It can sometimes be hard to disassociate what you want to happen from what you think will happen but there’s ample evidence that food and wine matching has become a hot trend. There are more books about the subject, more magazine articles, more recommendations alongside recipes and more producers coming out with food pairings to go with their wines.

As someone who’s been writing about the subject for some 15 years it’s all music to my ears. It’s just common sense. Most of us eat when we drink so why open a bottle which has cost us a fair bit without thinking what food will set it off best? Or take the trouble to create a lovely meal without devoting some thought to what drink(s) will be the most enjoyable accompaniment?

Not that there isn’t room for improvement. I’d like to see more restaurants putting wine matches on their menus for a start. Not everyone wants to engage in a long conversation with the waiter or sommelier about which wine to choose with a particular dish. Seeing a suggested pairing in writing in front of you makes it so much easier and gives reassurance that the match has been carefully thought out.

It would also help if wines were offered in smaller glasses so you could taste and try before you ordered a bottle. That already happens extensively in the States though our archaic licensing laws make it illegal here in the UK. But if they were offered ‘free’ as part of the dish you could get round it so let’s see more restaurants giving that a try.

With your help I hope to make Great Places to Go a really comprehensive guide to the restaurants round the world that offer the best food and wine matching experience so keep checking it out.

Other trends:
* Beer at last being taken seriously as a partner for food
The range of flavours in beer are at least as extensive as those in wine (some would say wider) and they’re different which creates the possibility of improving on conventional matches. In the UK several leading chefs have been introducing beer menus and pairings to great acclaim. I’ll be writing more about this over the coming weeks.

* The same is happening with spirits and cocktails. I have mixed views about this as I’ve already expressed in I'll have a drop of the hard stuff and Shaken not Stirred. On the one hand you can create a cocktail that will perfectly match a dish: on the other it can result in alcoholic overload if you serve spirits throughout a meal. Restricted to one - or possibly two courses though it can be a real show-stopper and I’m sure we’ll see more of it as the big drinks multinationals attempt to persuade us their brands are just as good an accompaniment for food as wine.

* More interesting is how this applies to soft drinks. With more and more people deciding to restrict their alcohol intake for health reasons or because they are driving it can only be a matter of time before you see interesting soft drinks such as GUSes (Grown Up Sodas), mocktails (non-alcoholic cocktails) and different teas appearing on drinks menus, as they are already doing in the States.

* Cider has had an extraordinary year in 2006 thanks to the runaway (and, to me, inexplicable) success of Magners, a bland lager-type drink you serve over ice. Hopefully, however, it will create more interest in artisanal ciders which can be an excellent partner for food

* And finally the great rosé revival. After another year of double digit growth could 2007 be the year we start to see rosé broken down into different styles on wine lists as happens with red and white wines? Let’s hope so as it brings a new set of flavours to the party.

What kind food and drink matching innovations would you like to see more of in 2007?  Post some thoughts on the forum . . .