© 2026 ABC News

She continued, \"If you're going to do a true dessert wine, it's best to do it with a cheese course.\"

How to pick the right wine with tannins for food

\"Tannins kind of build up on your palate and create a dry sensation in your mouth,\" she explained. \"So when you're having a highly tannic wine with a bold, tannic structure you want to look for a fattier cut of meat -- because that fat is going to help break down the tannins that have formed on your palate.\"

She continued, \"If you have a leaner kind of meat like a fillet or something, you don't really need to look for a red wine that has really profound tannins in it.\"

\"You get tannins from both the grape itself, the skins and the seeds, but you also get oak tannin. So, depending on how the wine was made and how long it spent in barrel -- and the condition of those barrels -- you're going to get a lot of tannins in there,\" Loveworth said.

Additional sommelier tips for food and wine pairings

When it comes to the progression of a meal, Lovenworth reminded and encouraged, \"you don’t need a fresh glass for every new wine.\"

\"I like to show [guests] how to season the glass -- you pour a little bit of the wine you're about to enjoy into the glass and swirl it around and coat the inside of the glass with the next one,\" she said. \"A well seasoned glass is great and you don't have to worry about having three glasses per person.\"

\"Similar to seasoning the glass, you want to season your palate in between the wines. So when you're transitioning from one line to another, give yourself one or two adjustment sips and coat the inside of your mouth -- on the third or fourth sip you can really kind of get into [the new wine] because you can get palate exhaustion.\"

When talking to a sommelier or a local wine shop merchant about pairings, Lovenworth said to first \"consider who's at the table.\"

\"Wine is not a one size fits all. So you really want to look for versatility,\" she continued. \"A wine that will go well with multiple things, and that will kind of be a crowd pleaser.\"

Because experimenting with wine can get expensive, Lovenworth encouraged people \"to try new things\" and avoid getting stuck in what they know or are comfortable talking about.

\"A lot of people have trouble describing what they want in wine when it comes to flavor and body, so think about what else is important to you,\" she said, suggesting citing things like how it's farmed or who owns it or makes it. \"Find something else you can connect to, and when you do like wines, take a picture of the label, write it in your notes -- that makes a huge difference moving forward.\"

Finally, \"drink water\" Lovenworth said.

\"It's overlooked and not mentioned, but you you want to have at least a glass of water for every glass of wine,\" she said.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Food/pick-wines-pair-meal-guests/story?id=93551272","legacySlug":"/food/story/pick-wines-pair-meal-guests-93551272","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"09:00","publishDate":"11-22-2023","updatedTime":"09:13","updatedDate":"11-22-2023","socialImage":{"alt":"Sommelier tips to make wine pairing easy.","credit":"ABC News Photo Illustration, Getty Images","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/WinePairing_v01_DG_1669060100348_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"11/22/2023 09:00:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":93551272,"headline":"Sommelier wine-pairing tips and tricks","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA WINE PAIRINGS","description":"Elyse Lovenworth explains why certain wines go better with certain foods. ","duration":"NaN:NaN","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{},"playlist":["59089759","75972808","93051214"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"November 13, 2018","headline":"How to pick the perfect Thanksgiving wine under $25","section":"food","slug":"/food/story/pick-perfect-thanksgiving-wine-25-experts-59089759","id":59089759,"image":{"alt":"How to pick the perfect Thanksgiving wine under $25","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/thanksgiving-wine-toast-stock-gty-jef-181112_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"STOCK/Getty Images","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"February 18, 2021","headline":"Expert advice to pour, sip and store wine properly on National Drink Wine Day","section":"food","slug":"/food/story/wine-questions-answered-pour-sip-store-varietals-75972808","id":75972808,"image":{"alt":"Expert advice to pour, sip and store wine properly on National Drink Wine Day","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/wine-glasses-stock-gty-jef-210218_1613663353074_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"STOCK PHOTO/Getty Images","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"November 11, 2022","headline":"Tips for Thanksgiving 2022 amid inflation, rising food costs and ways to save","section":"food","slug":"/food/story/tips-thanksgiving-2022-amid-inflation-rising-food-costs-93051214","id":93051214,"image":{"alt":"Tips for Thanksgiving 2022 amid inflation, rising food costs and ways to save","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/thanksgiving-table-02-sh-llr-221110_1668121365183_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"STOCK PHOTO/Elena Veselova/Shutterstock","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Sommelier wine-pairing tips and tricks","description":"Elyse Lovenworth explains why certain wines go better with certain foods. ","duration":"NaN:NaN","uploadDate":"11-22-2023","publication":"11-22-2023","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/food/story/pick-wines-pair-meal-guests-93551272"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132283010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132273278","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132231169","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132206748","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132200241","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054443","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054798","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132033010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131912713","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131830583","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131834976","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554765","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554815","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131543053","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131432442","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131121474","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131247079","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131228784","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131178806","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131142257","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:food:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"food","title":"Sommelier wine-pairing tips and tricks","pubTime":"04:00","pubDate":"11-22-2023","modTime":"04:13","modDate":"11-22-2023","taxonomyTags":"none","id":93551272,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Sommelier wine-pairing tips and tricks","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA WINE PAIRINGS","videoId":93551272,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/food/story/pick-wines-pair-meal-guests-93551272"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/93551272","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/93551272","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};