The statement "meat goes well with red wine" is a cliché that has long been in the minds of many. However, expert oenologists and good connoisseurs after years of various tests and attempts, have tried to review and perfect the food / wine pairing by considering several factors: the color of the meat (white, red and pink), the type of cut, the fatness, the type of cooking and the possible presence of sauces or spices. Choosing the right wine will best enhance the flavor of the dish and vice versa; practically a marriage of love!

A typical component of red wines are the tannins that go perfectly with fatty meat, because with their sensation of roughness, they compensate for the perception of greasiness of these dishes. Regarding the type of cooking, the more complex it will be, the more structured the wine must be. With grilled red meats, the advice is to choose full-bodied reds, able to dry the juicy sensation with good tannin and to dampen the sweet note with freshness and acidity. With this dish, choosing to serve a Nebbiolo d'Asti, a Chianti from the Florentine hills, a Barbera d'Asti, a fragrant Bardolino, a Valpolicella, a Sangiovese or a sparkling Lambrusco will certainly be a good choice.

With a succulent albeit unusual grilled or roasted mutton, we suggest the choice of a fine red wine such as Aglianico; with grilled pork we will instead focus on fresh red wines, preferably sparkling wines capable of "cleaning up the mouth", and in this regard we propose you to combine the sparkling Bonarda dell’Oltre Po 'Pavese or a Lambrusco.

With stews, spicy stews, stews and moist dishes, where cooking is prolonged and the aromatic contribution grows, the wine must be full-bodied, aged and with moderate tannins. The advice is to bring to the table a Barolo or a Barbaresco, or a Brunelleschi di Montalcino, a Chianti Riserva or a Recioto Amarone.

To courses based on raw meats, such as beef tartare or carpaccio, we will combine a harmonious and structured white wine such as a Pinot Grigio, a Greco di Tufo or a Sauvignon del Collio.

With white meats, known to be decidedly less fat than the others, and therefore chicken, turkey or rabbit, prepared with simple condiments, we recommend structured white wines with a certain personality such as a Passerina Superiore DOC or a dry Albana di Romagna DOCG.

With grilled chicken, the ideal will be a good rosé or a Moscato DOC, but also a medium-bodied red that will best enhance the simplicity of the type of meat. Some cuts of meat, such as pork loin cooked in the oven, can be accompanied with soft and balanced white wines. Generally speaking, white wines are best paired with white wines, however this is not a universal rule.

The classic mixed boiled meat, which usually appears on our tables during the Christmas holidays, involves the use of many different cuts of meat in the traditional recipe: beef, chicken, tongue and cotechino; and very often accompanied by more or less spicy sauces. Prolonged cooking, which involves boiling, enhances the sweetness of the meat and makes it delicate and tender; the perfect match will therefore be with a wine with good acidity and soft tannins such as: Barbera, Freisa, or an elegant and fruity Lambrusco di Sorbara.

To horse meat with its savory flavor tending to sweet and rather lean, we will combine an aromatic Malvasia di Candia still, a Taurasi DOCG or an Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG. As with other types of meat, game is also divided into several types: feathered, aquatic and furred. These meats, rather substantial and characterized by a strong aroma, must be accompanied by red wines of great structure, capable of finding balance with them. Roasted feathered game goes well with strong but not too powerful red wines, such as Merlot or Cabernet; however, it is also possible to evaluate the choice of "more important" wines such as Barolo, Valtellina Superiore, Brunello or Sagrantino.

To water game, which usually sees goose and duck as great protagonists, and therefore particularly fatty meats, we can combine a wine that is able to lighten them, especially if cooked with rich sauces or stuffed. Therefore, in combination we will choose a medium-bodied wine such as a Sagrantino di Montefalco or a Lagrein Dunkel with its strong character.

Large furred game, among which we find, for example, deer, roe deer, wild boar or fallow deer, has a meat with a strong taste characterized by the typical hint of wild, sometimes tending to sweet. This type of game with strong aromas mainly requires marinating, followed by prolonged cooking with the addition of various spices. This is why the right combination is with powerful, structured, intense and full-bodied red wines. Among this range of bottles we find: the Piedmontese Barolo, the Sassella della Valtellina, the Brunello and Rosso di Montalcino, the Nobile di Montepulciano, the Lupicaia or the Amarone Classico. A dish with an intense aroma with notes of laurel, fennel and juniper berries such as a ragù or a boar stew, requires a robust, intense wine with great taste-olfactory persistence such as an Aglianico Superiore Riserva or an Amarone della Valpolicella.

We hope with our suggestions that we have been helpful in guiding you in choosing the wine that will be the protagonist at the table together with your meat course.

Remember to always keep in mind that a fundamental role in the choice of wine is played by the subjective perception of each of us; and that in any case the food / wine combination is perfected with experience.

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"Wine is not only drunk, it is smelled, tasted, sipped and ... we talk about it"

(Edward VII)

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