A great food and wine pairing can make for a memorable meal. But coming up with a delicious pairing doesn't have to be complicated. Simply note the flavor profile of the food, what you taste in the wine, and how those elements work together. If the food and wine make each other taste even better, you've got yourself a good pairing.
This collection brings together some favorite food and wine pairings from Cooking Chat, spanning comfort food, pasta, spicy dishes, cheese, and a couple of memorable restaurant meals. These are pairings I'd happily repeat-not because they follow strict rules, but because they delivered at the table.
In keeping with our style, the wines featured here include a mix of familiar choices and under-the-radar bottles from around the world. We like to explore widely and find wines that offer good value. I encourage you to do the same!
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Comfort food pairings that hit the spot
When the weather turns chilly, I gravitate toward hearty dishes that bring comforting warmth to the table. That naturally leads to the fun question of which wines best enhance that cozy feeling. These are some favorite comfort food pairings I came up with this year.
Pro tip: sometimes comfort food is exactly what you need based on your mood-regardless of the temperature outside.
Braised Beef Shanks / Halter Ranch CDP
I had some beef shanks tucked away in the freezer, and one wintry morning felt like the right time to finally use them. I slowly braised the meat and opened a hearty red wine that had been waiting for the right occasion.
The result was deeply comforting oven-braised beef shanks, which paired beautifully with the Halter Ranch CDP-a Rhône-style blend from Paso Robles with enough structure and warmth to stand up to the rich, slow-cooked flavors.
Squash & Lentil Soup / Savoie Blanc
Our butternut squash soup with lentils features warming Indian spices, making it pure comfort in a bowl. We tested a red pairing as well, but the clear winner was a Savoie Blanc from the French Alpine region. With tropical notes and ripe peach fruit, the wine complemented the spices beautifully-and somehow made the whole meal feel like a brief escape to warmer places.
Braised Chicken & Lentils / Holloran Pinot Noir
I love braising chicken when I'm in the mood for healthy comfort food, and this braised chicken and lentils recipe from NYT Cooking really hit the spot. The dish leans into warming spices and earthy lentils, which set up a natural pairing with Pinot Noir. The Stafford Hill Pinot Noir from Holloran Vineyard Wines worked especially well here, with a lighter touch, fresh fruit and good balance that complemented the spices without overwhelming the dish.
Spice it up
While I love the savory pull of comfort food, sometimes what I'm really craving is a little zesty spice. That naturally raises the question of which wines pair well with spicy dishes. There's no single answer-it depends on where the heat comes from. Here's how I tackled the spicy food challenge.
Steak with Cilantro Pesto / Spanish Tempranillo
Sometimes I like to spice up my steak, like when I whipped up a zesty cilantro pesto to top a New York strip. We went for a big, powerful red wine to stand up to the beef and flavor profile. The 2015 Meraldis Ribera Del Duero Tempranillo fit the bill nicely, bringing enough power and structure to match the steak and its vibrant flavors.
Indian Butter Chicken / Öömrang Siegerrebe
Our Indian Butter Chicken is a go-to recipe when we're craving Indian flavors without ordering takeout, which has given us plenty of chances to experiment with wine pairings. The match with Öömrang Siegerrebe stood out as especially intriguing-and delicious.
This wine comes from Öömrang Wines, a Pacific Northwest producer focused on off-the-beaten-path German grape varieties like Siegerrebe. With notes of honey and tropical fruit, the wine paired nicely with the spiced chicken and also worked well alongside the garam masala-roasted vegetables served on the side.
Pork Chimichurri / Shiraz-Saperavi Blend
Pork tenderloin is a great canvas for showcasing the vibrant flavors of a zesty sauce like chimichurri. For this pork tenderloin chimichurri pairing, we went with a bold, flavorful red wine from Australia. Winemaker Hugh Hamilton blends Shiraz-so often associated with Australian reds-with the unexpected addition of Saperavi in his Black Ops wine. The result was a great match for the spicy pork dish, with enough depth and intensity to keep pace with the sauce.
Pasta pairings
Pasta shows up on our table often, which means plenty of chances to experiment with wine pairings for pasta. From simple weeknight dishes to weekend winners, these are some pasta and wine combinations that really stood out.
Fettuccine / Champagne
Creamy Fettuccine Primavera is an easy meal to make, but one that still feels special thanks to its savory flavors and the good memories attached to the dish. The richness of the creamy pasta also makes a great case for opening a bottle of Champagne.
