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Some will say curry is curry, and any pairing you suggest will work for all curried proteins and legumes. In some cases, this has some truth, but it misses the impact that texture and weight can add to a pairing. In this post, I specifically pair wine with curry beef, not just because of the spice factor but also the weight and texture of the meat and the complexity it adds. In this curry beef and wine pairing, we are taking our lead from the sauce and, secondary, the weight and texture of the beef, so let's start by breaking down curry. Curry in itself is not a spice. It is a blend of spices. In many ways, I look at the balance in a curry the same way I do wine. With curry, you have an excellent balance of sweet and savoury happening. For sweetness, you have things like clove, allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, and it meets savoury spices such as pimento, cumin, and thyme. With all of this complexity in curry, there is no one element shouting louder than others when you taste it. It's very much so in balance. It is essential to point out here that there are different kinds of curry depending on the region. In the Caribbean, you will find two styles; Jamaican curry, which is lighter in colour and with greater measurements of turmeric, and another common style that is darker and includes jeera masala. The later style is very similar to Indian-style curry, but note that the pairing we are walking through here will work with all of these curry styles. Then, of course, you have Thai curry, which is coconut based and very different from the curry we're talking about today, and likely would not pair as well with the wines we suggest below. To start, I lined up six wines. Some were the obvious pairings that people talk about. The age-old adage that if you have spicy foods, you should drink wines with some residual sugar because the perception of sugar on the palate will temper the spice. So, I had a Pinot Gris and off-dry Muscat in the lineup but progressed to lighter red wines and a full-bodied red. Ideal Wine Pairings with Curry Beef When looking for a food and wine pairing, you must experience harmony on the palate. No one element should come out and slap you in your face. Some of the wines we started with worked at first but then did the slap in the face thing. The complete opposite of harmony! Through a deep dive and exploration, we found that the ideal wine pairings for curry beef are Pinot Gris and Bordeaux Blend red wines, and here's why... Pinot Gris Alsatian Pinot Gris' are dry white wines but come with a ripe fruit feel and a little more residual sugar than other dry white wines. You also get lovely acidity from this grape and thus incredible structure. This works with curry beef because, as mentioned above, the ripe fruit (sweetness) on the palate tempers the spices in curry. In addition, that crisp acidity gives the wine a structure that stands up to the herb and aids in breaking down the beef. This is a refreshing and safe pairing. If you do not have access to a Pinot Gris, Riesling and Grüner Veltliner are good options too! Bordeaux Blend Wines A Bordeaux Blend is a wine made of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and sometimes Malbec, Petit Verdot and Carmenére. The dominant grape in your blend will be either Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot, and both of those are red grapes that produce full-bodied red wines. The tannins are balanced by bright acidity and some of the softening notes you get from oak. (It is common to see Bordeaux Blends aged in oak, and that goes for these wines found in actual Bordeaux and elsewhere.) Though most big reds would be a challenge with a dish like curry beef, this one is not: The interaction with the herbs in the dish turns up the fruit structure of the wine, often turning the black fruits into ripe red fruit Today, most of these wines will have elevated alcohol (14% ABV), and alcohol, on the palate, comes with a perception of sweet and it is that sweetness that here, tempers the herbs The tannin on these wines work well to quiet the fat in the beef and to soften the texture The tannins that were once gripping in the wine now soften and turn into velvety tannin through the aid of the meat The subtle influences of oak turn into clove and allspice, congruently pairing with your curry beef The curry now turns into a comforting nutmeg, woodsy and smokey sensation Both the food and the wine were transformed in this pairing, giving you new and harmonious sensations, sip and bite, after sip and bite. If you do not have access to a Bordeaux Red Blend, you can use a Brunello or Chianti Classico Reserva as the Sangiovese grape that makes these wines has a similar structure, and, by law, these wines would have to be aged in oak for some time.

