German Wine & Food Pairing

TFW German Wine and Food Pairing Guide

The below food pairing chart is a guideline on successfully matching the overall finished dish with the proper wine. In using this chart, take into account all the ingredients that make up any given course and select a wine that agrees with as many of the possible ingredients. This will bring out the subtle nuances of the dish and tie everything together!

Option	Style	Wine Type
A	A Dry toasty and yeasty Sekt (Sparkling Wine) with great essence, floral notes and a wonderful composition.	A Traditional Method Sparkling
B	A Dry or Semi-Dry wine with a racy and elegant structure, balanced acidity, little residual sugar (RS) and soft fruit component.	A Kabinett / Spätlese or QbA
C	A Dry wine with softer acidity, little residual sugar and a medium body.	A Pinot Grigio, Silvaner, Blanc de Noir
D	A Dry, slightly aged, full bodied wine, with a hint of RS (residual sugar), and great balance between outstanding fruit and acidity.	A Spätlese / Charta
E	A Dry or Semi-Dry wonderfully balanced, well-structured, velvety, indulgent German Pinot Noir.	A Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir)
F	A Semi-Dry medium to full-bodied wine with a wonderful balance between fruit and acidity and a higher level of RS and more underlying fruit tones.	A Spätlese
G	A Sweet medium to full-bodied wine that is bold with fruit, pronounced acidity and loaded with depth and character and may be botrytised.	A Spätlese or Auslese
H	A Noble Sweet, that is medium to full-bodied and layered in complex tropical fruits, honey, caramel, beautiful acidity and can be botrytised.	An Auslese / BA / TBA or Eiswein

Cuisine, Preparation & Wine Match

Appetizers & Sides

	Preparation	Best Match / Other Options
Cheese	Mild cheeses like young gouda, cheddar, mozzarella, ricotta, Colby, simple cheese dips…	A, B, C / D or E
	Aromatic cheese like brie, bleu, fontina, aged gouda, swiss, raclette, feta, provolone…	B, C / D or E
	Spicy cheese like, jack, cheddar, manchego, gruyere, asiago, appenzeller...	B, C / F, G
	Strong cheese like, Roquefort, sharp cheddar, gorgonzola, goat cheese, tete be moine...	G or H / B
Salads	Starter salads, simple with veggies and mild dressings...	A, B
	Starter salads, simple with fruits and mild dressings...	B, D, F
	Entrée salads with (chicken, fish, shellfish, etc…)	B, D
	Entrée salads with (beef, lamb, etc…)	E
Soups	Clear and mild based soups with simple stock (chicken, veal, vegetable...)	B / C
	Cold, mild soups (gazpacho, tomato, cucumber…)	B / A
	Creamy, light, refined with soft texture and balanced structure (cream of…)	F / B
	Clear and spicy soups with texture and a touch of heat (blackbean, gulasch, Asian…)	D / E, F
	Big, bold, rich, indulgent soups (lentil, stews, bouillabaisse, chowder…)	C, D, E

Seafood

	Preparation	Best Match / Other Options
Shellfish	BBQ, baked or pan broiled with light creamy sauces, vinaigrettes, or stand alone	B / A, C, D, E
Shellfish	BBQ, baked or pan broiled basted in olive oil and spices (hot spices with F or G)	C, D, E / F, G
Fish	Poached, steamed, broiled or smoked white fish with butter, lemon or vinaigrette	B / C, D, E
	Poached, steamed, broiled or smoked oily fish (salmon, tuna, trout) with olive oil & herbs	E, D
	Marinated and prepared sweet / sour, or spicy with tomato, dill, cheese, cream sauce, etc…	D, E or F

Meat & Poultry

	Preparation	Best Match / Other Options
Poultry	Roasted, pan broiled, braised, BBQ, baked or cold with no sauce	B / C, D, E
	Roasted, pan broiled, braised, BBQ, baked or cold with butter or vinaigrette sauce	D, E / B
	Roasted, pan broiled, braised, BBQ, baked or cold with bold spices.	D, E, F / G
Lamb	Roasted, BBQ, braised, broiled with various sauces, spice, fruit, onion, etc…	E, D
Pork	Roasted, BBQ, braised, broiled with various sauces, spices, herbs, onion, etc…	E, D / F, G
Beef	Roasted, BBQ, braised, broiled with various sauces, spices, herbs, onion, etc…	E
Cured Meats	Mild Sausage (B / F), Strong smoked ham & sausage (E - Pinot)	See to the left
Game	Roasted, BBQ, braised, broiled with various sauces, spice, herbs, onion, etc…	E
Rich	Silky pate & foie gras	H / G, F

Pasta & Rice

	Preparation	Best Match / Other Options
Pasta & Rice	Based with mild cheese, light meats, herbs, veggies...	B, C / D, E, A
	Based with intense, robust cheeses, heavy sauce, veal, eggplant, etc...	D, E / B, C
	Based with sweet / sour ingredients (ham / pineapple), fruits, or spice & heat, etc…	F / G

Desserts

	Preparation	Best Match / Other Options
Desserts	Chocolate based cakes, pastries & desserts	Coffee drinks
	Cakes, pastries and desserts based with fruit (tarts, strudel, pie, cobbler…)	G
	Rich indulgent desserts like cream brulée, cheesecake, nut based, etc…	H
	An aged Ice Wine or TBA can serve as a stand-alone dessert and is often best that way!	H