A huge number of people in the UK and internationally enjoy a bottle of wine with food or when on a night out with friends, but a lot of those people don’t know how to effectively match wine with food so that they compliment each other. Although the whole thing is subjective, hence there’s no absolute right or wrong answers, there are a few general guidelines to which flavours will complement each other.

So to help out with that, here’s a quick reference guide to help you effectively match your food and wine. We’ll have a look at red grape varieties first, looking at which foods compliment them the best:

Barbera
This is a popular Italian wine that goes extremely well with meals such as spaghetti bolognaise or anything tomato based and Italian.

Cab. Sauvignon
A beautiful medium bodied grape that goes brilliantly with roasted meats such as beef or lamb.

Merlot
A perfect addition to Sunday dinners, merlot’s go very well with roast chicken, turkey or duck.

Pinot Noir
Another one that’s perfect for Sunday dinners or for Christmas, a pinot noir will beautifully complement a roast turkey or roast lamb.

Syrah
A very full bodied wine that are great for the winter months. Goes very well with roasted vegetables and will make the perfect accompaniment to a grilled steak dish.

So that gives you an idea of the kinds of foods you’ll want to match with your red wine collection. If you’re more of a fan of white wines, here’s a guide to help you know which varities to get when you’re looking to buy wine online for your next dinner party:

Chardonnay
Chardonnays match up perfectly with roasted turkey or chicken and will also fit beautifully with fish dishes.

Sauvignon Blanc
One of the great French wines that fit perfectly with chees, particularly goat’s cheese and blue cheese.

Reisling
German reislings are ideal with curries, in particular Thai green curries and chicken kormas.