Why Most Wine and Food Pairing Content Fails — What You Should Know

Let me guess: you’ve seen one of those glossy Instagram charts telling you exactly which wine goes with which dish. Red wine with meat. White wine with fish. Champagne with oysters. Chianti with pizza. And, of course, “any wine” with cheese.

Cute. But also? Completely useless in the real world.

Don’t get me wrong — there are good pairing guidelines out there, but most food-and-wine pairing content online falls into the trap of being too generic, too outdated, or too rooted in French fine dining traditions that don’t match how most of us actually eat today. If you’ve ever read a rule, tried it, and thought, “Wait, this doesn’t taste right” — yeah, it’s not you. It’s the advice.

1. Most Wine and Food Pairing Guides Lack Context

The biggest issue? Most traditional “wine pairing rules” were designed decades ago, when the culinary landscape looked very different.

Back then, the advice assumed you were dining like a 1960s Parisian aristocrat — classic French haute cuisine, butter-rich sauces, perfectly seared steaks, delicate white fish, elaborate plating. But food culture has evolved.

Today, Western cuisine has become more creative and less rigid. We share small plates, mix flavors across regions, and play with textures and spices in ways that didn’t exist when those pairing rules were written.

And it’s not just about fine dining anymore. Wine should also make sense for what we actually eat day to day. Casual bites deserve good pairings too. A bottle that works with Chinese takeout on a Tuesday, smoky barbecue on a summer weekend, or fried chicken straight from the paper bag — that’s real-life drinking. The old rules rarely account for these moments, but they should, because our tables are filled with burgers, bao buns and spicy wings more than foie gras and caviar.

Even more importantly, wine pairings rarely account for global cuisine. When I first entered the wine industry more than ten years ago, people used to say, “Oh, wine just doesn’t work with Asian food.” That was a widely accepted “truth” back then. But it couldn’t be further from reality. You just have to know which wines to choose. Vietnamese herbs and lemongrass shine with Grüner Veltliner. Sichuan heat loves off-dry Riesling or juicy, low-alcohol reds like Gamay. Thai curries are beautiful with Gewürztraminer or skin-contact Pinot Gris. The pairing options exist, but most guides don’t even try to go there.

The truth is, there’s no single universal rule, because our plates are far more diverse than the pairing charts suggest.

2. They Overgeneralize Everything

One of my least favorite “rules”? “Red wine with meat, white wine with fish.”

It sounds elegant, but the moment you start layering in actual food details, the rule collapses. Pair a delicate Pinot Noir with braised lamb shanks and watch the wine vanish. Serve a full-bodied oaked Chardonnay with raw oyster and suddenly it tastes like licking a lumber yard.

And even within one protein, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Take beef, for example. A fatty, well-marbled ribeye demands structure, you want something bold and tannic, like a left-bank Bordeaux or a bold Malbec, to stand up to all that richness. But a lean faux filet? A big, heavy wine will bulldoze it. You’d want something lighter, fresher, maybe a Loire Cabernet Franc or a Pinot. 

Same protein, same “red meat” category… but three completely different wines. And yet, most guides lump all beef under the same blanket recommendation.

Cheese is another victim of this thinking. “Take wine and food pairing with cheese, for example. You’ve probably read, “Red wine goes with cheese.” Sure, sometimes… but which cheese? Brie and Comté are not cheddar. Blue cheese doesn’t behave anything like Parmesan. And if we’re talking Loire Valley goat cheese,  a glass of Sancerre that a heavy Bordeaux is going to crush it.

3. They Oversimplify Wine Styles

Another pet peeve: those cute Pinterest-friendly graphics saying “Chianti goes with pizza.”

Sometimes true, yes — but Chianti isn’t just one style. A young, vibrant Chianti Classico with bright acidity and red fruit sings with a simple Margherita. But an aged Chianti Riserva with firmer tannins and a deeper, savory profile? That wants wild boar ragù, not a takeaway slice from the corner pizzeria.

It’s the same story with Pinot Noir. People love to say, “Pinot Noir pairs with everything.” But does it? A delicate, floral Pinot from Germany or Oregon will get demolished by smoky barbecue. A structured, earthy Burgundy might overwhelm spicy Thai noodles. Saying “Pinot goes with everything” skips the nuance that makes pairing interesting — and accurate.

4. They Ignore the Rest of the Wine World

Most pairing guides are stuck on repeat, circling the same handful of “safe” grapes: Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Champagne. The classics are great — no one’s taking your Pinot away — but they’re not the whole story. And they’re definitely not always the best fit for the way we eat today.

When I still hear wine professionals confidently declare that certain food is impossible to pair with wine,  I can’t help but laugh a little. If someone says that, they don’t know wine that well. They only know mainstream wine. Because the truth is, the more you explore indigenous varieties, the better your pairings get.

Take Grüner Veltliner, for example. It’s criminally underrated outside Austria, but its citrusy, peppery snap makes it brilliant with Vietnamese herbs, Thai curries, or even Mexican dishes heavy on lime and spice. In Burgundy, everybody’s busy chasing Meursault and Montrachet while Aligoté quietly waits in the corner, leaner, fresher, and, honestly, a much better partner for sushi than most buttery Chardonnays ever will be.

The same story applies when you venture into well-spiced Middle Eastern or Mediterranean cuisine. Most pairing guides will hand you Syrah or a GSM and call it a day. And yes, Syrah works, but not always. But if you look further, you find grapes like Saperavi from Georgia, Blaufränkisch from Austria, Refosco from northern Italy, or Agiorgitiko from Greece. All spicy, but in completely different ways: different fruit profiles, acidity levels, and body, giving you way more nuance to work with.

How to Actually Pair Wine with Food

Forget the rigid pairing charts. It is way simpler than people make it sound. Start with what you want to drink. If you’re in the mood for white wine, drink white wine. You’re not committing a crime, no matter how many times someone has told you that steak “requires” Cabernet.

From there, think about balance. Light, delicate dishes like sashimi, simple salads, fresh goat cheese, shine with lighter wines, while richer, heavier foods call for wines with a little more structure. It’s not about memorizing pairings; it’s about matching energy on the plate with energy in the glass.

Then there’s flavor echoing , one of my favorite tricks. Herbal wines like Sauvignon Blanc or Assyrtiko love herbal foods, spicy and juicy reds like Blaufränkisch dance beautifully with well-seasoned dishes. Just keep an eye on alcohol. A 15% Napa Cab with a bowl of fiery mapo tofu? That’s how you end up texting me later asking why your mouth is on fire.

Finally — relax. Most wines work with way more foods than the “rules” suggest. Unless you’re actively sabotaging yourself by dunking oysters in Amarone, the possibilities are far greater than the faux pas.

Tools That Can Help

Yes, shameless plug. I helped develop pairing tools like try.vi and VinoVoss, designed to suggest smarter, more inclusive pairings based on flavor and style, not outdated rules. Think of them as a modern shortcut when you don’t want to memorize somm talk.

The Bottom Line (and a Better Way Forward)

At the end of the day, wine pairing isn’t about perfection — it’s about pleasure. If someone frowns at your glass of Grüner Veltliner with spicy dumplings, well… let them stick to their Bordeaux and Brie. With just a few simple principles, you’ll be able to pair most of what you eat with wine and feel confident doing it.

But if you have a special occasion, a business dinner, a birthday celebration, a wedding, or any moment where you want a truly memorable experience or need to impress your guests, I also offer personalized wine pairing consulting services. Because sometimes, you want the wine to do more than work with the food. You want it to make the night unforgettable.