A new web site devoted to food and wine parings says it’s OK to drink wine with just about anything. Zinfandel with your Tex-Mex? Not a problem. A little Chardonnay with your fried chicken take-out? Delicious. Pinot Noir and wild boar? Why not, says Natalie MacLean, who has included these in a free, interactive matching tool at www.nataliemaclean.com/matcher.
“The old rules about white wine with white meat and red wine with red meat just don’t give enough guidance anymore,” says MacLean, author of the bestseller Red, White and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass. “With modern fusion cuisine and wines from new regions around the world, the choices and confusion-are great,” Maclean adds.
Here are Natalie’s Top 10 Fun Food and Wine Matches:
1. Popcorn with Chilean Chardonnay
2. Nachos with California Zinfandel
3. Potato chips with French Champagne
4. Pizza with Italian Chianti
5. Fish and chips with German Riesling
6. Hamburgers with Australian Shiraz
7. Smoked salmon with Canadian or Oregon Pinot Noir
8. Quiche with New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc
9. Canned brown beans with Tawny Port
10. Steak TV dinner with French or Washington Cabernet Sauvignon
MacLean’s matching tool pairs wines with any dish: meat, pasta, seafood, vegetarian fare, pizza, eggs, cheese and even dessert (including Jell-O and fudge). You simply choose the food or wine from a drop-down menu to get the pairing suggestions.
A low-fat, low-cal chocolate dessert at Mii amo Spa at Enchantment Resort near Sedona, Arizona. A Tawny Port would go well with this dessert. Photograph by Sue Frause.