Months ago, just after my 12 Days of Caribana food pairing posts, I had the idea to spread my love of Caribbean Food and Wine with as many people as possible, and from there, Fall Into Spice was born! Truly a labour of love, Fall Into Spice, both the planning and the doing, warmed my heart. There were so many firsts at these events. There were so many firsts at these events. We introduced grape varieties not common and introduced wines from countries not often spoken about in wine production. We took many wine expressions from all over the world and paired them with Caribbean, Ethiopian and Mexican cuisine. We were able to show that the diversity of food and wine pairing is a beautiful thing through understanding! I am honoured that so many of you allowed me to share my love of Caribbean food, and wine with you at Fall Into Spice and, with that, joined me on the journey of demystifying wine and breaking down barriers of wines misrepresentation. Stay tuned for more spicy pairing fun... There is so much more coming in 2022! If you have a cuisine you would like to see us incorporate on the next Spice Dining Series drop me a line. Some Fall Into Spice Pairing Highlights: Trinidadian Doubles - paired with - Szászi Birtok, Zenit, Hungary Cassava Pone - paired with - Ridgepoint Wines Dolce Appassimento, Canada Ethiopian Kategna - paired with - Perlage Zharpi Processo, Italy Ethiopian Bere Tibs - paired with - Fita Preta, Tinto Alentejano, Portugal Jerk Corn - paired with - Nyarai Cellars, Folklore Sparkling Wine, Canada Blackened Salmon - paired with - Bernard Baudry Chinon, France ...and so much more

Some customary actions happen when delving into a wine for the first time or revisiting it to find nuances, and they are sight, smell, and taste related. The next series of posts will focus on these elements of wine tasting and will reveal why we even do these things in the first place. Today, we're focused on why we 'sight' (look at) a wine once poured in the glass. Let's dig into it. You've probably seen a few wine geeks and lovers stare intensely at a wine after it has been poured in their glass and wondered and muttered, 'What on earth are they doing? Just drink it already'. The truth of the matter is that looking at a wine tells you quite a bit about what is in your glass; its condition, taste (yes, ideas on taste from looking at it), sweetness, alcohol, and even age. What Looking At A Wine Can Tell Us Condition For the most part, the wines you consume will be in good condition with no flaws recognizable on sight. Modernization and supply chain improvements over the years have made this so. However, if you note a wine appears cloudy, you need to ask yourself some questions to assess the condition. Cloudiness could be the desired outcome based on the winemaking, which is ok, but if it was not the winemaker's intent, you might have a problem. When a wine is young and otherwise vibrant, cloudiness could represent microbial activity in the bottle, which will negatively affect its taste! This happens when a wine is exposed to unstable heat environments, and this instability causes bacteria to rise. The temperature instability can also cause wines to go through second fermentation in bottle, causing the wines to be unintendedly fizzy. On the flip side, unfiltered wines can also have a cloudy hue, and here, this is not a sign of fault, but an indication that the winemaker decided to go low intervention with your wine, which may be something you want if looking for a more natural wine. Taste, Sugar, and Alcohol - the phenom behind 'Wine Legs and Tears' There is one tell-tale element in the glass that I attribute to possibly impacting taste, sugar or alcohol, and that is thickness and viscosity that appears around the glass just after you've given it a swirl. This is the wine aspect people refer to as the legs or tears. Taste and Viscosity (Tears) - if viscous lines remain on your glass after swirling your white wine, this could be an indication of phenolic bitterness, a term used exclusively for white wines. Though tannin is a part of the phenolic compound family, we'll leave that science lesson for another day. Phenolic bitterness is found in white wines made from grapes with thicker skins, such as Grüner Veltliner, Albariño, Pinot Gris, and Torrontés, to name the most popular. Phenolic bitterness gives off a nutty bitter taste on the palate and a soft wax coat on the tongue. Alcohol and Viscosity (Tears) - high alcohol wines also cause thick liquid lines on the glass. As the alcohol comes into contact with oxygen, some of it evaporates, and what doesn't meanders down to meet the rest of the wine in your glass. If you note that the alcohol is evaporating slowly and leaving higher density liquid lines around your glass, that is a good indication that this is a high alcohol content wine. To put it plainly, higher levels of alcohol produce larger droplets or viscous lines, thereby taking it longer to stroll down the side of your glass into the surface area of the rest of the wine. Sugar and Viscosity (Tears) - thick and viscous liquid lines dancing down the side of your glass could also indicate residual sugar in the wine. The sweeter the wine the thicker and weightier the juice in the glass. Very similar to the above with alcohol, these thick droplets of sweet wine will move slowly down the sides of your glass. Lines or 'tears' intensify with sweetness, even more so than alcohol. All of the 'tearing' or viscous wine lines mentioned above are the result of the Marangoni Effect, which scientists explain as: The Marangoni effect takes place when there is a gradient of surface tension at the interface between two phases – in most situations, a liquid-gas interface. Age Age can be picked up by the colour of a wine. On a red wine, amber hues start to appear around the rim of the wine when tilted in the glass, and as it ages, that ring of amber gets thicker, changing the wine in your glass from ruby red to lighter density garnet to an eventual tawny brown. With white wines, age can be picked up from the wine's appearance as well. Instead of the wine getting lighter like with red wine, it gets darker. Aged white wine will go from a bright straw or pale yellow in its youth to a deep golden colour and eventually a deep amber. Over time, wine becomes naturally exposed to oxygen, and oxygenation is the primary marker for colour change. This could be a full stop in explanation for white wine, but with red wine, there is more. Red wines get their pigment from anthocyanins. This is the phenolic compound credited for the red, blue/black colour of fruit (includes grapes). Over time, the concentration of anthocyanin decreases, and colour change occurs. So the next time you pour wine in your glass, take a moment to see if you pick up any hints about what's in your glass just from looking at it!

