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your taste buds are drama queens and so are you 👸

(the first in a four-part guide to save you from yourself)

Ever broken a sweat when someone handed you the wine list?

Or brought a bottle to a dinner party that no one touched…except to move it off the table?

We’ve all been there.

Picking the right wine isn’t just about knowing what you like. It’s about knowing what actually works with the food and, let’s be honest, what makes you look good in front of your friends, dates, and your boss.

Over the next few weeks, I’m teaming up with Sophia — the writer behind Sophia is Voracious and an operator and investor exploring the intersection of food, business, and entertainment — to break down the science and strategy behind wines that show up for dinner.

But before we dive into what pairs with what, we need to talk about why pairing even matters.

Your Taste Buds are Drama Queens

There’s a lot to taste! Your taste buds respond to six major flavors and the texture. Your current mood, expectations, and memory can also impact your experience.

The most interesting, delicious foods combine at least a few. A ripe orange is sweet and sour. Or roasted brussels sprouts with bacon are bitter and salty. 

It’s complicated.

Perception of taste is dependent on the context, sequence, and vibe:

  • Taste is relative: Your palate adapts based on what came before. That’s why OJ tastes like battery acid after brushing your teeth.

  • Sugar and acid play tricks on each other: Acid is only sour in contrast to what came before. Same with sweetness. 

  • Bitterness doesn’t fade—it builds: Unlike acid or sweetness, bitterness doesn’t adjust, it compounds.

  • Creamy foods coat your mouth: Dulling your perception of flavor (see: chocolate, dairy, butter).

The tl;dr: taste is personal and there’s no such thing as a “perfect” pairing for everyone.

The Goal: Elevation

The best pairings make the wine and the food taste better together than they would on their own.

In most cases, the food changes the wine more than the wine changes the food. That means your favorite dish can make — or break — a meal depending on what is in the glass.

Let’s break it down. Which parts of your plate are playing nice — and which ones are messing with your wine?

Salt and acid are your wine’s best friends: they smooth out tannins, enhance fruitiness, and make even bold wines more approachable. That’s why fries, vinaigrette salad, and a citrusy ceviche are surprisingly easy to pair.

On the flip side, chocolate lava cake, a spicy pad Thai, or asparagus omelette with Gruyère? They’re a bit trickier.

Why?

The Troublemakers

Sweetness, spice, and umami: the three problem children when it comes to wine pairings. That does not mean you can’t pair wine with those foods! You just need to know how to pick a wine that won’t end in a mouthful of regret. 

1. Sugar 

The problem: Sweet food can ruin a dry wine. Eat something sweet and your dry wine will taste more acidic, less fruity, and overall…off.

The fix: Match sweetness with sweetness.

Dessert wines (think Sauternes, Port, Moscato) are built for this. If the wine is sweeter than the dessert, you’ll get harmony. If it’s drier, you’ll get a fight.

2. Spice

You like chilis? Great. Just know: spicy food and high-alcohol wine are not friends.

The problem: Capsaicin (the burn in chili peppers) behaves a lot like booze: it creates a warming sensation. So if you pair a spicy dish with a big, boozy red? You’re just piling heat on heat. No, thank you! (unless you’re a sadist). 

Plus, spice dulls fruitiness and turns tannins bitter. Not ideal.

The fix: Chill it.

Look for chilled wines that are lower in alcohol and tannins (like a Gamay or Lambrusco), or off-dry or sweet (like Riesling or GewĂĽrztraminer). 

Spicy dishes, from Thai to Szechuan, work beautifully with slightly sweet, lower-alcohol wines. The sugar cools the burn without overbearing the fruit.

3. Umami

Umami is the savory, almost meaty, depth-y quality in ingredients like cooked mushrooms, soy sauce, eggs, asparagus, anchovies, and tomatoes.

The problem: Umami can be hard to pin down because unlike other tastes, it’s usually present along with other flavors (think MSG: umami + sodium.) Umami without salt will make your wine taste flat and bitter because it strips away the fruit and exaggerates tannins (that dry feeling in your mouth from red wine).

The fix: Pull out the salt shaker. 

Think of salt as wine’s best friend: it softens tannins while enhancing the fruit.

That’s why aged Parmesan and prosciutto pair beautifully with wine. They’re umami-rich and salty, so they play nice.

When in doubt…

Some wines are easier to pair with food than others. Some are a little more complex (but oh so worth it). 

Here’s a quick cheat sheet for when you’re staring at a wine list like it’s a math test:

That’s the basics for this week —
In two weeks, we’ll be dissecting the go-to pairing strategies that sommeliers actually use (and none of the “red wine with meat, white wine with seafood” basicness).

Do you have a wine you love but can’t figure out what to eat with it? Or a favorite, unusual pairing? Hit reply - We’d love to hear all about it!

See you soon,

Megumi & Sophia

P.S. Don’t forget to check out Sophia is Voracious here!

Don’t be selfish: