Recipes & Pairings

Sparkling wine, aromatic whites with a touch of sweetness and fruity, low-tannin reds such as Pinot Noir are the classic matches for Chinese food. Sparkling wine covers a shared table, and a little sugar helps with sweet-and-sour sauces and Sichuan heat.

Riesling, sparkling rosé and light, fruity reds such as Gamay are the classic matches for Indian food. Match the wine to the sauce: cream curries take rosé or a medium-bodied red, and hot tomato curries need a cold, low-tannin wine.

Off-dry Riesling, Gewürztraminer and lightly sweet sparkling wine are the classic matches for Thai food. A little sugar and a cold glass calm chili heat, and rich massaman curry can take a fruity red such as Carignan.

Muscadet, Chablis and dry sparkling wine such as Champagne are the classic wines for oysters. Pick a crisp, dry, unoaked white for raw oysters and save fuller whites for cooked ones.

Riesling, sparkling wine and chilled light reds such as Beaujolais suit most Mexican food. They keep alcohol and tannin low, so chile heat stays in check, and their acid keeps up with lime and salsa.

Dry white wine and sparkling wine suit the widest range of cheese, and orange wine handles salty aged cheese. Match by type: Sauvignon Blanc with goat cheese, sparkling with brie, Lambrusco with Parmigiano and sweet wine with blue.

Light reds such as Pinot Noir, Beaujolais and Grenache, plus Riesling and dry sparkling wine, are the classic wines for Thanksgiving turkey. Pick wines with low tannin and bright acidity so they also handle cranberry sauce, stuffing and sweet potatoes.

Zinfandel, Syrah, Grenache blends, Lambrusco and dry rosé are the classic wines for BBQ. Fruity reds handle sweet sauce and ribs, structured reds suit brisket, and rosé or a chilled light red fits smoked chicken and hot days.

Fruity, medium-bodied reds such as Garnacha, Zinfandel, Barbera, Beaujolais and dry Lambrusco pair best with burgers. The toppings decide the bottle: sweet ketchup wants acidity, bacon wants dry Lambrusco and hot sauce wants a low-alcohol red.

Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc are the classic wines for chicken. Roast chicken takes an oaked Chardonnay or a light Pinot Noir, and lemon or herb chicken takes a crisp white such as Sauvignon Blanc.

Crisp, dry Italian whites are the classic wines for carbonara, led by Frascati and other whites from Lazio, plus Verdicchio and Soave. A dry sparkling wine or a light, low-tannin red such as Pinot Noir also works.

Vermentino, the native white grape of Liguria where pesto comes from, is the classic wine for pesto pasta. Crisp, herbal whites such as Sauvignon Blanc, Arneis and Gavi also work, and so does a dry rosé.