whys of food & wine matches

[Innkeeper]

Hi Wattguitar, and welcome to the Wine Board. There are some guidelines that are just that. Personal preferences trump guidelines all the time. You got part of the guidelines right. That's the one about big wines with big foods. The opposite one to that is light wine with light food. Others include acidic wine (which does not include chardonnay) with acidic food, e.g. Chianti with pasta and tomato sauce; and the ever popular sweet wine with sweet food.

For details there are dozens of good books on the subject. Three of my favorites are: "The Wine Avenger", by Willie Gluckstern; "Garlic, Wine and Olive Oil, Historical Anecdotes and Recipes", by Thomas Pellechia; and "The Wine Lover's Cookbook", by Sid Goldstein.