First of all I must say that I think the emphasis placed on matching wine with food by some writers has been a bit over the top in recent years. I'm not suggesting that you should ignore what you read, but I feel that some of the guidelines offered can have an impact on restricting your freedom of choice and enjoyment when exploring the world of wine.
I'm sure that we have all heard at one time or another well meaning advice from friends and family that you must only drink red wine with meat and white wine with fish. This statement is not entirely true, as I would recommend trying a light and delicate Pinot Noir with trout or salmon or Riesling with duck. For chicken I would suggest trying Tempranillo as well as the obvious white wine combinations such as Chardonnay and Semillon.
For heavier meats such as beef you really do need reasonably full reds such as Cabernet or Merlot. My only rule is that as long as you aim to match the flavour level of the meal with a similar level of flavour in the wine, whether the wine is white or red you should not go too far wrong.
Why not try Grenache with lamb chops, Shiraz with pizza and Cabernet Sauvignon with barbecued red meats. Or if you prefer white wines then a Chardonnay with a roast chicken salad or baked salmon. For Asian influenced food try Riesling and Semillon for seafood and Thai cuisine
Even though there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to matching wine with food as I am usually against any strict rules on this subject, however I have taken the liberty of providing some suggestions for food and wine pairing below.
Fish : Chardonnay or Riesling.
Chicken : Riesling, Chardonnay, Semillon and Tempranillo (Spanish red).
Beef : Cabernet, Merlot or Shiraz.
Lamb : Shiraz, Tempranillo, Grenache and Pinot Noir.
Pork : Chardonnay or light simple reds such as Beaujolais or Valpolicella.
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