How to Pair Food and Drink Like a Pro (Without Being Pretentious)

The Difference Between a Good Dinner and a Great One

Here is a secret that restaurant sommeliers, pub landlords, and anyone who has ever hosted a truly memorable dinner party already knows: the right drink can transform a meal. Not in a dramatic, fireworks-and-fanfare way, but in a quiet, almost invisible way — the kind where you take a bite of something, follow it with a sip of something else, and the two together create a flavour that neither possessed alone.

This is what pairing is about. It is not about rules, and it is definitely not about snobbery. It is about paying attention to what you are eating and drinking at the same time, and noticing when the combination is greater than the sum of its parts. That is it. You do not need a sommelier qualification, a cellar full of first-growth Bordeaux, or even particularly refined taste. You just need curiosity and a willingness to experiment.

The good news is that the basic principles are surprisingly simple. Once you understand a handful of ideas — match weight to weight, complement or contrast, and trust your own palate — you will be able to make better pairing choices instinctively, whether you are ordering in a restaurant, cooking at home, or bringing a bottle to a friend's dinner party.

Two Approaches: Complement and Contrast

Every pairing, whether you are matching wine, beer, cider, or a non-alcoholic drink, works on one of two principles.

Complementary pairings match flavours that are similar. A buttery Chardonnay with a rich, creamy pasta. A malty brown ale with a slow-roasted pork shoulder. A dry farmhouse cider with a tangy cheddar. In each case, the drink echoes and amplifies what is already on the plate, creating a sense of harmony.

Contrasting pairings set opposing flavours against each other so that both are heightened. A crisp, acidic Sauvignon Blanc cutting through the richness of a goat's cheese salad. A hoppy IPA standing up to the heat of a Thai curry. A bone-dry sparkling wine cleansing the palate after a mouthful of buttery lobster. Here, the drink does not echo the food — it answers it, creating a conversation between plate and glass.

Neither approach is better. Both work. The trick is understanding which one you are going for and choosing a drink whose character matches your intention. A heavy, oaky red with a delicate piece of fish is not a complementary pairing or a contrasting one — it is just a mismatch, where the wine drowns the food. That is the main thing to avoid.

Wine Pairing: The Essentials

Wine pairing has been overcomplicated for centuries. Entire books have been written about it. But the core principles can be learned in five minutes.

Match the Weight

This is the single most useful rule. Light food goes with light wine. Heavy food goes with heavy wine. A delicate piece of steamed sea bass wants a crisp, light white — a Muscadet, a Picpoul, or an unoaked Chardonnay. A rich beef stew wants a full-bodied red — a Malbec, a Shiraz, or a Cabernet Sauvignon. Get the weight right and you are already most of the way there.

Use Acid to Cut Fat

Acidic wines — Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Champagne, Pinot Grigio — are brilliant with rich, fatty, or creamy dishes. The acidity acts like a squeeze of lemon, cutting through the richness and refreshing your palate between bites. This is why Champagne and fish and chips is one of the great pairings that nobody talks about. The bubbles and acid slice through the batter in a way that is almost indecently pleasurable.

Tannins Love Protein

Tannins — the drying, slightly astringent compounds found in red wine — bind to proteins in a way that softens their grip. This is why a tannic Cabernet Sauvignon that might taste harsh on its own becomes silky and generous alongside a rare steak. The proteins in the meat neutralise the tannins, and the tannins cut through the fat. It is one of the most satisfying symbiotic relationships in all of food and drink.

Sweetness Meets Spice

If you are eating something spicy — a Thai green curry, a vindaloo, Szechuan chicken — reach for a wine with a touch of sweetness and low alcohol. An off-dry Riesling or a Gewürztraminer will soothe the heat rather than amplify it. High-alcohol, tannic reds, on the other hand, will make spicy food feel hotter. That Shiraz with your lamb bhuna might sound appealing, but your mouth will disagree.

The Classic Pairings That Actually Work

Some pairings have endured for centuries because they are genuinely excellent:

• Steak and Cabernet Sauvignon — the textbook pairing, and textbooks are right about this one.
• Roast chicken and Burgundy (Pinot Noir) — elegant, understated, and deeply satisfying.
• Goat's cheese and Sauvignon Blanc — the acidity and herbaceous notes mirror each other beautifully.
• Salmon and Pinot Noir — proof that red wine with fish works, provided the red is light enough.
• Dark chocolate and Port — rich meeting rich, in the best possible way.
• Fish and chips and Champagne — the pairing that sounds absurd until you try it.

