Basic Wine and Food Pairing Chart

Written by Madeline Puckette

Need a reference guide for your dinner plans? Download the Wine and Food Pairing Chart to help you pick what to drink. Find the right wine to pair with fish, chicken, vegetable dishes, and more.

Basic Wine and Food Pairing Chart

Pairing Wine and Food Infographic Chart

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Learn to Match Wine and Food

  • White wines tend to pair better with lighter foods such as green veggies and fish.
  • Keep clear of red wine and fish, for the most part, unless it’s a rich not-so-fishy fish.
  • Sparkling wine pairs with a wide variety of foods because it acts as a palate cleanser.
Um….Why Not Chocolate and Red Wine!?

After taking a look at the chart, you’ll notice a shortlist of challenging wine pairing foods. Despite the common misconception that red wine and chocolate are best friends, this pairing is difficult to pull off.

It turns out, the bitter tannins in the chocolate interact with bitter tannins in the wine. The entire pairing ends up tasting bitter and sour.


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Up Next: Advanced Wine Pairing Chart

Too easy? Not to worry, it gets more interesting. Check out the Advanced Food and Wine Pairing Chart for more.

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Written byMadeline Puckette

James Beard Award-winning author and Wine Communicator of the Year. I co-founded Wine Folly to help people learn about wine. @WineFolly