If you are hosting a dinner party, especially one involving wine, spices, and food, you will want to make sure that the food and drink pairing is on point. Your guests will really appreciate that.
I am starting to see myself as the tita who would soon host intimate dinners and parties at home. Although I love staycations and travels, I think hosting parties at home is something I would also enjoy.
Valuing taste over pedigree is the priority for pairing food and drink. This means that if two wines have similar prices and similar reputations, choose the wine that appeals more strongly to your palate.
Consider what flavors work well with what spices in a particular dish. For example, sweet desserts go well with white wine or Chardonnay, while salty dishes go better with red wine, like Red Blend Wine from Highlands 41, or Cabernet Sauvignon.
Wine can be paired with either savory or sweet dishes but never both at once because each type of cuisine calls for different tastes to create a good pairing for the dish being served. Here are five good food and wine pairings when having guests over to eat.
1. Oysters and Chablis Chablis
Oysters and Chablis or Chardonnay are quite a match you will love. The wine is light and crisp with a clean, buttery flavor that is ideal for pairing with seafood. The oysters themselves are full of umami, or the savory taste associated with meat and fish.
Add to this the fact that the wine has a shallow alcohol content, which makes it ideal for enjoying food, and you have a winning combination of flavors.
2. Tuna and Loire Reds
Tuna and Loire Reds are a match made in heaven. The wine is light and crisp with a clean flavor that is ideal for pairing with seafood. This is a match that your guests are going to love. The reds are going to really complement the tuna.
3. Crisp White Wine and Poached Shrimp
Poaching is an ideal way to cook shrimp because it allows them to retain their natural sweetness and adds a depth of flavor that would otherwise be missing if cooked in boiling water. White wines such as Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio go well with the delicate taste of shrimp, while Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot can complement the sweet taste of the shrimp.
4. Chicken and Riesling
Riesling is a crisp, dry white wine that pairs well with chicken. It is also excellent with pork and beef. If you are cooking a whole chicken, make sure to place it in salt water for at least twelve hours before grilling it. Then, when the chicken is done cooking, serve it with a glass of Riesling. The acidity of the wine will help cut through the sweetness of the cooked chicken.
5. Rice Pudding and Port
Port is a sweet dessert wine that goes well with rice pudding. The sweetness of the wine will complement the sweetness of the rice pudding, while the dryness and tannins in the wine will help to balance out the creamy texture of the pudding. You can sweeten the dish by serving it with some fresh berries and a drizzle of honey.
6. Vodka Punch and Chocolate
Vodka is a neutral spirit that can be mixed with anything to create a potent punch. Try it with chocolate ice cream or as a substitute for classic eggnog.
If you are having guests over for dinner, you might want to consider using the last bit of your wine bottle on this recipe. A little bit of vodka goes a long way in this drink, so make sure to have a huge glass! This will help to cut through the sweetness of the chocolate a bit.
You can never have too many bottles of wine around the house. Having a few bottles of inexpensive wines on hand will allow you to experiment with different recipes and serve simple yet delicious meals.
If you are having a dinner party, consider making use of this wine bottle hack by making use of the leftover wine in your bottle for a variety of fun and delicious drinks.
