Someone once said "Food without wine is like walking around in public with no clothes on." As Americans become more interested in wine, you will notice more and more restaurants placing an emphasis on their wine lists, often creating wine and food pairings on the menu to entice the diner to have a glass of wine with one's meal. The idea is to make the food taste better and to enhance the flavors in the dish, all the while drinking the nectar from the gods and, of course, increasing sales. Pairing wine with food has a great deal to do with personal taste but there is some rhyme and reason to it as well.

We get many phone calls to our restaurant as well as personal visits where the party wants to know what wine would work well with a particular dish they are serving that evening. Many times the customer will specify red or white, but there are occasions where the customer is open to the best wine and food pairing, regardless of color. Classic wine and food pairings that have stood the test of time are Champagne and Oysters on the Half Shell, Goat Cheese and Sauvignon Blanc, Lobster and Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Grilled Tuna, Cabernet Sauvignon and Rack of Lamb. Realistically, most people aren't preparing these dishes on a Monday or Tuesday evening at home. The foods we often get the most questions about are barbecue, pork tenderloin, marinated chicken breast and shrimp with cocktail sauce. There are a few rules of thumb when pairing wine with food, the first rule being, there are no absolutes. Once you realize there are no guarantees when it comes to wine and food matches, you can begin experimenting with confidence and adventure.

Sweet wines and spicy foods almost always go well together. If you're ordering take-out Thai or marinating pork tenderloin with southwestern spices, a crisp, off-dry white will almost always fit the bill. Look for Rieslings from Germany if you like a tad of sweetness when you sip or find a Riesling from Alsace, Australia or Washington for those who enjoy bone-dry styles. You could also have a Vouvray from the Loire Valley of France or a Pinot Gris from Oregon. All of these wines would complement spicy cuisine, but if you're set on red, think lighter styles rather than fuller. While one of the above mentioned, delicious whites would be my first choice, I could easily sip a soft Pinot Noir from Burgundy or a Tempranillo-based red from Spain, too. These softer reds would not dominate the food and would balance the spiciness of the dish.

Another good rule of wine thumb is fat and full-bodied. Fatty meat dishes like full-bodied wines. Filet, Ribeye, Hanger Steak or any red meat with lots of flavor enjoy full-bodied, rich wines as an accompaniment. In this case, white or red can make a great match. Full-flavored, rich, oaky Chardonnay from Santa Barbara or Australia is fantastic with steak and big, intense Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines from Bordeaux or Napa as well as Syrah from the northern Rhone or southeastern Australia. Big dishes like heavy wines that can stand up to the flavors and intensify the essence of the food.

Lastly, some words of advice to live by: Barbecue is truly great with beer. You can try to find a perfect wine to pair with eastern North Carolina, vinegar-based que', but nothing is as refreshing or as delicious as an ice cold Bud Light.