Discovering the right food and wine match can take dining to a whole new level. It’s a beautiful moment when a wine that you didn’t think could taste any better is paired with a particular dish that simply transports your taste buds. Here are some friendly tips to create the best food and wine matches:

• Food can alter the taste and texture of your wine, not the other way around. Ultimately, a well-balanced wine will succeed with a well-balanced dish. 
• Start on the lighter side. Begin your evening of wine drinking with a light-hearted wine and graduate to your heaviest wine at the close of the meal.  Our Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc is crafted with a purity of fruit and cleansing acidity that make it an ideal aperitif.
• Take into account both weight and flavor intensity when creating a pairing. Match delicate to delicate, robust to robust. A hearty wine will overpower a light dish and vice versa.
• Consider how you can create a bridge between the aromatics of the wine and the flavors in the dish.  Similar flavors in the food and the wine can echo each other on your palate in a beautiful way.  Try matching the earthiness of a Pinot Noir with the earthiness of mushrooms, the dried herb underscore of a Merlot with a dry-herb rub, etc.
• Notice the contrasts,  How can the character of the wine serve as the perfect counterpoint to the dish? The acidity of a wine can balance the richness of a sauce and the tannin in a wine is an excellent complement to high protein and fatty dishes.

At the end of the day, there are no hard and fast rules.  Drink what you like and match it with what you like. Most importantly, savor the whole experience—the meal, the wine, the company. Be in the moment and relish the sensual discovery! Look forward to new recipes that celebrate the season, pair beautifully with our wine, and beckon gatherings with good friends!