Some food and wine pairing tips from What Food What Wine? 2012

I’ve just spent the past two days at What Food What Wine? tasting wine alongside dishes as disparate as smoked salmon and apple crumble, Stilton and steak and lasagne and lamb - a bit of an assault on the palate (and stomach!) but one of the best ways to work out what wine really works with your favourite recipes

It’s the second year of this groundbreaking competition which is fronted by popular TV presenters (and husband and wife) Susie and Peter of Saturday Kitchen. The big difference is that while the food may not be exactly the same as you’d serve it at home (roast turkey without sprouts and spuds? You must be joking!) the dishes have been devised by a proper home cook (TV chef Jo Pratt).

You’ll have to wait until the end of next month to find out which bottles we voted the trophy winners but in the meantime here are a few general observations and tips you might find useful:

* More expensive wines don’t necessarily make better food matches. Our judging categories were divided into under £10 and over £10 wines and sometimes the under £10 pairings were just as good

* Some classic wine matches stand the test of time, for instance roast lamb with Bordeaux-style reds and sweet or fortified wines with Stilton. On the other hand there are always new discoveries to be made - for instance how well Sauvignon Blanc pairs with smoked salmon. As good as champagne!

* Steak is not the breeze that everyone thinks it is. You really need to think about how it’s cooked. Serving it rare will smooth the rough edges off a rustic red or a very full-bodied tannic young wine which might taste a bit overpowering with a medium to well-done piece of meat. Lay off the ketchup if you don’t want to complicate things further - or at least leave it until you’ve tasted the wine with the steak

* In fact it always pays to taste a dish with a wine before you add extra seasoning or sauces. A citrussy white can do the same job as a squeeze of lemon, as we discovered with the fish and chips category.

* “You don’t want tannin with turkey” - a good observation from wine consultant Angela Mount. Think fruit, not oak when you come to buy your Christmas red - though an oaky white can conversely work quite well

* Wine pairings can have a different effect. Some will echo flavours and textures in a wine like the orangey dessert wine we tried with the Christmas pudding (yes, we had that too!). Others may provide a lighter, more refreshing contrast. It depends how adventurous you - and your guests - are. Complementary pairings tend to be less challenging than contrasting ones.

*There are always fascinating new discoveries to be made such as this year’s discovery that umami-rich parmesan can make some wines - whites in particular - taste almost sweet

* A home-made dish may need a slightly different wine from a shop-bought one. For example Jo’s delicious mushroom risotto had a strong flavour of porcini that proved a great match for Pinot Noir. A lighter, creamier one might pair better with a Chardonnay. If you want to get the best out of the award-winning wines use the recipes on the site (no great hardship there!)

I should make clear that I am a senior (paid) judge on What Food What Wine and that we have reciprocal links so obviously have an interest in its success. But I honestly think they're doing a terrific job in taking food and wine matching forward.

Matchingfoodandwine.com relaunched with style!

Welcome to the relaunched matchingfoodandwine.com. I hope you like our glamourous new look devised by our good friends Miller Design and executed (with infinite patience) by web designers fuzzylime.

To celebrate we’re offering an amazing prize - a case of Roederer champagne. All you have to do is sign up for our new monthly newsletter - see here for how to enter the draw.

Of course the makeover amounts to more than a new look. We’ve switched to a Google-type search function that I think makes it a great deal easier to find a match - or several possible pairings - for a dish or meal you’re planning to make or a wine or beer you want to show off. Hit the Find a Match section for that.

If you simply want to browse there are two new sections, Wine with Food and Food with Drink which should throw up plenty of new ideas, along with Top Pairings and the popular Match of the Week slot. Recent posts includes more general features on food and wine pairing and other subjects of interest to food and wine lovers.

In the Entertaining section you’ll find seasonal menus and ideas for special occasions such as Chinese New Year, Easter and Christmas while if you’re after a new recipe to refresh your repertoire try - obviously enough - Recipes.

I’m also lucky to get to travel and eat out a fair amount so you’ll find the fruits of that in Reviews - mainly focussed on London restaurants and a few hotels and restaurants elsewhere (the restaurants and Travel categories). And check out my pick of the latest releases in the Book Reviews section.

Finally, if you’re a member of the wine trade or hospitality industry there’s a special section for you called Wine Pros which contains slightly geekier stuff about wine dinners, clever pairings and the other things your competitors may be getting up to. Obviously you don’t have to actually be employed in the industry to get the benefit of that - it’s for keen amateurs too. You’ll be able to subscribe to that section - and a regular Wine Pros newsletter - in a couple of months.

If you have any feedback or questions about the new site do contact us via the contact box.