Which wine should you choose for a dish or starter?
A dinner or a nice meal and alcohol go hand in hand. The right wine with dinner is a matter of taste. There are rules (wine etiquette) for sequence alignment and the dish. A spicy dish a spicy wine, a light dish a fine wine. And the dessert? What order, what wine or alcohol? Sparkling, red or white wine? Read more about choosing the right wine or liquor for a particular dish…
Basic guidelines for choosing the suitable Wine for a course/meal
Which wine you choose when you give a dinner, obviously depends on your personal taste. Or the preferences of your guests at the table, if you at least know what the prefer. However, there are certain “rules” and etiquette. It is important that the wine and dish you serve are well together, in harmony. Then the two flavors – wine and food – will reinforce each other.
- The taste should not dominate each other
- The order in a multi-course dinner is important
The order in a multi-course dinner
If you have a more extensive dinner or give multi-course dinner – serving several wines – it is good to keep the following in mind:
- Simple wine before better wine
- Young wine before older wine
- Dry wine before Sweet wine
- White wine before red wine
Combination of Wine and Course
For the right combination of wine with a dish or dishes are a few general rules or general guidelines. Note that the rules are a matter of personal taste. If you do not like a particular wine, you should choose another kind of wine, even if it applies as “officially” not appropriate for the course.
Guideline for Proper Wine Selection in a multi-course dinner
Appetizer and Wine
Drink with a starters dry, not too heavy white wines
- Alsace Wines
- Moselle wines
Soups Wine and Alcohol
Wine or alcohol, suitable in combination with soup
- Light white wine
- Light red wine
Suitable Other Alcoholic Drinks
- Madeira
- Sherry
Fish Shellfish
A fish needs to swim. But where?
For fish, seafood, shellfish (crab, lobster)
- Dry white wine or
- Sparkling wine (not too sweet)
Chicken Beef Pork
Serve with dishes of three meats
- Firm white wine. e.g. Burgundy
- Light red wine. e.g. Beaujolais
- Spicy Rose
Red Meat, Poultry, Game
Pour in dishes with red meat, game or poultry
- Sturdy, nice red wine, e.g. Burgundy
- Or a beautiful red Bordeaux
Cheese Fondue Cheese Dishes
- With the somewhat ‘heavier’ cheese dishes, preferably drink the same red wine as a starter
- In mild cheese: a friendly light wine
- With spicy cheese: a tough wine
- When old cheese Port tastes very good
Dessert Sweet Dessert or Fruit
- A white dessert wine served cold, e.g. Sauternes
