Food and wine can work together to enhance each other's flavor, and wine lovers know that certain foods go best with certain wines. Although most people think of pairing wine with cheese or with a meal,fruit is also a wonderful complement to wine. From sweet and sparkling to dry reds, there are fruits that will pair with just about every wine available. Food and wine are paired together based on how the sweetness, dryness, and flavors of the wine enhance the flavors in the food. Some pairings are well known, such as rich, full-bodied red wines with red meat or dry white wines served with fish. Sweet wines are often thought of as dessert wines but also pair well with salty foods to allow the flavors to complement one another. There are many opinions as to which foods go best with which wines, and, of course, personal taste comes into play as well. Fruits range in flavor from very tart to very sweet. Both fresh, juicy fruit and dried fruits pair very well with wines, and although fruit is often thought of as sweet and thus paired with white wine, it can actually pair very well with red wines.

Fruit makes an excellent appetizer in addition to serving as a dessert in the summertime, and is a light snack to accompany wine at a party or at a tasting. There are two main ways to go about choosing the right wine to go with fruit. best wine cooler in the ukThe first is to choose a wine and then select fruits that will pair well with it. good wine bars in bathThe second is to select a wine based on which fruits are in season. best wine bar beijingIf you plan to use fresh fruit, it's a good idea to go with the second option. best friend wine bottleIn season, ripe fruits will offer the best possible flavor and make the best counterpart to the wine. old red wine stain on wood

Dried fruits can be obtained at any time of year, so you can pick some up to pair with your favorite bottle of wine or any bottle of wine you might have on hand. Not all wines go well with the type of fruit that dries easily, however. best place for wine chicagoIt's also important to watch out for dried fruit that has had sugar added, as increased sweetness will affect how well it pairs with your wine of choice. Red wines range from light and juicy to dense and earthy, as can the range of fruits that can be paired with them. Among the best fruits to pair with a lighter red are berries and bananas, while darker, heavier reds lend themselves to dried mixed fruits including figs and even mixed raisins. Drier reds go well with sweet fruits for balance, while a sweeter red might handle a richer flavored fruit with less sugar. White wines range from very sweet to very dry, so there is almost always a good fruit pairing for any type of white wine.

Sparkling whites with light sweetness and sweet wines like Muscat pair well with berries, while fruits like apples and pears go good with whites in the mid-sweetness range such as pinot grigio. Very dry wines like sauvignon blanc pair well with fruits like bananas as well as with dried fruits. Wine gift baskets are a good gift idea for many occasions, and putting one together yourself is easy once you have an idea of which fruit to pair with which wine. Dried fruits and fruits that have a good shelf life without refrigeration are the best choices for a gift basket. Look to dried berries, figs, and dates as well as pears, apples and bananas, all of which will add color and life to your gift basket. A light red or a dry white wine are good all-around pairings for a variety of fruit, or choose one of the many wines that pair well with a lot of different fruits. When considering a gift for a friend, their personal taste in wine should be at the forefront of the decision-making process.

As always, these fruits are best when in-season, fresh, and ripe. Dried fruits also make a great mix with wine when you can't get them fresh. Some of the best fruits to enjoy dried are cherries, apricots, and mangoes. All of these fruit offer options for red and white pairings, but you can select the wine according with your personal taste. As you try these fruits with the selected wines, consider other wines that might be similar and thus pair well; for example, blended reds that incorporate the listed wines, or other sparkling wines that would work well in place of champagne. Sauvignon Blanc, Sauterne, Gewürztraminer Chardonnay, White Zinfandel, Asti Spumante, Pinot Grigio Asti Spumante, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio Champagne, Prosecco, White Zinfandel, Chardonnay Champagne, Prosecco, Asti Spumante, Moscato Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc Adding fruit to a wine tasting event is a nice complement to the wines and also makes an easy appetizer for guests.

Wines are tasted from the driest to the sweetest and also from the lightest to the heaviest. Sparkling wines, dessert wines, and fortified wines are tasted at the end. Using the fruits and wines in the pairing chart, you might set up one white and one red with each fruit, tasting through the whites first and then going back to taste through the reds. Finish with an offering of a sparkling or dessert wine and a fortified wine. A sample tasting board might include: Be sure to offer the right wine glasses for tasting this range of different wines and that the wines are at the right temperature for tasting. A wine fridge can help ensure accuracy. There are many wines on the market, and your selection depends entirely upon your price range and your personal taste. Pairing fruits with wines from the region in which they were grown is an interesting addition to the experience. For example, you could pair apples from Washington State with a Columbia River Valley wine, or California strawberries with a sparkling wine from Napa Valley.