Choosing Wines By Body

I got the chance to go to yet another wine tasting event in Philadelphia two weeks ago. Vicki, from Vinocity, a Philadelphia wine education and tasting experience company, focused on pairing summer wines.

When pairing wines, my usual method is to choose red or white based on the food I’m eating and then to choose whatever type of wine I like best. Don’t get me wrong, that absolutely works, but the first thing Vicki did when she began to set the stage for the rules of pairing summer wines was throw the “white with fish, red with meat” rule out the window. Her first rule of pairing summer wines was match the body. If you’re eating a food that is light and simple, pair it with a light wine. If you’re eating a food that is full and rich, pair it with something heavier.

This makes so much sense. You don’t want to completely overpower your food with your wine, or overpower your wine with your food. I very quickly realized I wasn’t sure which wines are light and which are heavy. Vicki talked through some of them and I came home and did some additional research. Using Wine Country Getaway’s handy wine body chart I was able to make the infographic below.

Remember that the lightest light is ligher than the lighest red and the heaviest red is heavier than the heaviest white, but other than that, have fun pairing.

This chart is definitely going to help me reconsider pairing wines (I will probably google my own blog post next time I hit the wine store). What do you think, will this change the way you pair wines?