The key, then, to matching wines with food is to understand a little more about the flavors of wine. Here are a few guidelines that should be used in deciding what wine to serve.
With briny, salty dishes, serve wines that are off-dry, low in alcohol and without tannins. If you haven't read much about wine, I should stop here for a brief explanation of the terms off-dry and tannins.
Off-dry means that the wine has a little bit of residual sugar left in it. If it were completely dry, all of the sugar in the fruit would have been converted to alcohol. Typically, off-dry wines are lower in alcohol (10 to 11 percent by volume) compared to dry wines, which can run 12 percent to 13 percent. Some of the Varietals that can fit into the off-dry category are riesling, gewurztraminer, chenin blanc, and white zinfandel.
Tannins are those flavors that occur predominantly in young red wines that cause the mouth and tongue to pucker a bit - like when you drink tea that has been brewed too strongly. A bit of tannin can add interest to wine and food, but too much can be a real turnoff.
If you think about adding salt to an already "puckering" tongue, you no doubt get the idea that this would not be a very good match. Salty foods, then, are softened by off-dry wines.
A completely dry, tannic or oaky wine - such as a typical California chardonnay or cabernet - can create too much of a contrast in the mouth and sets up a battle of flavors in which neither side wins. I love salt cod dishes and cannot think of a much better wine to serve than a good riesling or gewurztraminer.
With high-acid dishes, you would do well to serve a high-acid wine. An example here would be a seviche in which a lot of fresh lemon or lime juice is used to cook the fish. A young sauvignon blanc with good matching acidity and crispness works well here. Off-dry wines would taste too sweet and strange with such an acid dish.
