Luigi Veronelli, a well-respected Italian author, once referred to the marriage of wine and food as "abbinamento" or harmony.

When the traditional "rules" about wine and food were evolved, they were relevant in the context of their time. Indeed, many of the classic European dishes are partnered well by fine wines from their respective regions, where wine and gastronomy developed hand in hand.

However, today the prevailing attitude is "Rules. what Rules?" and we are encouraged to try any wine with any dish. Whilst the old "rules" are now generally agreed to be obsolete, there is still great merit in retaining some gentle guidelines: a structured approach will prove to be a very cost-effective way of learning about wine and food. Knowing the rationale behind what makes a good - or poor - match makes life a lot easier as time goes on. And as well as significantly reducing the number of mis-matches, you can have loads of fun! Pairing wine and food today demands far greater attention because of the variety of tastes and levels of sweetness on the plate, and the huge variety of wines from around the globe.

Between the end of World War II and the 1990s, France and Germany were by far the biggest importers into the UK in volume terms. In the mid-80s Australia began a strong campaign to establish itself in the UK and not many then would have predicted that it would overtake all European wine producing countries and become our no 1 wine importer. Many other countries such as Chile, Argentina and United States (California) are seeking to copy Australia's example. And wine available today has typically become more fruity, more alcoholic and less dry. Incidentally, there are also far fewer bottles that are "off" but that's another story!

Wine styles are very different: it is nonsense to say, for instance, that "Chardonnay" will do well with a particular dish. There are countless examples of ths grape variety from almost every wine producing region, varying greatly in intensity of flavour, alcoholic strength, acidity level, oakiness and dryness - all of these factors will have an effect on the way the wine will taste with any particular dish. Some combinations may be delightful, some positively nasty (definitely to be avoided) and others will be simply neutral - in which case why bother to spend a lot of money on a neutral experience.

 Another "rule" which quite properly is generally disregarded these days is "red wine and fish don't go". If the red wine contains noticeable tannin (that mouth-puckering sensation found in tea, and is a characteristic of many Bordeaux reds amongst others) an unpleasant metallic flavour may emerge when drunk with fish. However, the same effect may occur between tannin and salt, so a full-bodied, tannic red with salty steak may also taste unpleasant for a similar reason.

Low tannin reds such as Beaujolais go well with salmon - particularly if the wine is lightly chilled (equivalent to cellar temperature) as would be the case in its home region. Finally, never forget that all ingredients of the dish - especially the sauce or particularly pronounced flavours - always need to be taken into account when selecting a good wine match.

 May you always enjoy abbinamento!