We popped the cork on a bottle of Piper-Heidsieck Champagne, which proved to be a wonderful match. With hints of lemon and caramel and a clean finish, the wine refreshed the palate after each bite of the creamy sauce, keeping the pairing lively rather than heavy.
Everyday Pasta / Alto Adige Red
I first came up with this Everyday Pasta Sauce early in the pandemic, as a way to stretch ingredients on hand when shopping options were limited. The hearty sauce features a modest amount of beef, along with chickpeas and tomatoes, making it both hearty and flavorful.
Paired with the Perl Lagrein from Kellerei Bozen in Italy's Alto Adige region, the combination really clicked. With red berry fruit, integrated tannins, and lively acidity, the wine had enough heft to work with the pasta and meat sauce.
Pasta with Peas / Sauvignon Blanc
Our Pasta with Peas and Pecorino gets its appeal from the sweetness of caramelized onion balanced by the salty bite of the cheese. That combination made a fresh, fruit-forward Sauvignon Blanc a natural fit. The bottle we enjoyed from Murrieta's Well worked especially well, bringing brightness that complemented the dish without overpowering it.
If you're curious to learn more about the producer and California's Livermore Valley wine region, Murrieta's Well was also featured on a 2025 episode of the Cooking Chat podcast.
Acorn Squash Pasta / Mendicino Grenache
When an acorn squash shows up in my local food share, this creamy squash pasta is never far behind. While white wines can work well with the dish, chilly weather often has me leaning toward a versatile, food-friendly red. The Grenache from Elizabeth Spencer Winery in Mendocino County turned out to be a perfect pairing, with a balance of fruit and structure that matched the savory pasta beautifully.
A Few Wine and Cheese Pairings Worth Highlighting
Cheese is a classic food to pair with wine! We enjoyed a few wine and cheese pairings that were noteworthy this year.
Manchego / Rioja
I recently picked up some excellent Manchego from a local cheese shop, and when I was given a bottle of Rioja red wine, the pairing felt inevitable. The bold Spanish wine was a natural match for the firm, flavorful cheese from La Mancha, with enough structure to stand up to its richness without overpowering it.
Vacherin cheese / Côtes du Jura
This pairing brings together Vacherin, a cow's milk cheese from Switzerland, with the Bourdy Côtes du Jura red wine blend from the neighboring Alpine region of France. Both the cheese and the wine share earthy, savory qualities, which made them especially well matched.
Goat Brie / Sparkling Vouvray
The creamy, rich character of goat brie naturally sets up a good pairing with sparkling wine. While classic Champagne is always appealing, I often gravitate toward other quality sparklers that offer great value. In this case, a sparkling wine from Vouvray, with its fresh, bright profile, cleansed the palate nicely and made a great match for the cheese.
Restaurant Pairings
Not all of the memorable pairings happened at home. I had the chance to enjoy some excellent restaurant dining throughout the year, both close to home and while traveling. A few restaurant food and wine pairings stood out-memorable enough to be worth highlighting here.
Lobster Ravioli / Chardonnay
I’m generally not much of a lobster fan, but when Stephen Nasiatka of StephenUncorked suggested that The Alchemy of Dreams Sonoma Chardonnay would be a great pairing, I figured I ought to give it a try! Sure enough, the pairing concept was spot on…rich lobster meat and creamy sauce went along perfectly with the light buttery notes and pear fruit of the wine.
This dish was served up at Arancini, a local Italian restaurant in Woburn, Massachusetts. It’s BYOB, which works nicely for those of us with some excellent wines in our cellar!
Swordfish / Northern Rhône Syrah
Our special anniversary dinner at Shipwright's Daughter in Mystic, Connecticut, was definitely my meal of the year. An interesting wine program plays an important role at this award-winning restaurant, and that thoughtful approach was evident throughout the evening.
I gravitated toward the swordfish, topped with local mushrooms-an ideal choice in this seaside setting. The sommelier guided me to a Northern Rhône Syrah from Saint-Joseph with enough subtlety to enhance, rather than overwhelm, the fish, while also picking up on the earthy flavors of the mushrooms.
👉 Parting thoughts 🍷
Food and wine pairing is always a work in progress, shaped by what's in season, what's in the pantry, and what you're in the mood for. The pairings shared here are simply ones that worked particularly well for us-and they're all easy to adapt based on your own tastes.
I'd love to hear about a food and wine pairing that really stood out for you. Whether it was a simple weeknight dinner or a memorable meal out, feel free to share it in the comments. And stay tuned-new Cooking Chat pairing finds will continue to show up here and across the site as we keep cooking, tasting, and experimenting.
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