Believe it or not, not everything pairs well with wine. While many of us want to believe that food and wine pairings are magic (because sometimes they can certainly taste that way), this is definitely not the case. The last thing anyone wants is to ruin a good glass of wine with a food that does more to hinder the wine's natural flavor rather than bring it out, but there are some foods that can do just that... And attempting to unite the two flavor profiles is often somewhat of a wine lovers nightmare.
Some food pairings can taste so rotten that it can be like eating straight sulfur (more about that later) which is wholly unpleasant. A well-intentioned meal can take a turn for the worst quicker than one can take a swig of their favorite red, and this can set off a bad tone for the rest of the meal. When it comes to wine and food pairings, it's not always as simple as a beer and cheese pairing, where flavors might not work but are bearable. When the wrong food competes with a glass of improperly-matched wine, well... it's a rude wakeup call, to say the least. Here's what to avoid for future pairings and why.
A Vinegar-Based Salad Dressing
It doesn't hurt to give ourselves a reminder every now and then that no matter how well-intentioned a healthy salad with a lighter, vinegar-based dressing is, it will do nothing in the way of pairing well with wine. Vinegar is a worthy opponent when it comes to wine's flavor profile and when duking it out on a person's palette, the latter will usually always come out a loser. Vinegar has a strong, potent, and highly acidic flavor profile, which is all of a wine's worst enemies. If anything, a light white wine might be tolerable when it comes to a salad dressing, but there's truly no making this one work no matter how many vinegars there are in the world.
Green And Raw Vegetables, Of Which There Are Many
When it comes to choosing a dinner option, it's not just a coincidence that most meals that pair well with wine are a bit on the heavier side and consist of cooked ingredients. Raw vegetables are not friends with wine no matter what the flavor, which is particularly bad news for those who eat a vegetable-only cuisine.
A meal made of only vegetables isn't going to hold up to a glass of wine nor will it do anything for the flavor of either player - rather, it's going to backfire with a bitter sputter of flavor. Green vegetables, in particular, have a somewhat devastating effect on the palette when eaten raw, especially. Green veggies are often high in sulfur which isn't normally a bad thing unless wine is on its way down after each bite. Broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, and Brussels sprouts should all be avoided with a glass of grapes.
Eggs, It Doesn't Matter How They're Cooked Or Flavored
Of course, this begs the question of 'who would be eating eggs with wine' but hey, crazier things have happened. Eggs are atrocious with wine (champagne, okay), no matter which forms they're in. A hard-boiled egg doesn't taste any better than a plate of scrambled eggs and an omelet isn't going to win out over egg salad. The problem child with eggs is the metallic taste that will be soon to follow any dish of eggy goodness which is, obviously, far from the intended flavor profile of any wine.
Raw Tomatoes
For the record, cooked tomatoes are just fine which is why hearty pasta dishes pair so well with (red) wine, especially. The problem arises when raw tomatoes are thrown into the mix. Similar to green vegetables, tomatoes are high in acid and, echoing the vinegar issue, will do nothing to enhance the flavor of the wine. Rather, the acid in the tomatoes will only compete with the slight acidity and fruity flavor in most wines, making it seem as though something has gone horribly wrong in between that first acidic bite and the first sip of wine.
A Hefty Spiced Dish
Contrary to popular belief, wine can't out-flavor anything that comes its way. That includes many spices - in the event of a heavily-spiced or highly spicy (heat-wise) dish, a wine should be paired accordingly, which will usually be a bold red. Alternatively, a very dry white wine can sometimes be an option especially with pasta, but taking that chance in pairing is somewhat risky.