Stop stressing over complex food rules. From celebratory bubbles to introspective reds, find the right bottle for every moment with mood pairing.

Yes, wine pairs beautifully with food. Both stimulate our tongue and nose, causing similar sensations, which then interact to create pleasure. We tend to consume both the same way: first with the nose and then with the mouth. I like food and wine pairings; I’ve even written an article about the subject. Still, the pairing itself is subjective, isn’t it? So what if you like reds with seafood?

In the end, you’ll enjoy both the meal and the wine even more if you’re happily sharing a good time with loved ones. Yes, food goes great with wine, but it’s not the only pairing in town. You can always pair wine with mood instead.

Celebratory Mood Pairing

This is the common example. You’ve just won a Grand Prix with a powerful F1 racing car. They give you a trophy to keep and Champagne to celebrate. What’s that? You’re not an F1 driver? Well, that’s all right; you can still celebrate whatever’s joyful in your life with Sparkling wines.

It’s what we uncork for New Year’s Eve, after all. It’s also often uncorked at birthdays and weddings. But that’s not all. You can also pop the cork for life achievements like job promotions or when you purchase a new car. You can also reach for that bubbly to celebrate all your small daily victories, like ticking off an item from your bucket list, or when your favorite driver wins the championship.

Sparkling wine is the obvious wine for a mood pairing; now you should have a good idea of what I’m talking about.

Your Regular Tuesday Wine Pairing—with Mood

I’m not saying you should drink every day. What I’m saying is that you can replace your weekday cocktail or beer with wine. Just one glass, of course. And don’t worry about opening a bottle just for one pour; elsewhere, I’ve written about how to store your uncorked wine to keep it safe.

Go on. Take your socks off. Kick back. Uncork.

Pick something budget-friendly, not expensive but rather something of good value, something you truly enjoy. I would go with a Pinot Noir from Casablanca, because it’s structured, mineral, friendly, and layered… and, importantly, won’t break the bank.

It’s a wine to drink in a hard day’s night, after getting home from work and traffic. It’s the one for a Sunday afternoon lounging on your couch watching sports.

Weather Is a Mood

When thinking about pairing wine with mood, you must consider the weather. Don’t we all feel like crisp whites in the summer and bolder reds when winter arrives? I have a guide with recommendations for all the months of the year. But here are some highlights:

If Rosé is your go-to for spring, maybe Orange wines should be your mood pairing for autumn. Summer calls for crisp whites like Sauvignon Blanc or Albariño. During the coldest winter months take comfort with a Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah.

Of course, you don’t have to follow any rules. Just like you can drink reds with seafood if you want, you can enjoy a crisp white outside while it’s snowing. Pairing with weather is, well, about mood. Outside it might be cold, but if it’s sunny and you’re inside laughing with your friends, sure, a light white might be the appropriate mood pairing. Inversely, a red might feel better—regardless of weather—when an evening calls for a slower pace.

The key word in all of that is, of course, feel. How you’re feeling is more important than the weather (and, really, the food you’re eating). Therefore…

Pairing Wine with Mood, When Mood is How You Feel

Because, after all, that’s what mood is, isn’t it? You might want something different in your glass when you’re elated and when you’re introspective. Let’s get into it!

If you’re feeling happy or energetic, it’s the same as celebratory, right? Sparkling wine is the right call. Whether Champagne or Prosecco, you can do no wrong. Bubbles for a bubbly mood pairing. This one’s simple. For something different, I go back to weather: when the sun warms the days again after winter ends, I fill with joy and energy, and rush to stock up on white wines; not Sparkling wines, but whites.

But you can be happy without being elated. You can be on a date, for instance. It’s romantic, maybe even sensual. I’m not saying Sparkling is wrong for a date, but I would probably go with the non-fizzy alternatives made from the same grapes used in Champagne: Pinot Noir or Chardonnay. They have enough body to feel velvety, they have beautiful colors, and both seduce with their flavor.

What if you just want to chill, to kick back and relax? Something not too heavy and easy to drink. Something not very complex but rather carefree. I’m sure you can think of a few wines fitting that description. Rosé comes to mind, as does Garnacha. But if white is more your jam, Vinho Verde would be a good choice, as well as the often ignored—and sometimes maligned—Pinot Grigio. Or, if you want a different Italian, Vermentino is it.

But sometimes we feel moody, maybe a little sad or thoughtful. Here you want complexity, something that warms you inside and soothes you. Reach for a Bordeaux or a Barolo. Of course, the grapes used to make those wines work well, too. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Carménère for Bordeaux, and Nebbiolo for Barolo.

Pairing Wine with Whatever You’re Doing

Crisp white or chilled Rosé for a pool party. That’s the kind of stuff I’m talking about. What wine do you take to a picnic, or to a backyard barbecue? Well, can you chill the wine, somehow? If not, avoid whites. But if you can, an off-dry Riesling would work well for both. For reds, you want something light in both cases, Gamay or Garnacha, for instance.

All the examples above make me think of warm weather (we keep getting back to weather, don’t we?). For a crisp day—think a bonfire singalong or an early spring get-together outdoors extending until the sun goes down—you need something else entirely. For whites, I suggest something with body and maybe aged in oak; something like Viognier. But if you’re in the mood for red wine, my mood pairing is an old vine Carignan, ideally from the Maule wine region.

The Last Drop

Pairing wine with mood is subjective, of course. Similar to wine and music pairings, it depends on what style of wine you like and what kind of music you listen to. With mood pairings (and let’s not act like music isn’t a mood), the wine comes in second to the people around you and the event that brought you together.

Most of the time, when I get together with friends, we uncork a bottle, drink it for a nice buzz, but we only acknowledge the wine once, with a comment on whether we like it or not. Pairing wine with mood is mostly about enjoying the moment, an experience enhanced by the wine, without feeling the need to talk about it.

I want to normalize thinking about wine in simpler terms, without the many “rules” that seem to surround it. I mean, wine is already viewed as an elitist drink, and there are many entry barriers: from price to snobbery, to the language we use to describe it and the pressure of ordering a bottle at a restaurant.

Instead, I want you to ignore the gatekeeping and begin viewing wine as something you can drink in varied situations. That’s exactly what pairing wine with mood is all about. If you don’t drink, I’m not saying “this is a good time to start!”, but if you do, maybe think of wine as an alternative to your regular beer or cocktail. You might learn to enjoy it, and the industry will be very grateful.

---

Cover Image: That’s what I call mood pairing! Photo by Jeremias Basunga.