Food and Wine Pairing: 7 Expert Tips From Alessio Rasom

Food and wine pairing can feel complicated, especially when familiar rules such as red wine with meat or white wine with fish do not suit the dish in front of you. Instead of relying on colour alone, Chef Alessio Rasom’s approach looks at how the whole plate and glass interact. 

These seven practical tips explore weight, acidity, tannin, spice, sweetness, and aroma, helping you understand how thoughtful pairings can create greater balance, freshness, and enjoyment at the table.

1. Decide Whether to Match or Contrast

A successful pairing can either echo flavours already present in the dish or create contrast where the food needs balance. Matching builds continuity by bringing similar aromas or characteristics together, while contrast can introduce freshness, softness, or relief from richness, salt, or spice. Consider how each element changes the experience of the next bite.

• Earthy wine with mushrooms or roasted root vegetables
• Smoky wine with grilled or fire-cooked food
• Crisp, high-acid wine with creamy or buttery dishes
• Gently sweet wine with chilli or aromatic spice
• Fresh, citrus-led wine with herbs or seafood

2. Match the Weight of the Wine and Dish

The wine and dish should carry a similar sense of weight on the palate so that neither overwhelms the other. A delicate seafood preparation can lose its finer flavours beside a powerful, full-bodied wine, while a light wine may disappear next to slow-cooked meat or a concentrated sauce. Think about richness, cooking method and sauce as well as the main ingredient when deciding how much body the wine needs.

3. Use Acidity to Keep Rich Dishes Fresh

Acidity gives wine its fresh, mouth-watering quality and can make rich food feel lighter and more balanced between bites. It becomes especially important when a dish already contains acidic ingredients. Tomato, citrus, vinegar and pickled elements can make a soft, low-acid wine seem flat, so choosing a wine with enough freshness helps it remain lively and expressive rather than being overwhelmed by the food.

4. Consider How Tannin Reacts With Food

Tannin creates the drying sensation often associated with red wine, similar to the effect of strong black tea. Protein and fat can soften that sensation, helping structured reds sit comfortably beside grilled meat, lamb or aged cheese. Other ingredients can make tannin feel sharper, however. Chilli, bitter flavours, delicate seafood and strongly umami-led dishes may call for a softer, less tannic wine to keep the pairing balanced.

5. Give Spicy Food Room to Breathe

Spicy food needs a wine that lets its aromas remain clear without making the heat feel more aggressive. High alcohol and firm tannin can intensify chilli, while freshness, generous fruit and moderate alcohol often create a more comfortable pairing. A small amount of residual sweetness can also soften pronounced heat. The aim is to support the dish’s spice and fragrance rather than compete with them or leave the palate feeling overwhelmed.

6. Keep the Wine Sweeter Than the Dessert

Sweetness in dessert can make a less-sweet wine taste unexpectedly sharp, thin or even bitter, so the wine should generally be at least as sweet as the dish. The style of sweetness matters too. A citrus-led dessert may work with a sweet wine that retains refreshing acidity, while a dense chocolate dessert often needs a wine with greater richness, concentration and depth to remain present alongside it.

7. Pair the Overall Character, Beyond Red or White

Wine colour offers a useful starting point, but it says little about body, acidity, tannin, sweetness or aroma. A more thoughtful pairing looks at the overall character of both the wine and the dish. Earthy, smoky, floral, herbaceous, fruity or saline qualities can all influence how the two interact. Looking beyond the simple red-or-white rule creates more flexibility and makes it easier to find combinations that feel naturally connected at the table.

Common Food and Wine Pairing Mistakes 

• Pairing by protein alone: Chicken, beef or seafood provides only part of the picture. Sauce, seasoning and preparation may have a greater influence on the wine choice.
• Ignoring the sauce: Tomato, cream, mushrooms, herbs and chilli can lead the same protein in completely different pairing directions.
• Choosing wine that is much heavier than the food: A concentrated wine can hide delicate flavours. Match the wine’s body and intensity to the completed dish.
• Serving highly alcoholic wine with chilli: Alcohol can intensify the feeling of heat. Moderate alcohol, fruit and freshness are often more comfortable choices.
• Pairing dry wine with a sweeter dessert: The dessert may make the wine taste thin or unusually sharp. Choose a wine that is at least as sweet as the dish.
• Treating all seafood or red wines as interchangeable: A light red differs greatly from a tannic, full-bodied red. Delicate shellfish also needs a different approach from grilled, oily fish.

How to Ask for a Wine Recommendation at a Restaurant

Asking for a wine recommendation is easier when you give the restaurant team a little context about both your meal and your preferences. You do not need to know grape varieties or regions in detail. A few simple cues can help the team narrow the options and suggest a wine that suits both the food and the way you like to drink.

Helpful information to share includes:

• What dishes you are ordering, including sauces or shared plates
• Wines you normally enjoy or styles you often choose
• Whether you prefer something fresh, aromatic, rich or structured
• Styles or flavours you dislike
• Whether you want one bottle to accompany the full meal
• Whether you would prefer different wines by the glass
• Your preferred budget range, so recommendations remain comfortable and relevant

Experience Food and Wine Pairing at Si Dining Restaurant

Good food and wine pairing comes from considering the whole dish: its weight, acidity, texture, spice, sweetness, sauce and cooking method. These seven principles provide a useful starting point, but tasting and personal preference ultimately shape the best choice. 

At Si Dining restaurant, food and wine are considered together as part of the dining experience, with attention to the ingredients, textures and character of each dish. Guests can explore the menu and preferred wine styles, then reserve a table to experience Alessio’s approach to pairing in Da Nang.

FAQs

1. Can one bottle of wine work with several dishes?

Yes, especially when the dishes have a similar weight or flavour profile. A wine with good acidity, moderate body and balanced intensity can often work across several shared plates. For a meal with very different courses, wine by the glass may offer greater flexibility.

2. Can the Si Dining team recommend a wine for the dishes we order?

Yes. Guests can share what they plan to eat, the wine styles they normally enjoy and whether they prefer a bottle or wine by the glass. This gives the team enough context to suggest a pairing that suits both the dishes and the guest’s personal taste.

3. Can red wine be paired with seafood?

It can. The best choice depends on the seafood, sauce, and cooking method. A light red with moderate tannin may suit grilled fish or a richer seafood dish, while delicate shellfish usually works better with a fresher and more restrained wine.