Pairing wine and food can be a daunting and intimidating task. Entire books, and many of them, have been written on this subject, and this is meant to be a very basic guide to help you understand what food works best with certain types of wine.

First of all, please remember that there are no hard and fast rules. There are famous selections that always go together, and when you experience one of these you'll likely agree with everyone else. However, no article or book can tell you what tastes best to YOU, and experience and experimentation will ultimately be your guide when pairing wine with food to please your own tastes.

Wine and food flavors will interact, and that's exactly what we're looking for. Some flavors will contrast, such as a sweet Riesling with a salty dish, and this can enhance the flavor of the food you're eating a great deal. If you combine two similar tastes, like a sweet wine with a dessert, the wine taste may be smoothed out by the dessert's sweetness.

A classic way to look at pairing is heavy with heavy and light with light. An example of a heavy food dish would be a steak and baked potato, which could be paired very nicely with a heavy-bodied Merlot or other full bodied reds. A lighter dish, such as chicken or fish, could be paired with a Pinot Grigio or a Sauvignon Blanc. Again, this is a personal preference area, and you may find you like non-traditional pairings. One such that I've tried recently is salmon with a Pinot Noir. Traditionally, red wine and fish are not thought of as partners, but the salmon is a hearty taste while the Pinot is a lighter-bodied red, and the two seem to go well together.

Some foods can be difficult to pair with wines. Salads can be a challenge, as well as some soups. In instances such as this, it might help to key in on certain ingredients within the dish, such as crisp green apples in your salad that match up well with a Riesling that is off-dry. It also helps to consider the acidity in the wine and how that matches up with certain foods. Acidity is the crispness in whites, for instance, a Pinot Grigio that cuts through a cream sauce would be high in acidity and therefore a good match.

Like anything else, practice makes perfect when it comes to food and wine pairing. If you're in a restaurant and are unsure of how a dish is prepared or what might go well with what, don't be afraid to ask. Your server should be ready to answer your questions about pairings and be helpful with offering suggestions, so don't be afraid to brand yourself a rookie. Many servers are eager to offer their expertise thrilled when their patrons ask specific questions.

Here's one more tip if you're cooking at home and trying to match wines with food. Start with a bottle of wine you've enjoyed before and then try to think what might match up well with it. If you miss the mark, at least you'll have a fine bottle of wine to enjoy!