Food and Wine Matching - a pairing to avoid.  Add/Read Comments

Hard to believe but there is a school of thought that maintains that it doesn't matter which wine you drink with the food you are eating; it makes no difference. 'They' obviously were not round my place last night!

I really don't know what I was thinking. A quick supper dish (it had been a long day) of noodles, boiled eggs and Sweet Chili Sauce topped with sliced cucumber and Spring Onions, tasty in itself and served with a decent Spanish white wine. God though, the match was awful.

The wine was an Albarino. I know exactly why I served both. I was tired and the food was a 'quick and easy' stand-by using what little I had remaining in the cupboard and fridge. The wine was a sample pinched from a wine tasting earlier that day.

'Unimpressed' was the general conclusion on the wine but I was determined to give it another chance. Generally my impression of Albarinos, from Spain or Portugal, are lacking. Overpriced too. This particular example retails at about a tenner a bottle. Served with the food it was truly abysmal. The wines acidity screamed against the sweet-fieriness of the sauce while the eggs clashed terribly in all uncomfortable taste combination. Eggs often clash with wine but this was simply disgusting.

Experience reveals that wine either blends perfectly with the food it is served with, heightening nuances of flavour in both or offers a palate-cleansing, harmonious opposite. These too together did neither.