Pairing beverages with food is an inexact science. No one can be an expert on all beverages or on all foods alone, never mind the almost infinite combinations when they’re combined. We believe that experience is the best way to develop a personal sense of pairings. True, there are some guidelines to pairing, but even those have exceptions, and might not work for you. 
Exploring and learning about pairings is ongoing at Pairings. This is our fun, and we invite you to join in.
So stop in for our regular complimentary tastings of food and wine pairings, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, along with special wine or beer tasting on many other evenings.
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Wine and Food Pairing Ideas
Asparagus
When you think of Spring you can automatically think Asparagus!
We love Asparagus with an Alsatian Muscat. In the Spring when Asparagus is ready in Alsace, there are some towns where they only serve Asparagus in restaurants and only with Alsatian Muscat. Asparagus baked in the oven with olive oil and aged gouda with Alsatian Muscat is especially good. Other good options - an Alsatian Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, an unoaked Chardonnay or a Chablis (especially good because of the cheese), Gruner Vetliner, a Beaujolais or a light Burgundy (light Pinot from Oregon) if you want red.
People think that Asparagus can be hard to pair, but one way to enjoy with these wines is is to add cheese, like is done with a quiche. You'll have to experiment and try some of these out and let us know what you think.
Pizza
Who can resist a good slice of pizza? But what goes well with pizza? We think the pizza pictured paired well with Sangiovese (Chianti has the sangiovese grape), and is usually a good choice for pizza or other dishes with tomato. Barbera is another classic pairing with pizza.
The wine pictured here (SAVIGNOLA PAOLINA, Chianti Classico 2007) went well with the pizza we had, which had sausage, ricotta, scallions and spicy banana peppers. As in any pairing, a key ingredient (the banana peppers) may lead to other good choices (a Red Zinfandel, for example, because of the spiciness).
Salad with Bacon and Egg
One night we dined on a salad with bacon and poached egg, with shallots, red wine vinegar and Dijon mustard in the dressing (see recipe). This dish has several contrasting elements, each of which might indicate a different wine.
Putting them all together led to our choice of a non-oaked Chardonnay, although a light Pinot Noir or Beaujolais could also work; one with smoky accents would be especially nice with the bacon. A salad with vinegar in the dressing traditionally would call for a Sauvignon Blanc. The bacon, on the other hand, pairs better with a red wine. The Dijon mustard could be a Chardonnay or Pinot Noir (both grown near the source of Dijon mustard).
Eggs are not particularly wine friendly by themselves, but when mixed in with the other ingredients seemed to us to call for a medium-bodied wine (not too light or too powerful). We chose an unoaked Chardonnay from Chablis, France (Larochette Manciat, Macon Les Morizottes 2006) which stands up to the vinegar (without the oak), yet is medium bodied and melds with the Dijon and bacon. If you try this dish, let us know what your experience is with the pairing.
Shepherd's Pie
A dinner of Shepherd's Pie (see recipe) paired well with an everyday Merlot (Barnard Griffin, Columbia Valley Merlot, 2006). For a dish with several strong elements, diverse alternative pairings can work. Also, for comfort food like Shepherd's Pie, a simple everyday wine is fine. The ground beef and corn are strong on the palate. The beef cries out for a red, and we chose a Merlot (we were in the mood for a red), which went nicely.
Chardonnay is a good alternative choice because of the corn. In order to stand up to the ground beef, we would recommend a well-balanced oaked chardonnay. If you try this dish, let us know your pairing experience.
