Food & wine matching can be a bit intimidating but when you know a few golden rules you can ensure every wine accompanied lunch or dinner is a great success!

You need to think about the levels of the following within the wine:

Sugar

Acid

Tannin

Intense Flavour

The main consideration for the perfect food and wine match is balance. This means if you have a sweeter style wine you need a dish that will either compliment or contrast with what is being poured. If there is an intense aroma of flavour such as citrus you need a food match that will go with this. So for example a sweet wine like the Belgravia Gewurztraminer 2009 will go well with a plain panna cotta or plate of gorgonzola cheese.

Some good matches for our cool climate Belgravia Wines are the following:

Belgravia Sauvignon Blanc 2010 – Confit duck salad with walnuts, feta cheese and pomegranate seeds.

Belgravia Riesling 2010 – Superb drunk alone but otherwise great with antipasto dishes, cheese & biscuits or Asian influenced main dishes such as chicken stir-fry.

Belgravia Pinot Gris – Mushroom risotto, chicken salad or a mezze plate. This is a very versatile wine which can easily match most light style dishes.

Belgravia Apex Chardonnay – this high acid wine is perfect with antipasto dishes or something light such as prawn linguine.

Belgravia Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 – delicious with a steak and Guinness pie or lamb shanks and mash. The ideal accompaniment to winter foods, lovely soft and round tannins also make this a good match for hard cheeses.

Belgravia Sangiovese 2009 – this Italian varietal works well with any Italian based foods such as tomato based pastas, pizza, antipasto or lasagne.