Recommending wine with food
Pairing isn’t magic, it’s four levers. The AI weighs them in order, and so can your floor team.
The rule
Match the dominant flavour, not the protein. Duck with cherry glaze pairs with the cherry. Tuna with soy pairs with the soy.
The four levers
- Cut or echo the fat. Fatty → acidity or tannin. Lean → body that doesn’t overpower.
- Match the dominant flavour, as above.
- Respect the regional pair. Sangiovese with tomato, Riesling with pork, Champagne with anything fried. Centuries old — don’t be clever.
- Match the moment. Summer lunch is lighter and lower in alcohol; winter braise is riper.
The default direction
| Dish | Lever | Wine direction |
|---|---|---|
| Tomato pasta | Echo acidity | Sangiovese, Barbera, Frappato |
| Cream pasta | Cut fat | Verdicchio, unoaked Chardonnay, Franciacorta |
| Margherita | Echo + cut | Sangiovese, Aglianico, Negroamaro |
| Grilled red meat | Tannin matches char | Nebbiolo, Cabernet, Syrah |
| Poultry with sauce | Match the sauce | Cherry → Pinot Nero. Lemon → Vermentino. |
| Fish, simple | Light body, high acid | Vermentino, Gavi, Soave |
| Fish, sauced | Match the sauce | Butter → Chardonnay. Herbs → Sauvignon Blanc. |
| Mature cheese | Echo or contrast | Aged red, or a late-harvest white |
| Dessert | Sweeter than the dish | Moscato, Passito, fortified |
When it’s wrong for your house
The AI follows generic principles; your house may not. Write the rule once in your voice notes:
- “We never recommend Bordeaux — natural wine only.”
- “House pairing for the carbonara is the Falanghina, not the Frascati.”
- “Lambrusco with everything fried, including the calamari.”
Don’t fight the defaults guest by guest. Write it down once.
Overriding at the table
- “I only drink white.” Pair inside it — the levers still apply, only the colour changes.
- “Something interesting.” Step off the default with a one-line reason: “A Frappato — same family as Sangiovese, lighter, rarer.”
- “The best you have.” Stop reading the food. Pour what they want.
Related features
- What to write so the AI sounds like you — where a house override lives
- Writing good dish descriptions — the pairing beat on the dish itself