-Desserts: Sweets usually taste unpleasant with very dry wine. Dessert wines are the obvious choice, but some argue that they're best enjoyed alone. Just decide for yourself.-Cheese: Flavorful hard cheeses need full rich wines. Sweet wine, especially Port, complements blue cheeses. Avoid heavy reds with soft cheeses. Very strong cheeses can overwhelm any wine.
-Fresh Fruit: Fruits that are high in acid can make wines taste metallic and thin. In general, drink sweet whites, especially botrytized, late-harvest, or sparkling.
-Fish Dishes: The sauce fish is cooked in or served with makes all the difference...Creamy sauces need high acidity and effervescence, so choose dry whites- although fish cooked in red wine will taste good with red wine. Oak-aged Chardonnay is a good match for smoked fish.
-Hot & Spicy: Ice-cold beer is a better match than wine for really spicy food. If you do want wine, though, sweetness sometimes proves a good contrast to spices...try a Gewurtztraminer.
-Hearty Fare: If you observe the golden rule on balance, a heavy meal must be teamed with an equally weighty red...a bull-bodied, tannic wine such as Cabernet Sauvignon is ideal.
-Dressed Salads: If there is lemon or vinegar in the dressing,wine should be acidic to balance it. Light, dry whites, more acidic than reds, suit salads...Sauvignon Blanc is a good choice.
-Made with Eggs: The effervescence of sparkling wine is the perfect foil to the soft texture of egg dishes, while a the same time not drowning out eggs' somewhat subtle flavor.
