5 easy and delicious foods to pair with a bottle of wine at a party

Wine pairing can be a daunting task unless you spend a lot of time with wine zealots. When it comes to wine pairings, a person should understand the palate and the taste of the dish before putting a wine with a particular dish. However, if you still are not sure about what kind of dish you should pair with red or white wine at a small party, here are a few simple dishes that can certainly put up and help you out. Take a look. (Images courtesy: iStock)

In general, the most successful wines to brace with a Mexican feast are refreshingly crisp and acidic. While Sauvignon Blanc is a fine choice for this chipotle shrimp quesadilla, we suggest an Albariño — and not just because it generally hails from Spain, but also because it's refreshingly citrusy flavour profile will nicely neutralize the heat from the peppers.

Chicken is one of the versatile meats and because of it, one can pair any wine with it - be it red or white. However, one thing is for certain though that you can't go wrong with a full-flavoured California Chardonnay, which is a classic match for poultry. Consider choosing one that's unoaked or lightly oaked, since the oaky versions are better suited to rich and creamy chicken recipes.

High in saturated fat and creaminess, this delicious salad is something that will make people want for more. To accentuate the taste of this dish, you would need a wine that’s light and stimulating and thus you would want to pair it with a wine like New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. This wine’s pungent herbal notes are a nice incident to vegetables and sauces, and its dry, light body will not overwhelm the delicate flavours of the delicate lettuce. However, if you cannot find this wine, do try the Arneis which is a nutty white wine from Italy's well-admired Piedmont wine region and goes well with the parmesan topping and pungent dressings. (Image: istock)

Thai Chicken is known as a dish that’s rich in flavours and herbs and thus you would need a wine that goes best with its sour and spicy flavours. Ideally, you should go for a low-alcohol, medium-bodied white like German Riesling, which not only enhances the fantastic flavours in this form but also stands up well to the pungent gusto and rich coconut milk in the curry sauce. (Image: istock)

You will be hard-pressed to find a wine that can make the soy sauce in this grilled salmon dish soar better than Gewürztraminer. The aromatics in this full-bodied white are an awful mate to the subtle agreeableness of grilled salmon, and more yet, the wine itself features a gusto-like spice that mimics one of the form's factual constituents. (Image: istock)

Contributed by: Dr Prashant Mistry, Celebrity Nutritionist and Health Instructor

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