Happy marriages

What does it mean when a back label on a bottle of wine declares that it is “good with food”? What kind of food do they have in mind? Hot, cold, spicy, sweet?

Even within a single dish there are so many flavours that it is impossible to focus on just one. And wine is pretty much the same. With fruit, acidity, tannin and oak all contributing to the flavour profile there is no one perfect match to balance it all. So here are a few guidelines to help find some great food and drink combinations – with the proviso that you may be able to find something even better.

Fish

Like a chameleon in the kitchen, fish acquires the flavours of the whole dish, so pay more attention to the cooking method than to the actual fish.

Avoid tannic wines since that can make the fish taste metallic, but whites and reds are good with fish.

Plain grilled fish has no other flavours to hide behind, so don’t overwhelm it with a heavy wine. Look for something delicate, fresh and crisp, especially if you serve a knob of herby butter on top.

Italian white wines such as the fresh, green flavours of Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi 2009 from Monte Schiavo (Majestic £6.49 on multibuy) are good.

Muscadet was always the classic choice for grilled fish and I have been astonished recently by some really good quality flavours coming out of this region.

Try Champteloup Muscadet Sèvre et Maine 2009 from Waitrose at £6.99.

If your fish has been marinated in a sauce then bear in mind those flavours as well as the fish. I recently enjoyed chunks of salmon, marinated in garden mint before they were flash grilled and served on cocktail sticks as canapés.

Mint can be the death of a good wine, but served alongside a young fresh-tasting green herbaceous New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc such as Greywacke Sauvignon Blanc 2010 (£14.99 Harrogate Fine Wine, 01423 522270) the flavours combined perfectly.

Sauvignon Blanc also has the acidity to cut through the batter of deep fried fish, and if you are looking for a good value Sauvignon, try Tesco’s fresh, lively Tapiwey Vineyard Sauvignon 2010 from Chile, currently on offer at two bottles for £10.

Fish pie is one of my favourite comfort foods, and it has the weight and complexity to take on a red wine such as a Pinot Noir from New Zealand or Chile.

For midweek nights, head to Cono Sur Pinot Noir 2009 which is a great value Pinot. It is currently priced at £7.49 at Majestic but it is often on special offer. A weekend fish pie deserves bigger flavours such as The Ned Waihopai River Pinot Noir at £12.99 (Majestic).

Meat

It is so easy to open a bottle of full flavoured red to serve alongside anything from roast chicken to a rump steak, but bear in mind the weight of flavour in the dish before you wield the corkscrew.

A plain grilled chicken breast is perfect with a glass of crisp, rounded unoaked Chardonnay such as Casillero del Diablo 2010 (Tesco, currently on offer at £5.29), but as soon as you add some herbs then it needs fuller fruit such as an easy quaffing Côtes du Rhône such as Les Galets 2009 from Majestic (£5.49 on multibuy).

The classic accompaniment to a chicken casserole is Burgundy but that usually means that the wine costs 10 times more than the food.

So I prefer a young new-style Rioja which is not weighed down with too much oak. Try Olarra Classico Rioja (Sainsbury, currently on offer from £7.99 to £5.39 until March 22), for its clear raspberry-fruit flavours and light tannic finish which can balance out the sauce.

Pork has a richness all of its own and plain roasted it works perfectly with a lightish red such as a Beaujolais Villages 2009 from Domaine des Nugues, normally £9.99, now down to £7.99 on multibuy at Majestic.

If apple sauce is the dominating factor, then steer towards a white wine with body such as a Southern French wine such as a white Côtes du Roussillon, Palais des Anciens 2009, Tesco, down to £5.49 from £7.49 until next Tuesday).

Red meat such as beef, whether served as a roast or a steak, needs and deserves a serious red wine.

Head to a Cabernet Sauvignon-based wine from South Africa such as such as Porcupine Ridge Cabernet (Sainsbury, down from £7.99 to £5.33 until March 22).

Spice

Once spice is added to the dish, it takes over the flavour profile so you need to tailor your wine to suit it.

Simple garlic can make tannic wines taste metallic, so if there is enough garlic in the dish to infuse through the kitchen then check out softer reds such as Merlot, especially ones from Chile which seem to have bags of fruit with a soft, velvety finish.

I like Santa Rita 120 Merlot 2009 normally £6.99 but now down to £5.49 on multibuy (Majestic). Tasted on its own it can seem rather flat, but it has enough fruit and suppleness to fit around a lively garlic-spiked dish without intruding.

Thai-spiced dishes, with a mild chilli flavour, whether chicken or fish seem to delight in partnering some of the many delicious rosé wines now on the shelves. Waitrose has the strawberry and citrus-flavoured Ch. Caraguilhes from Corbières, down £2 to £7.99 until April 5.