truLOCAL’s Guide to Perfectly Paired Wines and Meals

Pairing food and wine can be a daunting task. You want to highlight the best of both and when it happens, it’s like a type of alchemy where the sum is greater than the parts. Wine and food simply taste better if you pair them properly - but that is difficult to do unless you practice (a lot) or have some guidance. That’s where we come in! We have compiled a few wines from our friends at Pelee Island Winery with some of our favourite truLOCAL products and recipes in order to perfectly pair the two.

Before we dive into this, first let’s discuss the most important rule for pairing wine with food. The wine varietal (type of wine) should be something that you like, the same way that the food should be something that you like. If you hate chardonnay, no amount of your favourite food will transform it into a magical experience. It’s the same for a food that you dislike. A favourite wine cannot make liver (a popular least favourite food) taste appealing. Follow this rule: serve food and wine that you like when pairing food with wine. When in doubt, follow these suggestions:

White

You’ve likely heard white wines only pair well with seafood or chicken and there is some science to the chicken/seafood and white wine pairing. White wine typically has a higher level of acidity to cut through cream sauces often found in chicken and seafood dishes and because it has no tannins (a bitterness found in red wines), white wines will not alter the taste of subtly flavoured dishes. The range of flavours, level of sweetness, body, acidity, etc. make every white wine different and therefore, they pair well with different foods. Here are some of our favourites.

Pelee Island Lighthouse Semi-Sweet Riesling

This wine is slightly on the sweet side and pairs well with spicy foods or meals with fruit. We would use this any time we cook with any of truLOCAL’s chicken breasts (especially our chipotle BBQ marinated chicken breasts or roasted garlic and pepper marinated chicken breasts) or chicken wings or ground chicken breast.

Favourite chicken recipes

Try serving a white with truLOCAL’s dairy-free tarragon chicken, Thai green curry cod, Asian lettuce wraps, honey garlic chicken wings, or mango chicken recipes.

Pinot Grigio

This crisp, dry white has a slight acidity so it can cut through creamy sauces and still stand up to full-flavoured food. It is incredibly versatile and pairs well with most meals, especially chicken and fish. We serve it when cooking with any of our fish but it truly shines with truLOCAL scallops, shrimp, or our whole filets like rainbow trout or pickerel. If you prefer chicken, try it with a range of chicken from a whole roasted chicken to our bone-in or boneless chicken options, or any of our marinated chicken breasts.

Favourite recipes

We have loads of seafood recipes that would be great with this wine. Try serving this pinot grigio with a simple shrimp alfredo, Cajun shrimp tacos, cedar planked salmon, or Thai green curry cod. If seafood is not your ideal, try serving this crisp white with our cheesy chicken bruschetta pasta, creamy zucchini chicken pasta, or our Mexican street corn and chicken. 

Red

You have likely heard that red wine goes well with steak, and although that is true for some red wines, it’s not a universal truth for every red wine. It all depends on the characteristics of the wine and how they compliment the food (and vice versa). If you need a hard fast rule for pairing food with red wine, we have a simple suggestion: red wine with red meat. This is not to say that it can only be served with red meat (seriously try it with chocolate, BBQ pork, or blueberry pie) but it does hold up well. It may sound like we are being wishy-washy with our lessons but that is because it truly depends on the actual wine so here are some suggestions.

Vinedressers Meritage

This Bordeaux-style wine is full-bodied really holds up when paired with tender truLOCAL cuts ranging from roasts to burgers to lamb. Specifically, we love it with truLOCAL prime rib roast, grass fed chuck roast, rosemary garlic lamb burgers (a staff favourite), lamb loin chops, or lamb shanks.

Favourite recipes

This wine would pair with a variety of recipes so head over to our recipe page if you don’t find something you like in this (brief) list of our favourite beef recipe pairings. We have a great recipe for roast beef and gravy, French onion inspired burgers, and marinated mushroom and beef tenderloin kabobs but our favourite pairings would be either parsnip & mushroom beef stew or beef & mushroom risotto. We only have one lamb recipe but it is an absolute banger and this red wine will complement it perfectly so try it with our Moroccan spiced lamb chops.

LOLA limited edition red

Good things come in pretty packages and this wine is no different. This red has a rich, hearty mouth feel and a balanced finish and is perfectly paired with many different meals ranging from spicy dishes to chicken, lamb, or beef. We like to see it beside a plate featuring truLOCAL steaks, our marinated chicken breasts (either chipotle BBQ or roasted garlic and pepper), rosemary garlic lamb burgers, lamb loin chops, or lamb shanks.

Favourite recipes

Looking for a recipe to pair with this wine? Look no further than our cinnamon short rib tacos with apple and carrot slaw. If you need other options, try it with our crunchy taco cups, pulled pork tacos, epic buffalo nachos, or our perfect fillet mignon recipe.

Rosé

Rosé wines have become very popular in North America lately but they have been a staple in Europe for decades. Pelee Island Winery has great options if rosé is your preferred wine and we can suggest some great pairing options.

LOLA cabernet franc rosé

This rosé has a fragrance of flowers and wild strawberries and is perfect for sipping on a hot day. It pairs well with grilled seafood, chicken, or curries. We like to pair it with bacon wrapped scallops, wild caught shrimp, salmon burgers, or lobster tails. If you prefer chicken, try it with a range of chicken from a whole roasted chicken to our bone-in or boneless chicken options, or any of our marinated chicken breasts.

Favourite recipes

Possibly the best pairing would be our delicious mango fish tacos but our grilled lemon pepper shrimp skewers would also be fantastic. If you prefer land-based foods, try this rosé with a Greek chicken souvlaki bowl, lemon chive chicken burgers, or just grilled chicken breasts.

Bella sparkling pinot noir rosé 

This pink bubbly wine goes well with any celebration or meal, especially creamy pasta, chicken, seafood, fruit, or dessert. Specifically, I would add wild caught shrimp, lobster tails, or boneless chicken breasts to my box to pair with this bubbly.

Favourite recipes

Sparkling wines are great on their own (or even with dessert as mentioned), but if you ask us for food recommendations, we would steer you towards our Spanish-style shrimp paella, garlic shrimp skewers, shrimp alfredo pasta, or creamy pasta with scallops. Chicken-based recommendations would include honey lime chicken skewers, creamy zucchini chicken pasta, or goat cheese stuffed chicken breasts. You cannot go wrong with any of those dishes paired with this sparkling wine.

Hungry yet? Us too. You can order any of the above wines (and more) from Pelee Island Winery's wine shop and remember that food and wine pairings should be fun. They are an adventurous journey or mysterious puzzle that you unlock with practice. The above pairings are a great place to start but don’t forget that serving any meal with your favourite wine will be enjoyable, even if it breaks the old stale pairing rules. Don’t drink a wine that you don’t like or eat a meal you don’t like just to conform to the rules. Experiment and try different combinations of wine and food. When you find the perfect pairing you’ll know it (and it could be a different pairing for different people). Remember that there are a lot of great non-alcoholic wines available too so you can still have a great pairing and drive home (impairment and driving is never a perfect pairing but you knew that). Enjoy finding your perfect pairing.

Posted on June 20th, 2023