A perfect match - choosing the right drink to go with food

Traditions need not be adhered to when choosing liquid accompaniment to a tasty meal. Ben McFarland considers the drinks options

Call it astrology. Call it a gift. Call it what you will. But everyone just knows this. That like Romeo and Juliet, Richard and Judy, and Prince Charlie and Camilla Parker-Bowles, a decent bottle of plonk and a plate of nosh are just meant to be together.

And so it has proved in recent years. A recent AC Nielsen survey of wine sales in the take-home market, about two years ahead of the on-trade, revealed that the major wine brands, particularly those from the New World, are bearing down on their beer counterparts.

This meteoric rise of wine in the UK has been precipitated by an unprecedented infatuation with all things foody. Celebrity chef programmes endorsed by the likes of Delia Smith, Nigella Lawson and the fat-tongued, scooter-riding Jamie Oliver have transformed the nation's attitudes to finer dining and with it, contributed to the demystification of the confusing and often intimidating world of wine.

When it comes to food and wine, the level of consumer knowledge is better than ever and faced with an increasing number of competitors vying for that all-important "leisure pound", licensees have been forced to expand on their traditional drinking occasion to offer food as part of the "pub experience".

As the saying goes, a meal without wine is like a day without sunshine, and it certainly rings true in the UK on-trade where a massive 74 per cent of wine is drunk with food. But the biggest conundrum facing those publicans anxious to exploit wine's inextricable link with food is matching the right kind of wine with the right range of dishes.

Now we all know the basic rule that red wine goes with meat, white wine with fish and, if Anthony Hopkins is to be believed, Italian chianti is rather tasty with human liver and some fava beans, "ththththth".

But this is no time to be scared! In the current climate of food and wine discovery, it pays to be much more adventurous and experiment with the wines one chooses to accompany food.

Sara Hicks, national account manager for Southcorp wines, producers of Australian wine brands such as Penfolds, Lindemans and Ridgemount Estate , said: "The days when you'd just put a white wine with chicken are long gone. Today, there's no right or wrong way of drinking wine with food. There are no rules but there are a few pointers that publicans may want to look at.

"You need to try and match the weight of the food with the weight of the wine which means balancing light food with something that won't overpower the taste but echo and enhance the flavours of the dish."

With consumers finally beginning to familiarise themselves with the various grape varieties and recognising their respective characteristics, thanks in part to the success of easy-to-pronounce and clearly labelled Australian wines, it is important to know your grapes when it comes to cork cuisine.

And as ever when it comes to wine, things can be a tad confusing at first. For example, the strong citrus flavours of semillon can lift the bland taste of oily fish, turkey and pork, while an oaked semillon - although exactly the same grape - is much more appropriate with the robust, rounder and fuller flavours of Mediterranean dishes and Thai food.

"Other important factors include salt, sweetness and tang - the best tactic for anything salty is to put sweet with it," added Sara. "While with red wines, the tannin is the villain of the piece and in order to combat it you need to serve it with red meat - something chewy to counter the taste that clings to the inside of the mouth."

As daunting as it may appear, it is reassuring for consumers if publicans and staff are familiar with a handful of these guiding principles. Knowing the shoe size, star sign and favourite colour of the winemaker is not a necessary prerequisite when it comes to recommending a suitable red or white.

"As consumers we all need a bit of help and advice and if there is someone there who can recommend a wine then it not only improves the experience of the meal but also allows you to upgrade and sell a wine by the glass that you wouldn't otherwise have sold," explained Sara. "Duff advice will mean you might never see the customers again."

Inspired no doubt by not only wine's upbeat approach to matching wine with food but also the example set by its native Belgium, Interbrew UK has embarked on an initiative designed to strengthen and grow beer's relationship with food.

The results of Interbrew UK's market report, published last month, pointed to the wine's affiliation with food as a blueprint for the beer industry and earmarked the increase in consumption of beer with food as the next challenge facing the pub trade. Although beer is renowned as a relaxant and a digestif, only six per cent of beer in the on-trade is consumed with food. Subsequently, there is a huge growth opportunity for those beer brands feeling the heat from other quarters.

Interbrew has set up a special team of sales and marketing staff to exploit the opportunity and, following the introduction and subsequent success of the "table friendly" Hoegaarden 75cl bottle, has expanded the idea into the premium lager category. Interbrew has also launched a unique one-litre bottle of Stella Artois complete with a new stemmed and branded half-pint glass to boot.

Matthew Hand, director of sales for restaurants and food pubs at Interbrew UK, said: "Beer consumption with food is declining as food is growing in importance to the on-trade and the beer industry has been extremely slow to react. For rural pubs it is a key to survival while for high street outlets it is a way of expanding your business during the day."

Interbrew UK is also encouraging its customers to put beer on their menus alongside wine. Matthew added: "More often than not when you sit down for a meal, unless you're very near to the bar, it is very difficult to see what beers are on offer and publicans can do a lot more in terms of display."

Cobra Beer is one of a number of Asian brews to have closely positioned their brands alongside their respective cuisine. Cobra's entire marketing strategy focuses on its compatibility with curry, recently crowned as the UK's official national dish, and the brand has embarked on an on-trade offensive with a new 660ml bottle designed to be drunk between two as the ideal curry compliment.

Rival brand Kingfisher has obtained listings with JD Wetherspoon as the preferred choice to the pub company's renowned curry nights while Sun Lik from Shepherd Neame has also decided to "go large" in an attempt to break into the Chinese restaurant market.

Alastair Hook, brewer and owner of the Meantime Brewing Company in Greenwich - producers of bespoke specialist continental-style beers - regarded the one-litre Stella bottle as a move in the right direction but held up the Belgian approach to beer gastronomy, with its fruity flavours, dark brews and wheat beers, as the ultimate goal if beer is to play a role at the dining table in this country.

"The Belgians take a lot more pride in their beer and there are many more interesting beers to drink with food in Belgium," he said. "We seem to have lost our way in the UK. Prior to the 1950s and 1960s when our beer was industrialised, beer was drunk at every table in the land - you wouldn't have drunk wine."

"We need to get rid of the 'cloth cap' baggage and take everything back to basics. All it's about is flavour and senses. It's a sensual experience. You need to get the consumer to look for a lot more and you need to talk a lot more about colours, textures and basic aromas."

As suppliers of speciality beers ranging from raspberry wheat beers to India pale ales, to a number of outlets in London and the South-East, Alastair advises his customers on complementary gastronomic allies.

"While wine buffs go on about different grape varieties, there is a