If you've found yourself doing more home cooking recently, it might be an idea to look to the French concept of food and wine matching for some classic guidelines.

Balance is very important to the French, in all areas of life. This fact, coupled with their passion for good food and wine makes it logical that they would make an art form of balancing what they eat and drink.

In French, matching food and wine is called assortir les vins au menu. For a subject that can seem overwhelming for the amateur, the good news is that the basic tenets are really quite logical. Voici* some useful rules of thumb.

If you’re interested in a bit more nuance, try to follow the following ideas:

A dry white wine is a good match for fresh seafood, a fuller-bodied white if the seafood is served hot, and a medium or even sweet white if the seafood is served with a sauce.

Try to match the intensity of the meal with the wine. That is, a rich steak marries well with a full-bodied red wine, whereas scallops would benefit a more delicate white.

Lastly, where possible, use wines from the same region as the dish. When all elements come from the same terroir,* the likelihood of a successful marriage is naturally higher.

Bon appétit!*

*Here are | *the unique combination of climate, soil and topography of a particular area | *Enjoy your meal!

Wine rules