Beer Pairing: The Growing Revolution

Wine has historically dominated the conversation around food pairing, but beer is catching up fast. In 2026, beer and food pairing has become increasingly intentional — breweries now publish detailed tasting notes, gastropubs offer full pairing menus, and the idea that beer is just something you drink between courses is thoroughly outdated.

Beer's advantage over wine is its sheer range. No other drink spans the flavour spectrum quite as broadly — from light, crisp lagers to rich, roasty stouts, from tart, sour ales to intensely hoppy IPAs. Whatever you are eating, there is a beer that will work with it.

The Key Principles

Hop bitterness pairs with spice. This is one of the most reliable beer pairings in existence. The bitterness of an IPA works fantastically with spicy food — Indian curries, Thai dishes, Mexican cuisine. The hops do not fight the heat; they complement it, creating a lingering, complex interaction on your palate. If you have only ever drunk lager with a curry, try an IPA next time and notice the difference.

Roasted malt pairs with roasted food. A stout or porter with barbecued ribs, smoked brisket, or a chargrilled burger is a pairing of equals. The roasted, caramelised flavours in the malt echo the Maillard reaction on the meat. It is deeply satisfying in a way that feels almost primitive.

Wheat beers pair with lighter fare. A German Hefeweizen or a Belgian Witbier — with their notes of banana, clove, and citrus — are lovely with salads, seafood, lighter chicken dishes, and anything with a citrus or herb component. They are also excellent with sushi, which is a pairing more people should know about.

Sour beers pair with cheese. The tartness of a Berliner Weisse or a Flanders red ale can stand up to strong, pungent cheeses in a way that most wines struggle to match. If you are putting together a cheeseboard, consider a mixed case of sour ales alongside the obligatory bottle of red.

If you are curious about exploring this further, Exeter has a thriving craft beer scene — our guide to the best craft beer taprooms in Exeter is a good place to start.

Cider Pairing: Devon's Secret Weapon

Cider is perhaps the most underrated pairing drink in Britain, which is odd given that it has been drunk with food in the West Country for centuries. Traditional farmhouse cider — the real stuff, made from high-tannin cider apples, not the mass-produced syrup sold in supermarkets — has a complexity that rivals wine and a versatility that surprises most people.

The basic pairing principle with cider follows what some call the "Four C's": complement, contrast, cut, and complete. In practice, this means:

Cider and pork are a marriage made in heaven. This is the pairing that Devon has known about for centuries. The apple notes in cider naturally echo the flavours that develop in roasted, slow-cooked, or cured pork. A dry farmhouse cider with a roast pork loin, apple sauce, and crackling is about as good as food gets.

Cider and cheese is the West Country classic. A strong, mature cheddar with a glass of proper scrumpy is one of life's simple pleasures. The tannins in traditional cider stand up to bold, aged cheeses in a way that lighter drinks cannot. If you are assembling a cheeseboard with West Country cheeses, cider should be on the table alongside wine.

Cider and fish works beautifully. A dry, sparkling cider is an excellent companion to fish — particularly white fish, shellfish, and smoked fish. Sea bass with a glass of farmhouse cider is a pairing that sounds unconventional but tastes entirely natural, especially if you are eating Devon seafood with Devon cider.

Cider and spice is an underexplored frontier. The slight sweetness and fruit character of medium ciders can work brilliantly with mildly spiced dishes — a chicken tagine, a pork and apple curry, or even a mild Thai salad. It is a pairing space that is wide open for experimentation.

For more on Devon's cider scene, including the best producers and where to taste, read our Devon cider guide.

Non-Alcoholic Pairings: The Serious Alternative

The non-alcoholic pairing scene has undergone a quiet revolution. What was once limited to "fizzy water or juice" has become a legitimate and increasingly sophisticated strand of hospitality. A growing number of UK restaurants now offer dedicated alcohol-free pairing menus alongside their wine lists, and the quality of non-alcoholic drinks available has never been higher.

