Fat

Fat comes in many guises. It can be blatant, like the sizzling, juicy fat edging a steak, or a cream sauce napping a pork chop. It can be more hidden, like within the richness of goose meat, or in the dry crispiness of a French fry. Wherever it appears, it adds richness.

Fat can put up a barrier to a wine, though, as it coats the taste buds and makes it hard to perceive delicate flavors. Rich, fatty foods need wines that have enough flavor and enough acidity to cut through the fat and announce themselves. A wine with good acidity can cut through that fat like a squeeze of lemon on fried fish, making it feel less rich and heavy (and, typically, inspiring you to eat more). The danger is when the wine doesn’t have enough acidity, and the combination collapses under its own weight.

What works: Fatty foods and high-acid wines

What to avoid: Fatty foods and low-acid wines

Salt

Salt magnifies flavor, until there’s too much of it, at which point everything just tastes like salt. Before that point, though, it’s a very dynamic element, almost like acidity in its action.

That acid-like feel is good to keep in mind when it comes to pairing with wines, as salty foods tend to taste even more addictive with high-acid wines. Think Champagne and caviar or potato chips; think Cava and the salty snacks that accompany it at the bar in Spain; think seaside restaurants serving ocean fish and crisp white wines.

Salty food can also enhance the flavor of a wine, a good thing unless there are elements that don’t need exaggeration. Tannin in particular gets more unpleasant in the presence of salty things—makes sense, right, since both of them are dehydrating? Also, if a wine is very oaky and you don’t want the oak flavors emphasized any further, then don’t drink it with salty foods.

What works: Salty foods and high-acid whites

What to avoid: Salty foods and tannic reds, oaky wines