matching wines to a food

[daveflores]

I am as new to wines as one can be and I have only tasted one red wine which was a chianty (I am not sure of the proper spelling). I am wondering if I could go on drinking this wine with all Italian foods, since I only drink wine when I am eating Italian food?

[Randy Caparoso]

Why mess with a good thing?. Chianti from Italy -- made primarily from the red skinned Sangiovese grape -- is perfect for Italian food because it tends to have a slightly higher acidity than red wines from other parts of the world. This is good because Italian food is characteristically prepared with slightly higher acid elements -- the sweet/sharp taste of tomatoes, the balsamic vinegar balanced by olive oil, the lethal taste of garlic, the acidic/bitter edges of arugula, fennel, kale, etc. -- than foods from other parts of the world. It's naturalmente!

[This message has been edited by Randy Caparoso (edited 03-30-2000).]