Research by Good Sense Research, commissioned by the flavours supplier Synergy and published in 2023, found that 87 per cent of respondents were interested in buying a soft drink that would pair with their chosen cuisine — while 55 per cent currently reach for water or sparkling water with a main course. It is a supplier's market research rather than an academic study, so treat the precise figure lightly; the gap between the two numbers is the interesting part. Restaurants are responding with rare teas, foraged cordial syrups, kombucha, shrubs, and carefully crafted mocktails designed to complement specific dishes.

What Works

Tonic water and bitter drinks pair with rich food. The quinine in tonic water acts like acidity in wine — it cuts through richness and refreshes the palate. A good quality tonic or a bitter lemon with a rich fish pie or a creamy risotto can be remarkably effective.

Kombucha pairs with fermented and umami-rich food. The tangy, slightly funky character of kombucha makes it a natural partner for aged cheeses, charcuterie, miso-based dishes, and anything with fermented ingredients. It provides the complexity that soft drinks often lack.

Sparkling elderflower pairs with lighter dishes. The floral, slightly sweet character of elderflower pressé works beautifully with salads, poached fish, and herb-heavy dishes. It is the non-alcoholic equivalent of a Moscato d'Asti — light, fragrant, and refreshing.

Ginger beer pairs with spice. The warmth of ginger beer makes it a natural companion for spicy food, and its carbonation provides the palate-cleansing effect that you would normally get from beer. A proper, fiery ginger beer with a Thai curry is a pairing that works for everyone at the table, regardless of whether they are drinking alcohol.

Whether you are sober curious, pregnant, driving, or simply fancy something different, there is no reason to settle for a glass of tap water while everyone else has their drinks carefully matched. The non-alcoholic options are good enough now that choosing not to drink is no longer a compromise — it is just a different kind of exploration.

When to Break the Rules

Every principle in this guide comes with the same caveat: if you like it, it works. The "rules" of food and drink pairing are not rules at all — they are patterns that tend to produce good results. But some of the best pairings happen when you ignore them entirely.

Red wine with fish? Absolutely, if the fish is robust enough and the red is light enough. A Pinot Noir with grilled salmon is a classic example. Sweet wine with savoury food? Sauternes with foie gras is one of France's most revered pairings. Beer with a Michelin-starred tasting menu? Increasingly common, and increasingly excellent.

The only genuine mistake in pairing is being afraid to experiment. The worst that can happen is that the combination does not quite work — and even then, you have learned something. The best that can happen is that you discover a combination that makes you close your eyes and reach for your fork again.

Pairing as a Social Act

There is a reason we think about pairing at Dinners With Friends. Getting the drink right does not just make the food taste better — it makes the whole evening better. It gives people something to talk about. It shows care and attention. It turns a meal from something you consume into something you experience together.

When someone brings a bottle that they have chosen specifically because they thought it would work with what you are cooking, that is an act of generosity and thoughtfulness. When a table of friends tastes a new combination and all agree that it works — or, equally enjoyably, all disagree — that is the kind of shared experience that turns a dinner into a memory.

You do not need to be a sommelier. You do not need to get it right every time. You just need to care enough to try, and to enjoy the process of discovering what works. That spirit of curiosity, of willingness to share and explore and learn together, is what makes a dinner party feel like something worth showing up for.

A Quick-Reference Cheat Sheet

For those who want a practical summary to stick on the fridge:

| Dish | Wine | Beer | Cider | Non-Alcoholic | |---|---|---|---|---| | Roast chicken | Burgundy / Chardonnay | Pale ale | Dry sparkling | Sparkling elderflower | | Steak | Cabernet Sauvignon / Malbec | Stout / porter | Strong dry cider | Bitter tonic & lime | | Fish and chips | Champagne / Albariño | Pilsner / wheat beer | Medium dry | Ginger beer | | Curry | Off-dry Riesling | IPA | Medium cider | Ginger beer | | Cheeseboard | Port / Sauternes | Sour ale / Belgian strong | Farmhouse cider | Kombucha | | Roast pork | Pinot Noir / Chenin Blanc | Amber ale | Any Devon cider | Apple & sage shrub | | Chocolate dessert | Port / Banyuls | Imperial stout | Ice cider | Hot chocolate |

This is a starting point, not a finishing point. Use it to get you in the right neighbourhood, then let your palate take you the rest of the way.

The best pairing of all, of course, is good food with good company. Everything else is detail — enjoyable, fascinating, occasionally revelatory detail, but detail nonetheless. Get the people right, and the drinks will follow.