We're proud to announce that Fitapreta Vinhos Tinto Alentejano is a part of the FALL INTO SPICE Mixed Case! The Fitapreta Tinto Alentejano is a blend of the Aragonez (Tempranillo), Alicante Bouschet, and Trincadeira grapes. To put it simply, this is winemaker Antonio Mancanita’s expression of the Alentejo terroir and it is beyond expressive and delicious. So far at FALL INTO SPICE we’ve paired this wine with curry goat and an Ethiopian dish called Bere Tibs (beef cubes, jalapenos, onions and awaze), and this alone gives you a glimpse into this wines versatility with flavourful foods. The FALL INTO SPICE mixed case is now available here!

I know some of you may have read the title of this blog and thought 'how random,' but it's not really. When pairing wine with food, it's often the sauces you have to watch out for and pair for, not the protein, and knowing that, it is perfectly fine for us to sit here as adults and talk about pairing barbecue sauce with wine... and here we go. Pairing wine with barbecue sauce became a real thing for me when I made chicken wings that were topped off with, you guessed it, barbeque sauce. Like normal practice, when I sit down for dinner, I will often do so with two half glasses of wine. These are wines that I strongly feel should work wonderfully with my meal, but I am curious to see which one takes the cake. I discovered is that the wine I thought was a no-brainer and sure-fire winner for the barbecue sauce pairing was the failure. The wine made from a lighter grape but with a healthy ABV was the winner. Given this experience, and years of study, I have some thoughts on 'What Pairs with Barbeque Sauce'. Wine Pairing Recommendations Oaked Chardonnay A white wine and barbecue sauce pairing calls for a wine with enough richness and weight to stand up to your sauce, and oaked Chardonnay is a winning solution. The vanilla, caramel, and buttery feel from the oak, along with apple, lemon, and tropical fruit notes will make magic happen on the palate. Viognier This aromatic white wine will get you going from the nose alone. Viognier is a full-bodied wine that shines best in warmer climates, allowing the grape to give off ripe tropical notes and sturdy complexity. Though expressions will change somewhat depending on the country your Viognier is coming from, the base profile remains consistent, and you are guaranteed a full-bodied and provocative sipper that just so happens to pair quite nicely with barbecue sauce! Southern Rhône Grenache Blends Here, the climate is warm and Mediterranean, and this makes for some bright fruit in the glass with enough structure to give you a delightful sipper. Wines here can be made from an allowable 14 grapes and some of the most luscious, such as Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, and Cinsault, just to name a few. Southern Rhône reds will work as a congruent pairing to your barbecue sauce, given its thickness and feel of ripe red and black fruit on the palate. The spicy notes in this wine don't hurt as well and act as an extra condiment! Napa Valley Pinot Noir Warm climate Pinot Noir allows you to take in what you love from this grape, with a twist riper fruit than its Burgundian kin and sturdy levels of alcohol, and both of these things act as primary pairing factors with barbecue sauce. Though this section is entitled Napa Valley Pinot Noir, look out for wines from Chile. Pinot Noir here showcases bright red fruit both on the nose and on the palate and it lingers through on the finish.

