When it comes to pairing wines most people overthink it. Of course, it should be given some thought. After all, who wants to ruin a perfectly delicious meal by clashing it with the wrong wine? However, you don’t need to be a sommelier to put together a simple and perfect pairing for your meals so long as you keep a few things in mind.

When you go to buy a new bottle of wine you probably do what many other people do. You grab the bottle spin it around and read the back. The bottle probably gives you some description of what the producer or their marketing team wants you to believe the wine tastes like.

That’s a complicated question for many different reasons. First, reasonable minds can disagree on what makes a good quality wine. Second, since there’s no objective way to measure wine quality, many variables are left up to the subjective opinions of the taster

How many times have you heard someone say, “I don’t drink wine because it always gives me headaches”? Unfortunately, due to their personal experiences, they probably think that all wine gives them headaches but typically, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

They’re everywhere and more prevalent than ever. Mass produced bargain wines are now a staple on grocery store shelves and in the aisles of large wine retailers. With all the cheap wine options you may be asking, why would I pay $50 for a bottle of wine when there’s plenty of wine out there for 5 five to 10 bucks? The real question is what is in that five-dollar bottle.

We’ve all done it. We’re walking the aisles of our favorite wine store or browsing the web for wine and we see it. “California Cabernet Sauvignon – James Suckling 96 Points!” Since every new bottle of wine is a gamble and experts have endorsed these wines, we figure that they are our safest bet. We buy them; get the wine home; prepare our favorite dish; decant the wine; and take that first much anticipated sip only to be completely and utterly let down by what touches our palate. What in the hell happened? Well… you my friend have just been ratefished.