Pairing your champagne with food can enhance the flavor profile of the food you are eating and help elevate your champagne experience to the next level. If you want to experience these, there is one tip you must follow: assess the degree of complexity of the dish.  Sometimes, you will find unusual but good food pairings with champagne.

The degree of complexity of the dish describes how complex or simple the dish is. Complexity is not the same for every person. It is subjective and highly depends on the person’s likes and dislikes toward flavor components.

Understanding the degree of complexity will determine the pairing temperature of the wine or champagne. There are two strategies to tackle pairing with food, considering the degree of complexity of the dish.

If the dish is complex, it works best to pair a complex wine or champagne with the same level of complexity as the dish; there should be a match of complexity. One example is chicken marsala and chardonnay.

If the dish is simple, it works best to pair a simple wine or champagne with the same level of simplicity as the dish; therefore, there is a match of simplicity. Examples of this include grapefruit juice and brut champagne.

Regardless of which strategy you use, you should at least be able to describe how your food and wine pairing can enhance the dish’s flavor profile.

Good Pairings to Try

If you don’t know how to begin, here are some recommended pairings you can start with.

Champagne With Macaroni & Cheese

Macaroni & cheese is a dish that is surprisingly perfect for champagne pairing. The dish is both simple and bold in flavor, so it is a good idea to pair it with a simple and bold wine or champagne. The wine or champagne should complement the boldness of the dish instead of overpowering it. 

Try the Etoile Brut Sparkling Wine to pair with your macaroni & cheese. The wine has a crisp flavor profile and pairs best with a bold dish like macaroni & cheese. The wine is also best served chilled, so it welcomes the bold, cheesy consistency of the dish.

Champagne With BBQ Chicken Wings

Red wine is the classic pairing with BBQ chicken wings. However, for a more complex experience, try champagne. The pairing is bold and complex, but it works best when the dish is spicy or bursting with flavors. For a more subtle pairing, try Prosecco. 

You can also pair your BBQ chicken wings with a sweeter, lighter bubbly wine like a brut or blanc de blanc. The pairing will complement the BBQ sauce, as well as the sweetness of the wings, creating a more well-rounded and complete tasting experience.

Champagne With Deep-Fried Mushrooms

Try drinking champagne if you eat fried mushrooms and want to take a classical pairing to the next level. The pairing creates a more bold and complex tasting experience that highlights the bold, smooth flavor of the deep-fried mushrooms.

Try Prosecco if you want to take a more subtle pairing to the next level. The pairing will work well with a lighter, less bold dish, creating a more nuanced and delicate tasting experience. However, try a Rosé if you want to kick it up a notch. The sweetness of the wine will take away the bitterness that can be in deep-fried mushrooms. The crispness of the wine also compliments the crispness of the fried.

Conclusion

Champagne and food pairing doesn’t have to be a complex process. The first question you should always ask when pairing any wines or champagnes is, “is it a food pairing or a wine pairing?” You should then address the degree of complexity of both the food and drink and choose the wine or champagne that has the same level of complexity without overtaking the flavor of the food. Also, don’t be afraid to try unusual but good food pairings with champagne.

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