Our advices for food and wine pairing

Pairing food and wine is about marrying the flavours, the tastes, the textures but mainly about obtaining an equal enhancement.

There are rules; the most important is about taking pleasure out of it. If you feel like a certain wine with a particular dish, go ahead and do not ask if it meets the canons of good taste.

If you are hesitant, here are some basic rules:

RULE NO. 1

Why look for something from far away when you have it in the same region, i.e. choose a dish and a wine of the same origin.
For example a cassoulet with a Corbières or Minervois. Valençay goat cheese with a red or white Touraine wine. Gardiane will be perfect with a red Costières de Nîmes or Lirac. An andouillette from the Beaujolais region with a Beaujolais Villages or a Régnié.
A corollary to this basic rule is: in general, a dish is associated with a wine from the region where it is often enjoyed. Oysters with an Entre-Deux-Mers if you are in the Bordeaux region, with a Muscadet if you are in Nantes, a Picpoul de Pinet if you are in the Hérault. And never mind a boeuf en daube which depending on the place goes well with a Hautes Côtes de Beaune, Madiran, Graves, Gigondas or Bourgueil.

RULE NO. 2

This one is very easy: colours often match.

> Whites go well with fish (except fish in a red sauce): bass and white Graves, fresh water fish and white Crozes-Hermitage

> Rosés and light red wines with some firs courses and light dishes (Anchoïade and Côtes de Provence, charcuteries and Beaujolais, artichokes and rosés from the Loire, grilled salmon and a fresh red Anjou)

> Red wines with red meats and sauces... the list is long.

> Lastly, red and white wines, and in particular sweet (moelleux)wines go well with cheeses. Try a Sauternes or Muscat with Roquefort cheese. Both a Saint Chinian and a white Châteauneuf–du-Pape do justice to an aged Cantal. Form your own opinion.

In any case, we try to suggest one or more dishes with all the wines we indicate.