Wine and Food…Keeping it simple

When learning to match food and wine, you don’t have to learn complicated systems in selecting the correct wine to go with the food on the table. This is not rocket science. There is a simple way to make great wine and food pairings when making a choice about what to pour with what you will be serving and eating that requires only that you consider the weight of both the wine and the food.
It’s also fun to experiment with various wines, you may be able to create spectacular pairings that dramatically improve both your meal and wine. But save those efforts for special occasions, and special wines but in actuality, most of the time you will spend more time talking with your guests than you will analyzing the pairings. So the first rule of thumb is to make sure the food is good as well as the wine. Even if the match is not perfect, you will still enjoy what you’re drinking.
When it comes to choosing a wine to pair with your food, don’t try to get too fancy, choose a wine that you would want to drink by itself. Here are some great wines that you can get for $15.00 or less.  And, you don’t have to travel far.  You can find most of these wines at your local Grocery Store, Trader Joes, and bargain wine stores.
Valley Vineyards Chenin Blanc Swartland The Royal Old Vines 2009, 86 points, $10.00.  This wine is fresh, breezy, and made with white peaches, blanched almond and honeysuckle notes.  It has a really lively finish.  You can pair this wine with fish, chicken, and anything light.  Always remember the weight of the wine should complement the weight of the food.
Castle Rock Syrah Columbia Valley 2007, 88 points, $12.00.  This wine is bright and jammy with raspberry and cherry flavors.  It finishes with a zing.  This wine would be great with meats such as lamb and steaks.
Kim loves to entertain at home pairing these wines and either cooking and barbequing in the Summer with our friends and families.  We have also discovered this newest RAVE of pairing Beers with food…our husbands really love the variety and density of the pairings…stay tuned next month!