A few weeks ago I was invited to an interesting tasting of the wines of Murcia, a quality wine-producing region in the south of Spain towards Granada and Alicante. The wines of this region are most commonly red, comprising the Monastrell grape in particular.

Monastrell is a genetic relative of the Mourvèdre grape from the Rhône Valley in France. This wine is a fairly sturdy grape variety with a deep colour, firm tannins and a flavour and aroma profile that goes from a barnyard-like meatiness to brown spices to red berries.

The event was heralded as a dinner showcasing Indian cuisine paired with these wines. I was intrigued and even slightly excited by the prospect of finally having found a style of wine that would match spicy Indian food. But I came away from the event a tad disappointed at the eventual lack of effort on the part of the chefs to make so much as a notional attempt to match the wines with the cuisine.

For one, knowing there were no white wines or lighter reds, the chefs presented the first two courses of the meal as delicate morsels of lightly spiced seafood — delicious on their own, but terrible matches to full-bodied, ripe red wines. It led me to think about the concept of wine and food pairing, its origins and the fascination it holds with so many in the food and wine world.

Funnily enough, even though the first rule of food and wine matching is that “there are no rules!” there are guidelines that have evolved from experiences good and bad.

Returning briefly to the serving of delicate tandoori prawns with our Monastrell from Spain, the reason that this pairing was so ineffective was because prawns are a delicate food, and a little sweet. As a basic indicator, delicate foods are best with delicate wines. And the tannins and the weight of the wine on the palate (called the body) were far too over-powering for a delicate item like the prawn.

The tandoori fish fared no better. The combination of full-bodied, tannic red wine and delicate seafood leads to an unpleasant metallic taste in the mouth because of the chemical reaction between the tannins and the meat of the seafood. Lighter reds could happily go with richer, fuller seafood dishes like paella or bouillabaisse. Remember, though, you want low tannins (so something like Beaujolais from France of Bardolino from Italy are ideal) and delicate flavours.

Another guideline when matching food and wine is to try and pair a predominant ingredient or flavour of the cuisine with the wine. Pepper and (subtle) spices on red meat can often match red wines that have an element of spice to them that is given by the oak or the grape variety. Many Syrah’s and Grenache’s from cooler climates (such as the Rhône Valley or New Zealand) have a distinct white or black pepper character to their aroma and so, tend to match robust foods that have been marinated in pepper, or are accompanied by a pepper sauce.

Tannic wine can often taste softer on the palate when served with chewy, meaty foods. Tannins in the wine and certain proteins in chewy red meats work beautifully together, but remember that a sauce or spices will tend to over- balance the food and wine match. Tannins and heavy spices are not the best of friends and therefore care must be taken when attempting to pair them. Tannin levels drop dramatically with age and can vary according to winemaking techniques such as the use of oak.

Back at the Monastrell tasting, it seemed to make theoretical sense to pair tandoori lamb chops with Monastrell — the smokiness and chewiness of the lamb would marry magnificently with the smoky, meaty characters in the wine. However, the addition of spices —red chilli and garam masala — and ginger meant that all we could taste were the hot spices. The flavours and aromas of the wine were drowned by the spices.

Likewise with the chicken curry that was far too laden with spices to complement the wine. White meat such as chicken can often be paired with red wines, provided that the chicken is cooked in a full-bodied preparation such as in a chicken cacciatore, where the meat is cooked in a tomato and mushroom sauce. The wines are best if fruity, such as some Zinfandels from California or Merlots from Australia.

Remember that some foods can actually destroy flavours in the wine. As mentioned, very hot spices can almost stun the tastebuds. Artichokes and eggplant are naturally tannic vegetables and so they tend to overpower most wines, making them taste dull and metallic. Tomatoes are naturally high in acidity so tend to be difficult to match wines on their own, unless the acidity is softened with sugar.

Finally, in some cases, the best matches can come from flavours that are completely opposite to each other. A classical pairing is Sauternes (the very sweet dessert wine from Bordeaux in France) with Roquefort or other strong blue cheese. The cheese is pungent, creamy and full-bodied, and while the wine is also full-bodied, it can have incredible levels of acidity to balance its sweetness. The acidity cuts through the creamy richness of the cheese, while the sweet flavours in the wine balance the rich, pungent flavours of the cheese. It really is quite magical.