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We've learnt a few things about food matching over the years - mostly from eating with wine farming folk. One was to ignore the Old Commandments; red with meat, white with fish and nothing with salads or chocolate cake.

Experiment ... taste widely ... and never be afraid to try an unusual combination. Dessert wine with a starter? Don't knock it until you've tried it!

Some say there are still basic principles - but I'm not sure about even that. What I suspect is that if you are a cook with some flair i.e. someone who instinctively knows to add a dash of this or a pinch of that and your dinner invitations are always accepted, then you should apply your talent to wine choice by thinking "does it need something with bite, acidity, sweetness, unctuousness or whatever?" If you decide you want to complement or contrast, go to it. If a touch of lemon juice would improve a dish then try a tart Chenin or Chardonnay. And if dry chicken could use an unctuous sauce then don't serve a bone dry white or red, serve something sweeter and richer. Use the full spectrum to fit your taste ideas; everything from port through to vinho verde. On the other hand if you lack this ability with flavours play safe and let the wine waiter (or your regular cook) dig out a bottle. Keeps everyone happy. Alternatively you can always follow the serving suggestions accompanying each wine on the site.

Break the rules. (if you still believe there are any)
Never be scared of the unconventional - upside down can work. My most memorable cheese matches have been with white, not red wines. Cold Sancerre straight from the cask with new, still warm goat's cheese ... Gewurztraminer with a lethal Munster ... sweet Muscat with oily Roquefort. (They've been drinking Sauternes after dinner with cheese for years in Bordeaux. Similarly the Germans will show you that semi-sweet Riesling is more than happy to accompany heavy, red meat dishes like stewed venison).

Practise makes perfect.
Confusing, this wine and food business, but the main thing is practise. It's tough going. You've got to put in the hours every day, armed only with corkscrew, knife and fork. It's hard at first, no gain without pain, but the rewards will come when peak performance is achieved. And at this game I firmly believe you don't 'peak' much before your late nineties

Wine and Cheese
We take for granted that wine is a great match for cheese, but they don't always hit it off as well as you'd expect. Red wines in particular can clash horribly, especially if you partner them with blue cheeses or some of the more pungent French 'stinky' cheeses.

Wine and Asian Food
Talk to someone about what kind of wine they drink with spicy food and chances are they'll confess 'I always drink beer'. The perception still exists that wine really doesn't go with curries and other Asian food but like most of the so-called 'rules' about food and wine matching it's quite outdated.

Contact one of our expert wine advisors

Wine Advice

Want to know which wine to drink with your Sunday roast? Which is the best value Australian Shiraz we have at the moment? Need help with drink-by dates or advice on storing?

With a passion for wine, as well as specialist training, The Wine Club's wine advisers are very happy to help you.

PS If you want tasting notes or serving information on any of our wines, just let us know. We will forward details of when it should be drunk, what it should be drunk with, and what sort of style to expect.

Phone: 0845 217 9122
Email: customerservice@thesundaytimeswineclub.co.uk

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Aperitif

Aperitif

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Party foods & buffet

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Shellfish & fish

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