Cedar Plank Salmon Wine Pairing: What to Pour With the Smoke

Salmon cooking on a cedar plank beside a glass of light red wine
The plank does half the cooking, and the smoke changes the wine. Pinot Noir, lightly oaked Chardonnay and dry rosé, plus one stock-checked Tasmanian pick.
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Wine and Cheese Pairing: What to Pour with Every Cheese

A wooden cheese board with brie, aged cheddar, blue cheese and goat's cheese beside a glass of sparkling wine and a glass of red wine
The safest wine and cheese pairing is dry sparkling or unoaked Chardonnay. Then it depends on the cheese: goat's, brie, cheddar, parmesan, washed rind and blue, each with the wine that works, a cheat-sheet table and one bottle to buy.
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Wine Pairing With Salad: What to Pour (and What to Avoid)

Glass of white wine beside a green salad and a jug of vinaigrette
Salad is not hard to match, the dressing just gets in the way. Here is what to pour, what to avoid, and why no wine can out-acid a vinaigrette.
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Best Wine for Stuffed Mushrooms: What to Pour (and What to Avoid)

Baked stuffed mushroom caps on a slate board beside a glass of light red wine
Pinot Noir most nights, lightly oaked Chardonnay when the filling is cheesy, and dry sparkling for a party tray. Here is why big reds fail with mushrooms.
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Best White Wine for Mushroom Sauce: In the Pan and in the Glass

Glass of Chardonnay beside a plate of creamy mushroom pasta with thyme
Which white wine to cook mushroom sauce with, which one to drink with it, and why they are not always the same bottle.
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Which White Wine for Mussels? Drinking and Cooking

A pot of mussels beside a glass of white wine
Mussels need a dry, high acid, unoaked white. Sauvignon blanc, dry riesling and picpoul all work, and the wine in the pot should be the wine in your glass.
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Clam Chowder and Wine: What to Pour (and What to Avoid)

Bowl of creamy clam chowder beside a glass of white wine on a timber table
Crisp unoaked whites for the creamy New England bowl, something sharper for Manhattan. The three chowder styles and the wine each one wants.
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Best Wine for Risotto: What to Cook With and What to Drink With Mushroom Risotto

Bowl of mushroom risotto beside a glass of Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir to drink, a cheap dry white to cook with. The best wine for mushroom risotto and every other risotto, what to avoid, and a bottle under eleven dollars.
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Chardonnay Food Pairing: What to Eat With Oaked and Unoaked Chardonnay

Glass of Chardonnay beside a golden roast chicken
Roast chicken, buttery seafood, creamy pasta or a plate of prawns: what to eat with Chardonnay, why oaked and unoaked need different dinners, and what to avoid.
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Popcorn and Wine: What to Pour (and What to Avoid)

Glass of sparkling wine beside a bowl of popcorn
Sparkling wine wins, and the salt is doing more work than you think. What to pour with salted, buttered and caramel popcorn, and what to leave in the rack.
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