20 Amazingly Simple Food and Wine Pairing Ideas

By Madeline Puckette

Looking to impress your friends at your next dinner party? Check out this incredibly useful food and wine pairing list from Wine Folly.

Madeline Puckette

Get inspired by these everyday food and wine pairings. For example, love chicken tacos? Try them with white Vinho Verde wine!

  • Food Wine: A wine that makes food taste better.
  • Cocktail Wine: A wine that tastes best when drunk on its own.

You already know cocktail wines. They are the quintessential "100-point" wine. A drink-your-dinner wine. Something that's so insanely complex and complete that food would just sour the experience.

But we can't survive on wine alone, even if it sounds like a good idea. Fortunately, there is a whole class of wines out there — the food wines — that are designed for this purpose. Food wines are rapidly growing in popularity. Not only are they affordable, but they will make things taste better.

  1. Chicken Tacos and Vinho Verde
  2. Cheesy Puffs and Chenin Blanc
  3. French Fries and Sparkling Wine
  4. Fried Chicken and Moscato
  5. Buffalo Wings and Lambrusco Dolce
  6. Fish and Chips (England Style w/ Tartar Sauce and Mushy Peas) and Chilled Sercial Madeira
  7. Red Bean Chili and Cava
  8. A BLT Sandwich and White Zinfandel
  9. Meatball Sandwiches and Carménère
  10. Pulled Pork Sandwiches and Petite Sirah
  11. Lamb Gyros and Nebbiolo
  12. Chicken Salad and Grüner Veltliner
  13. Steamed Pork Dumplings and Gewürztraminer
  14. Caramelized Onion and Mushroom Quiche and Chardonnay
  15. Moo Sho Pork and Riesling
  16. Veggie Macro Bowl and Vermentino
  17. Sushi and Muscadet
  18. Vietnamese Fresh Rolls and Furmint
  19. Asian Barbecue and Red Zinfandel
  20. Beef Brisket and Red Bordeaux