To match means “to pair or assort different things with a view to fitness or equality”. In the case of wine, matching is not difficult but it requires knowing some basic principles. As soon as you learn them, you’ll be able to compose your own harmonies between dishes and wines. Here are some tips:

Follow your taste. This is the first rule you can’t forget about. It’s your experience and you rule. Trust your way of understanding food and the way you enjoy wine. When matching, choose those wines you like drinking on their own and have enough character to be tasted by themselves. Then, try to discover what they could offer by combining them with your favourite dishes… Can you see? You’re already matching wine and food! 

It’s not a dish + a wine: it is a set menu. It’s not about putting together the flavours of a certain dish and a specific wine. It’s about creating a set menu with many dishes and many wines. The sequence of all of them must offer a global experience as pleasant as possible. Sometimes, two excellent harmonies of independent wines and dishes offer a very poor set. When matching, think of the global result. For instance, a full bodied wine cannot be served before a light wine. Both may be excellent, but the first one shouldn’t make the second one seem tasteless. Generally, either rosé or white wines must be served before red wines —young ones and then aged ones—, and finally liqueur or sweet wines.

Weight, balance, association and contrast. These are the four elements to take into account when preparing your harmonies. The weight of the food is established by different factors (fat content, ease of digestion, flavour intensity) but it is also very intuitive: meat balls are heavier than salad. With wines, their weight depends on their alcohol content, tannin concentration, variety and time of aging. The secret to achieve good harmonies is finding the balance between dishes and wines.Think of the scales: the weight of both the dish and the wine must be similar. For instance, our Syrah is fruity, medium bodied but sweet, and with soft tannins, so it pairs well with roast red meat. Cabernet Sauvignon, however, stronger and with more presence of tannins, could easily be paired with a heavier meat stew.

Another concept you must be acquainted with is that of association/contrast. You can play with two different combinations: dish and wine either complement or contrast with each other. Light dishes with fresh wines would be a combination by association; whereas very strong cheese with sweet wine becomes a harmony by contrast. Another example of contrast: our Colección Privada —particularly if it’s been bottled for four or five years— pairs perfectly with chocolate desserts such as cakes or brownies.

What sort of harmony is better? Let’s go back to our first tip: follow your taste.