Sommelier on Demand

By Michael Bottigliero ·

Pair Wine to the Sauce, Not the Protein

White with fish and chicken, red with meat. It's a fine rule for beginners. Once you want to get better at pairing, it's the first rule I want you to break.

I'm Michael Bottigliero, co-founder and lead sommelier at Bottles Nation. If I could teach every wine drinker one thing, it would be this: the sauce is what you pair to.

Why the sauce matters more than the meat

Think about chicken. Chicken piccata, chicken in red sauce, buffalo chicken, and chicken in a cream sauce are four completely different dishes that happen to share a protein. The chicken barely changes. The sauce changes everything: the acid, the fat, the spice, the sweetness.

Wine responds to those same things. High-acid sauces want high-acid wines. Rich, creamy sauces want wines with body. Spicy sauces want a little sweetness and low alcohol. Peppery sauces want peppery wines.

The halibut that got a red wine

Someone texted me wanting to break out of the usual white-with-fish routine. They were making halibut. I asked about the sauce. Au poivre: rich, thick, and peppery.

So despite the fish, I sent them to a red Syrah. They liked juicy New World styles, so I pointed them to a California Syrah. Syrah carries a natural black pepper note, and it met that sauce head on. The protein never entered into it.

A sauce-by-sauce cheat sheet

Every bottle below is one I've poured at Bottles Nation events.

Peppery sauces, like au poivre or a peppercorn crust

Reach for Syrah or Shiraz, which carry their own black pepper notes.

Tomato and red sauces

Tomatoes are acidic, so you need a red with bright acidity or the wine will taste flat. Italian reds were made for this.

Butter and cream sauces

Rich sauces want a wine with enough body to match them. This is where a fuller Chardonnay earns its place.

Lemon, caper, and white wine sauces

Piccata and beurre blanc style sauces are bright and tangy, so keep the wine crisp.

Pesto and green herb sauces

Basil and garlic need a white with snap.

Spicy and chili sauces

Heat makes alcohol burn and tannin taste bitter. A little sweetness and a lot of acid cool things down.

Sweet and smoky BBQ sauces

Sweet sauces make dry, tannic wines taste harsh. Go for ripe, fruit-forward reds.

Earthy mushroom and wine reductions

Earthy sauces love earthy reds.

Fried, salty, and crispy anything

Not a sauce, but the rule still applies: bubbles and acid cut through fat and salt.

How to use this tonight

Next time you shop for wine, describe your dinner by the sauce, not the protein. Instead of "salmon," say "salmon with a miso glaze" or "salmon with dill cream sauce." You'll get a much better answer from me, from a shop clerk, or from the app.

Type exactly that into Sommelier on Demand at sommondemand.com and it will match you to two or three bottles from my list. For more on getting a fast answer from a real person, read how to get a sommelier recommendation right now.

And remember: pair to the sauce.

Questions people ask

Should you pair wine with the sauce or the meat?

Pair with the sauce. The sauce sets the acid, fat, spice and sweetness of a dish, and wine responds to those things. Chicken piccata and chicken in a cream sauce need different wines even though the protein is the same.

Can you drink red wine with fish?

Yes, when the sauce calls for it. Halibut in a rich, peppery au poivre sauce works with a red Syrah, because Syrah has its own black pepper notes. Rich fish like salmon also pairs well with Pinot Noir. With delicate fish, keep reds light and low in tannin.

What wine goes with tomato sauce?

A red with bright acidity, like Chianti Classico or Montepulciano d'Abruzzo. Tomatoes are acidic, and a low-acid wine tastes flat next to them. That's why Italian reds are the default for pizza, bolognese and lasagna.

Ask Michael