With our Fall Into Spice food and wine pairing events, we’ve got an accompanying mixed case of six (6) wines available, allowing all to let the FIS fun live on! In all seriousness, though, this mixed case has been curated with flavourful cuisines in mind. Today, I want to introduce you to one of the wines in the Fall Into Spice 6-pack: Domaine Montrose Olivier Coste Cinsault. This Olivier Coste creation is incredibly special as it is 100% Cinsault, and for once, this grape is not being blended. Though rarely seen as a single varietal wine, the Cinsault grape has always been a fav ourite of mine for its ability to smoothen things out around the edges when added to a blend, especially in rosé wines from the south of France. Here, with Olivier Coste’s single varietal expression of the Cinsault grape, you get to see what it can give when put to stand on its own and when crafted by mindful vineyard management. A bevy of ripe red fruit and thyme on the nose, and that concentration of fruit follows through to the palate. Tastes of ripe cherry and strawberry, red currant, cassis, cocoa, and fennel round out this excellent sipper. This red is best served with a slight chill and can be paired with conversation, one-pot meat, and rice dishes such as cook-up rice, pelau, and pork. Domaine Montrose is located in the South of France, in the Languedoc region, and the grapes for today's wine came from Coteaux de Béziers.

You're about to sit down to some island niceness comprised of Jerk Chicken, and you want to know what wine to pair with it? We got you! When pairing foods with wine, regardless of cuisine, you want to understand the dominant player in your dish and go from there. With Jerk Chicken it is the sweet spice from cinnamon, brown sugar, and crushed peppers that dominate. From this flavour profile, you know you need something to calm the heat of the crushed hot pepper kick from the jerk seasoning and not clash with it. So here we go... Wine Pairing Recommendations Riesling Alsatian Riesling is a guaranteed winner as a pairing wine with jerk chicken. In Alsace, this grape benefits from a lengthy amount of sunshine, helping its ripeness, but still retains its acidity from cooler nights. Aromas of bosc pear, golden delicious apple skin, lemon pith, and white flowers. On the palate, lemon rind, green apple, apricot, pear, peach, and honey. You end up with a white wine with crisp acidity, bright fruit on the palate, and great complexity. Riesling, hands down, is a sure-fire winner for jerk dishes if you want minimal exploration. Grüner Veltliner This is a grape not to be slept on when it comes to pairing jerk chicken with wine. Grüner Veltliner produces a dry white wine, is the most planted grape in Austria, and is arguably the most internationally known. From Austrian Grüner Veltliner, you'll find common traits of lemon, lime, grapefruit, and nectarine, and you'll even pick up white pepper, ginger, and honey in more choice expressions. The fruit on Grüner Veltliner on the palate comes with a perception of ripeness, providing a sense of sweetness that will help cut the jerk's peppery notes. This grape also has thick skin, providing an excellent coating on the tongue to soothe the pepper. Last but not least, Grüner is known for its high acidity, and acidity is a blessing when pairing food and wine! Tempranillo Tempranillo from Rioja, Spain, is a must-have if looking to pair your jerk chicken with wine, plus it's always good to have both red and white wine options for pairings. Tempranillo is indigenous to Spain, and their expression of this grape in the glass produces a full-bodied red wine that leaves a slight but luscious stain on your glass. Tempranillo is highly aromatic, with blue and black fruit, fig, and subtle rose. As more and more producers are experimenting with aging vessels, the distinct coconut and dill notes from American oak are not constantly prevalent. Some producers are now using French oak, and in some cases, both. When a producer uses both American and French oak, it gives the wine an exceptional edge as that vanilla and dill essence is a killer combination on its own. Tempranillo's fruit structure applies sweetness right across the palate, and those in balance provide a long finish that will stand up and compliment the seasonings in your jerk sauce. With these three wine pairing options, and there are more (!!), you know you'll never have to jerk without wine again!

With our Fall Into Spice food and wine pairing events, we’ve got an accompanying mixed case of six (6) wines available, allowing all to let the FIS fun live on! In all seriousness, though, this mixed case has been curated with flavourful cuisines in mind. Today, I want to introduce you to one of the wines in the Fall Into Spice 6-pack: Zharpi Prosecco from Perlage. I am a firm believer and have said it many times, every household should have a bottle of sparkling wine in the fridge and ready to go at all times. Sparkling wine is undoubtedly one of the best food pairing wines there is, and with some investigation, you can get fantastic sparkling wine at affordable prices. Our Fall Into Spice mixed case feature, Zharpi Prosecco from Perlage, comes from Veneto, northeast Italy, in the DOC Treviso. This wine is made 100% from the Glera grape and vinified using the Charmat method and is vegan. With only 11% ABV and 10 g/l sugar, aromas of green apple, honeysuckle, pear, mineral and baked bread dance around with fine bubbles and crisp acidity. Green apple, lemon, grapefruit, honey, spice, and brioche are present on the palate. The fruit structure on the palate makes this a great accompaniment to fried foods and even those with a slight peppery kick to them. In the Fall Into Spice series, we’ve used Zharpi Prosecco as a palate cleanser, a pairing wine with saltfish and bake (an island favourite), and an Ethiopian dish called Kategna (warm injera smothered with Berbere and kibe). If this does not speak to this wine's versatility in food pairing, I don't know what will! Perlage was born in 1985 as an organic vineyard and follows a responsible and sustainable farming program.

As we come to another Thanksgiving holiday here in Canada, citizens are a hum with thoughts of Thanksgiving dinner with extended family and friends. Debates and lamenting over this or the other pre-dinner, during dinner, and then after dinner, becomes highly tolerable with good vino. You know it's true! So, to prepare you for yet another holiday meal with family and friends, I've got a few handy wine picks below. These picks are delicious, to put it plainly, but if you have Caribbean, Indian, African, and Taiwanese dishes with more spices accompanying your turkey, you will do well with these wines for sure. Thanksgiving Wine Choices When I think of holiday wines for dinner, I think of versatility. Trust me; this covers you if you've got a potluck dinner in mind, finicky palates to deal with, and the occasional wine drinker who likes to put ice cubes and fruits in their wines. With versatility in mind, you will have something for everyone. White Wine Margaret River Chardonnay With so many opinions about Chardonnay, there is no ignoring the fact that the classic expression (Chablis) with its crisp acidity, green apple, and lemon/lime notes makes it a perfect food pairing wine. On the flip side, its richer expression in warmer climates evokes more buttery and smokey notes imparted from oak that many enjoy over conversation. The two styles are quite different, but let me introduce you to Margaret River Chardonnay. Here, the grape gives you the perfect marriage between Chablis from Burgundy and Chardonnay from Napa. Margaret River Chardonnay's are harvested with an intent to keep the grape's acidity while giving a lifted fruit profile of apple, pear, apricot, and bright citrus. You will find that this wine pairs well with both conversation and food. This wine does quite well with white meats, such as turkey! Light Red Wines When it comes to versatile red wines, I like to go with lighter wines to ensure they will go with an array of dishes and align with as many palates as possible. Cool Climate Pinot Noir Cool Climate Pinot Noir is a chameleon as it can vibe well with many cuisines. Here, you find bright red fruit, crisp acidity, and moderate tannin and alcohol on the palate. When we talk about cool climate, we're encouraging you to look at Pinot Noir from : Burgundy Canada (Ontario) Germany (called Spätburgunder here) New Zealand (Central Otago region is a must) Beaujolais (Gamay) Gamay is a red wine, famed and primarily produced in Beaujolais, France. It is a light-bodied red wine with low tannin, high acidity, and medium alcohol. Many align Gamay with candied fruit and banana notes, which come from the winemaking process used in the region, called Carbonic Maceration. Today, however, you are finding more and more Cru level producers using semi-Carbonic Maceration. While Gamay may be famed due to its origin region, Beaujolais, France, it is essential to mention that other parts of the world produce great Gamay, namely Ontario, Canada. Ontario Gamay holds notes of red fruit that we know Gamay to bring to the senses, but you'll often find more violet, peppery herbs, and mineral here. Gamay is an astoundingly food-friendly wine that shines when paired with pork and lamb. Cabernet Franc I honestly feel that Cabernet Franc is one of the most underrated yet wildly important grapes there is. As one of the parents of Cabernet Sauvignon and a mainstay in Bordeaux blends, it deserves its due. Umm... fun fact that should be included here, it is also the parent of Merlot and Carmenere. It's a busy grape! However, the style of Cabernet Franc I want to talk about today is not the blended kind. I want to talk about wines made from 100% Cabernet Franc; these beauties! Cabernet Franc is an aromatic, red berry, tomato, and herb kind of wine. One of its tell-tale signs is notes of bell pepper or jalapeno, depending on where the grapes are grown. You will also find lively acidity and moderate tannins in this wine giving it the style profile fit for any meal. With these wines in tow, there will be no debate or lamenting session you cannot handle this holiday weekend! Cheers.

