Hello Wine Lovers,
Food and wine pairing can be challenging especially when looking at large displays of wines. The “winefolly” link provides a diagram illustrating relationships of wine to food. The illustration is a quick guide that can help focus the selection of wine with food served. I found matching the color of the circle around the wine and the color of end of the line above thr food type to be easier than following individual lines.
The chart highlights a basic premise of pairing which, in essence, aligns the weight of wine with the food type. The “weight” of the wine relates to its body, notably the alcohol level and the influence of tannins. The weight of food relates to its intensity of flavor. As such, light red and white wines complement the light delicate flavors of vegetables and seafood; robust flavors from hard cheeses and roasted meats have weights comparable with medium and big red wines.
While a bit of a long read, the Wikipedia link provides a very good and detailed description of wine and food paring that offers a bit of history, describes basic sensory components talks of the weight of food and wine and offers ideas on creation of complementary or contrasting flavors through use of acid and sweetness levels of both the food and wine.
Enjoy and explore,
Mike
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_and_food_matching
http://winefolly.com/tutorial/basic-wine-and-food-pairing-chart/
Discovery Wines 