruity roses	These pairings work unless the food is very spicy.
Duck Breast	Grilled	Pinot Noir or Beaujolais	Meaty and fruity often make good pairs
	Roasted with plum sauce	Barbera or Syrah or other reds with black plum flavors, Nebbiolo
Quail and Squab	Oven roasted	Rioja Reserva, Bordeaux, Pinotage
Turkey	Plain Roast	Light bodied white and red wines like Sauvignon Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Beaujolais, Cabernet Franc
Turkey Thanksgiving meal	All the trimmings	Gewurtraminer or rich fruity red like Syrah or even Zinfandel, Cabernet Franc	Intensely flavored wines needed with stuffing, cranberry sauce, and other dishes
*Fish   |   Back to Top
Type of Dish	Preparations-Sauces	Wine Options	Food and Wine Pairing Notes
Salmon	Grilled or seared	White Burgundy, Chablis, Viognier, Chardonnay Pinot Gris, and even young Pinot Noir
	Smoked	champagnes and sparklers, manzanilla sherry, dry Riesling
Tuna	Grilled or seared	White Burgundy, Chardonnay-Viognier and Rhone blends, Pinot Noir and Merlot
Sole, Turbot, Halibut	Grilled	White Burgundy, Chablis, lightly oaked or un-oaked Chardonnays, Pinot Grigio	Light-bodied fish like sole work best with a light-bodied white wine like Pinot Grigio
*Shell Fish   |   Back to Top
Type of Dish	Preparations-Sauces	Wine Options	Food and Wine Pairing Notes
oysters, clams, mussels.	Raw, steamed in wine with garlic and parsley	Champagne or Sparkling Wine, Sauvignon Blanc, Chablis, Muscadet	Shell fish is almost always best with whites that are crisp and high in acidity
shrimp	Fried	Muscadet
Oyster stew		Chardonnay	Richer whites with richer sauces
Seafood salad	cold	Champagne or Sparkling Wine, Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio,
Cioppino	Tomato and seafood	Zinfandel
Lobster	Richly sauced	Champagne, Chardonnay, Vigonier
Crab	Cold Crab Salad	Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier
Crab cake		Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier and Chardonnay	A sweet pepper aioli would call for Chardonnay
Soft shell crab		Chardonnay, Riesling
Scallops	Sauteed simple	Champagne or Sparkling Wine. Sauvignon Blanc	Sweet flavor good with crisp wine
	Cream sauces	Semi-dry Riesling	Best with medium-dry whites
	Grilled with Peppers	Chardonnay
*Pasta   |   Back to Top
Type of Dish	Preparations-Sauces	Wine Options	Food and Wine Pairing Notes
Lasagna	Cheese and tomato sauce	Chianti, Vino da Tavola,
Ravioli	Butter and cream sauce	Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay
Tortelloni	Stuffed with Gorgonzola	Robust Malbec, Chianti
Macaroni and cheese	Cheese Sauce	Pinot Grigio or Dolcetto, Beaujolais
Pizza	Tomato and cheese	Chianti, Zinfandel
Spaghetti	Meat Sauce	Chianti, Barbara, Zinfandel	Spaghetti and Zinfandel are favorite American food and wine pairing
Linguini	Clam Sauce	Arneis, Gavi
	Pesto Sauce	Vernaccia, Verdicchio, Orvieto
Fettucini	Carbonara	Amarone
*Desserts   |   Back to Top
Type of Dish	Preparations-Sauces	Wine Options	Food and Wine Pairing Notes
Apple Pie	Tart apples, cinnamon	Auslese, Late-harvest Riesling, Muscat, Sauterne, Late Harvest Vidal
Cheesecake	Plain and with fruit	Orange Muscat, French Beaumes-de-Venise, Sauternes, Late Harvest Vidal	Sauternes goes well when cheese cake has fruit topping
Tiramisu		Vin Santo or cream Sherry
Chocolate	Chocolate cake, mousse, souffles	Banyuls, Baumes-de-Venise, California Orange Muscat, Muscat Blanc, Vintage Port, Tawny Port, Extra-dry champagne	Banyuls from the Cotes de Roussillon district of France make the perfect match; chocolate with cabernets accentuate their tannins and diminish their fruit
*Cheese   |   Back to Top
Type of Dish	Preparations-Sauces	Wine Options	Food and Wine Pairing Notes
Double Cream and Triple Cream	Brie, Camembert	Sparkling wines, medium-bodied Pinot Noir, Sancerre
Cheddars	Mild, sharp, tangy, robust	Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Merlot, Syrah, whites with bottle aging
Hard Cheeses	Parmesan, Comte, Gruyere	Sancerre, Graves and similar style Sauvignon Blancs, Chablis, Gewürztraminers, Riesling or even sweet Sauternes or Mombazillac and Tempranillo
Goat Cheese		Riesling, Grunerveltliner, Sauternes, Sancerre, Pouilly-Fume	A white wine is best here.
Stilton, Roquefort, and other Blue cheeses		Port, Amarone, Sauternes, Sparkling wines, Syrah, Zinfandel, Chianti	Also try Sauternes with Roquefort since sweet and salty work well together
*Chinese Food   |   Back to Top
Type of Dish	Preparations-Sauces	Wine Options	Food and Wine Pairing Notes
		Riesling or Gewurztraminer	Low alcohol fruity wines go best with spicy food