Where do I start?! On September 26, 2021, we had our very first Fall Into Spice event at 3030 with Chef Adisa Glasgow, and it was a blast. We tasted through seven wines and paired them with five food courses that highlighted Caribbean flavours and spices. Our food courses had us traverse through doubles, bake and basa, curry goat, and cassava pone. Our wines allowed us to travel to some faraway places such as Italy, Hungary, Portugal, and of course, a stop right here in Ontario, Canada! As a group, we talked through the flavours of the wines and the food and how they reacted with each other. We learned how to grow and expand our palate, and many walked away with a new view of a grape they just learned about or a region they thought they would never enjoy. We had a wonderful time yesterday. This pairing has opened up my palate to fish...of all things! Wow says attendee Leslie. I was surprised at how well the Zenit from Hungary went with the doubles. I never even heard of that grape until this tasting. Thank you for a wonderful time! says attendee Sheryl. A big thanks to everyone who came out to the first Fall Into Spice event at 3030! ABOUT FALL INTO SPICE The team behind Fall Into Spice (FIS) are individuals from the African-Caribbean and Latin Diaspora. Our passion is wine, and our heart is in spreading that love of wine to our respective communities. FIS is a series of culinary food and wine events in Toronto that give the community a chance to see how tropical cuisine and wine can be a match made in heaven. Try flavourful dishes that describe, through taste, a sense of place. Imagine, through one glass of wine and one bite, we’re going bring two distinct places and cultures together! This will be a one-of-a-kind culinary event for Toronto as we focus on both food and wine flavour combining the spices we love with wines we love. What is wine, if not something to be shared with a community over food, merriment, and togetherness? This is done in support of cognitive diversity in wine.

Combining the spices we love with the wines we love! This fall, we’re bringing four culinary food and wine events to Toronto that will give the community a chance to see how tropical cuisine and wine can be a match made in heaven. This tasting series has been fittingly named FALL INTO SPICE! 5-course meals paired with wines! INCLUDED IN THIS SERIES (September - October 2021) Tasting Event 1 - Caribbean - Trinidadian Fusion Tasting Event 2 - East African - Ethiopian Tasting Event 3 - Latin American - Mexican Tasting Event 4 - Caribbean - Cajun Fusion Five flavourful dishes that describe, through taste, a sense of place. Imagine, through one glass of wine and one bite, we’re going to bring two distinct places and cultures together! This will be a one-of-a-kind culinary event for Toronto as we focus on both food and wine flavour combining the spices we love with wines we love. ​What is wine, if not something to be shared with a community over food, merriment, and togetherness? ​This event is done in support of cognitive diversity in wine. About the Team behind FALL INTO SPICE The team behind Fall Into Spice are individuals from the African-Caribbean and Latin Diaspora. Our passion is wine, and our heart is in spreading that love of wine to our respective communities. We would love to have you FALL INTO SPICE with us!

The art and joy of food and wine pairing is something that provokes the senses and the mind. I find it fascinating when a sommelier or a steward of a tasting menu nails the flavours of the food and marries them perfectly with wines. In this post we'll talk about the two pairing styles that you need to know (Congruent and Complementary pairings) to get you started with winning pairings of your own. There are many factors that go into determining how to pair a meal with a bottle of wine. The first thing you need to do is understand the flavour profile of your meal. (I will do a future post breaking down the basic tastes found in food, which will further help.) Things you need to ask about the food you're pairing: Is it sweet? Is it noticeably salty? Think salted cod, for example. Is it spicy-hot? Is it rich? Think pasta in a creamed sauce. Is it fried? The list of questions above is your starting ground, and then you move into thinking if you want a wine that acts as a Congruent Pairing with your food or one that works as a Complementary Pairing. What are Congruent and Complementary Pairings? Congruent pairing: A congruent pairing means you will select a wine for your meal because it shares the same dominant element as is found in your food. A common congruent pairing is dessert with sweet wines. Sweet foods do well with drinks as sweet or even sweeter as that combination slightly lessens the perception of sweetness on the palate, and provides a more rounded experience. Complimentary pairing: A complementary pairing means that you will select a wine for your meal with an opposite dominant profile than what is found in your food. A common complementary pairing is steak with red wine (tannin). Tannin does a fantastic job of breaking down fat and heightening the flavour of the meat. In return, the fat in your steak will temper the tannins (that drying feeling in your mouth) in your wine, often times giving rise to the fruit and other elements, and leading to a more balanced experience on the palate. In closing, there is no better pairing style. Both a congruent and complementary pairing can be excellent. It really depends on the flavours you want to heighten and the senses you want to provoke! The most important thing to remember is that you never want the food flavours to overtake your wine and vice versa. Cheers and happy pairing!