First, forget everything you´ve heard about wine-and-food pairing. There´s only one rule when it comes to matching wine and food: The best wine to pair with your meal is whatever wine you like. No matter what! If you know what you want, by all means have it. Worried that your preference of a Chardonnay with a sirloin steak might not seem "right"? Remember, it´s your own palate that you have to please.

Sounds like a computer game for gourmets, right? If up until now you haven´t been the wine-with-dinner type, you´re in for a great adventure. Remember the European tradition of wine with meals was not the result of a shortage of milk or iced tea. Rather, it results from what I call wine-and-food synergy-when the two are paired, both taste better. How does it work? In the same way that combining certain foods improves their overall taste. For example, you squeeze fresh lemon onto your oysters, or grate Parmesan cheese over spaghetti marinara, because it´s the combination of flavors that makes the dish. Apply that idea to wine-and-food pairing: foods and wines have different flavors, textures, and aroma´s. Matching them can give you a new, more interesting flavor than you would get if you were washing down your dinner with-say, milk(unless you were dining with chocolate chip cookies). The more flavorful the food, the more flavorful the wine should be.

Why not just use what you already know? Most of us have been tasting and testing the flavors, aroma´s, and textures of foods since before we got our first teeth, so we´re all food experts! As we´ll show you, just some basic information about wine and food styles is all you´ll need to pick wines that can enhance your meals.

Acid acts as a turbocharger for flavor. It enhances and lengthens the flavor of the dish. Watch television´s Food Network. The TV chefs are always using lemons and limes-acidic ingredients. Even dishes that aren´t "sour" have a touch of an acid ingredient to pump up the flavor. As chef Emeril Lagasse says, "Kick it up a notch!"

Try to use the same wine or style that you are going to serve.