I’m Chloe (also @chloewinesanddines) and I love wine. So much that I started taking wine certification classes to learn more about what I liked, and in the process I discovered there’s a lot that people don’t know about how their wine and food work together. So I started recording my pairings to remember what combinations work great — and which ones just don’t. I try to categorize them by the type of food and the type of wine, so it’s easy to find the right suggestions for what you’re eating or drinking. I also sprinkle in a generous dose of favorite wine suggestions as I come across them.

A glass of wine is just a glass of wine, right? 

If you’re reading this, you probably already know there are lots of types of wine and they all taste different. But what a lot of people don’t know is that all those delicious flavors interact in different ways with different types of food. Opening any old bottle of wine to drink with your Tuesday night dinner could make or break the flavors. 

The fact is, wine is more delicious with the right food, and food is more delicious with the right wine. Even a wine that you enjoy drinking alone can be 10 TIMES tastier paired with a particular food! And if you’ve opened a bottle that’s just “meh,” well, the right food pairing can actually change it or bring out new flavors you didn’t taste before. 

Plus, pairing your wine with the food you’re eating just makes sense. Most of the time we’re enjoying a glass of wine with food — not just in a vacuum. So I try to approach wine recommendations within the context of HOW you’re drinking them. If you’re eating an acidic tomato-based food, a yummy Sangiovese will most likely taste much better than a bold and tannic Cabernet Sauvignon.

Wine + food pairings are a magical thing that can transform flavors into something even better than before. Yes, there are certainly bad pairing combinations and I do my best to avoid those — or point them out when I run into them. But when you find that perfect combination, it changes everything.