Park Place Food and Wine Guide
Turn any meal from ordinary into extraordinary
We know how daunting it can be to match a wine with your favorite foods. To help make pairing as simple as possible, we developed this guide as well as a section in our online shop called “Pairings by Our Sommeliers.”
This Park Place Food & Wine Guide delves into an array of foods and preparations to help pinpoint the best type of wine for your food. We organized our recommendations by Food Groups, based on the most common pairing questions we have received from customers. Our online shop features wines for each Food Group. If after perusing, you have any questions, one of our certified sommeliers is a click away from helping!
How to Use our Guide
- Click on the type of food you are preparing (Food Group)
- Review the consistent flavors in that food group
- Get our recommendations for the most versatile wine varietals that pair well with those consistent flavors (best matches are listed first)
- See our recommendations for wine varietals that pair well with specific preparations and sauces
- Go to Pairings by Our Sommeliers to peruse or buy wines, selected by our sommeliers, that pair well with your meal
Our Pairing Philosophy
Matching a wine with food is more art than science, but in general, wine compliments food when the wine and food share:
- similar flavors (raw oysters with minerally, briney whites)
- complementary flavors (spicy foods with softer/fruitier wines)
the same intensity of flavor (bold bbq with bold reds and whites) - similar perceived weight on the palette (red meat with full-bodied red)
also, when
- the wine’s acid level “cuts through” the food to release more taste (fat or cream with higher acid or tannic wines)
- the wine doesn’t raise the heat level in spicy-hot foods (avoid oaked and high alcohol wines)
- the wine comes from the same region as the cuisine
- the wine is pared with a sauce or preparation of the dish (lemon sauce with citrusy wine)
Search by Food Group
Grilled Foods
Raw Bar
Shellfish Cooked or Baked
Fish: White and Flakey
Fish: Rich and Fatty
Pasta or Pizza with Tomato Sauce
Sweet and Spicy Foods, e.g. BBQ or Spicy Asian
Light Salad and Vegetables
Hearty Sauces, Soups or Stews with Protein Base
Roasted Foods
Sushi and Non-Spicy Asian
Hard to Pair Foods e.g. Asparagus and Artichoke
Appetizers
Don’t see what you are serving? Let us know and we’ll make a recommendation!
Grilled
Consistent flavors: caramel, smoke, char
Wine Varietals for Specific Preparations
Best Overall Wine Varietals: Chenin Blanc, Unoaked Chardonnay, Richer Whites, California Sauvignon Blanc, Pecorino, Gregante, Zinfandel, New World Red Blends, Valpolicella, Cabernet Sauvignon, Bordeaux, Syrah, Malbec
Raw Bar
Consistent flavors: brine, salt, sea, minerals
Best Overall Wine Varietals: Muscadet, lighter Sauvignon Blanc (Long Island/Bordeaux), Gruner, Txakolina, Albarino, Vinho Verde, Pinot Blanc, Chablis, Leaner sparkling like blanc de blanc champagne, Cava, Pinot Grigio
Wine Varietals for Specific Preparations
Shellfish Cooked or Baked
Consistent tastes: buttery, lemony, creamy, savory/herbal/earthy (oregano, parsley) notes
Best Overall Wine Varietals: Chenin, lightly or neutral oaked Chardonnay, White Rhone or White Rhone Blends, Falanghina, Sauvignon Blanc
Fish: white, flakey
Consistent flavors: moist, buttery delicate, savory, sweet, earthy
Best Overall Wine Varietals: Pecorino, Soave, Gavi, California Sauvignon Blanc, Gruner Veltliner, Albarino, Pinot Grigio
Fish: rich, fatty
Consistent flavors: moist, savory, sweet, earthy, meaty, rich.
Best Overall Wine Varietals: Pinot Gris, White Rhone, Rosé, Pinot Noir, Ruche, Terre Nere, Occhippinti, Godello, White Rioja, Verdicchio, Beaujolais
Wine Varietals for Specific Preparations
Pasta or Pizza with Tomato Sauce
Consistent flavors: sweet, savory, acidic, herbal, earthy, meaty, spicy.
Best Overall Wine Varietals: Sangiovese, Nero d’Avola, Rioja/Tempranillo, Barbera, Zinfandel
Wine Varietals for Specific Preparations
Spicy/Sweet (BBQ, Spicy Asian)
Consistent flavors: spice, heat, sweet, savory.
Best Overall Wine Varietals: Gewurtztraminer, Riesling, Unoaked or Oaked Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, New World Red Blends, Kerner, Cotes du Rhone, Valpolicella, Amarone, Zinfandel, Beaujolais, Rosé, Loire Chenin Blanc
Wine Varietals for Specific Preparations
Light Salad and Vegetables
Consistent flavors: vinegar, olive oil, lemony, herbal Note: High acid salad dressings and high acid vegetables are difficult to pair with wines. Visit our Food Group Hard to Pair Foods
Best Overall Wine Varietals: Gruner Veltliner, Sauvignon Blanc, Unoaked or Lightly Oaked Chardonnay, Rosé, Chablis, Sparkling, Albarino, Godello, White Rioja, Kerner, Pinot Grigio, Beaujolais
Wine Varietals for Specific Preparations
Hearty Sauces, Soups or Stews with Protein Base
Consistent flavors: meaty/umami, savory, spicy, herbal, earthy.
Best Overall Wine Varietals: Rhone Blends, Portuguese Reds, Nebbiolo, Cabernet, Merlot, Bordeaux, Syrah, Cabernet Franc.
Best Wine Varietals for Specific Preparations
Roasted
Consistent flavors: nutty, sweet, caramel, herbal, rich, spiced
Best Overall Wine Varietals: Cabernet Franc, Priorat, Valpo/Amarone, Pinot Noir, Cote du Rhone, Rioja, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, Riesling, Gewurtztraminer, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc
Wine Varietals for Specific Preparations
Sushi and Non-Spicy Asian (e.g. Cantonese)
Consistent Flavors: salty, delicate seasonings, umami
Best Overall Wine Varietals: Malvasia, Gewurtztraminer, Pinot Gris, Chablis, Gruner, Arneis, Kerner, Pinot Noir or Old World Medium Bodied Reds with Age
Wine Varietals for Specific Preparations
Hard to Pair Foods (Asparagus, Artichoke)
Consistent flavors: umami, savory, herbal, earthy
Best Overall Wine Varietals: Sauvignon Blanc, Gruner Veltliner
Wine Varietals for Specific Preparations
Appetizers, Cheese, Charcuterie and Varied Cocktail Foods
Consistent flavors: fatty, salty, creamy, sweet, spicy
Best Overall Wine Varietals: Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Franc, Sangiovese, Riesling, Pinot Noir, Gamay, Sparkling
Wine Varietals for Specific Preparations