Drinking white wine with red meat is fine and pairing is nonsense, says one of world's leading experts

In the past, it was traditional to serve white wine with fish and red with a steak. However, these wine pairing rules are nonsense, according to one of the world's leading experts.

Tim Hanni, a wine industry business consultant and lecturer, and one of the first Americans to ever become a Master of Wine, has said that wine pairing is "pseudo-science".

He told the 2019 Sauvignon Blanc Celebration in Marlborough, New Zealand: "A perfect wine pairing doesn’t exist. We’re doing a lot of damage the way we’re matching wine and categorising it. We need to start a campaign to stop wine and food pairing.

"We need to celebrate the diversity of consumers, not make them feel stupid. You can serve Sauvignon Blanc with steak – why not?"

Mr Hanni added: "We need to get over the notion that food and wine grew up together. Food and wine matching is pseudo science full of metaphors and misunderstandings."

He warned that if consumers were always told they are drinking the wrong wine with their food, they will choose cocktails and beer instead.

While traditionally, local fare was always enjoyed with the local wine, the 1980s saw a boom in instructions in "wine pairing" as the wine industry attempted to turn wine-drinking into a high-minded past time.

Daniel Keeling, co-founder of Noble Rot wine bar in London, said that traditional ideas around wine pairing should be challenged.

He told The Telegraph: "Wine and food matching is a contentious subject, and as much as there is no denying the power of classic pairings, there’s never been a more exciting time to experiment with, or completely ignore, conventional ‘rules’.

"Today, it’s nonsense to say that you should only drink red wine with meat, or white with fish, as there's so much diversity in wine styles.

"Many interesting organic/ biodynamic/ natural wines have opened up other flavours and textures to consider; try one of Josko Gravner’s iconic orange wines with miso cod for a sublime but unusual pairing. A slightly tannic skin contact white wine from Tenerife with steak and chips? Why not?

"Historically, people didn’t have the opportunity to buy produce from outside of the regions where they lived, so it’s no surprise that local wines and food, such as the Jura’s Vin Jaune and Comté cheese, or Burgundian Aligoté with snails, work so well together."

Victoria Moore, Telegraph wine columnist and author of The Wine Dine Dictionary, Fortnum & Mason Drink Book of the Year 2018, said that pairings have their place.

She said: "For me putting wine with food is just the same as putting food with food. I can see the point of classic matches such as strawberries and cream; curry with rice; hot prawns with butter and lemon; Yorkshire pudding and gravy; fish and chips (with mushy peas); carrot and swede with white pepper; and beef and horseradish. In just the same way I also love zingy sauvignon blanc with tomato salad; toasty chardonnay with hot crab pots; nebbiolo with creamy onion tart.

"The mistake people make when they're talking about the idea of food and wine matching is to imagine that it's prescriptive. Of course it's not. At least, no more than any cookery book that gives you a recipe for beef stew with dumplings and notes, 'I like to eat this with buttery spring greens'. Wines with foods, just like foods with foods, are suggestions for pleasure - no more and no less.

"There is some art and some science behind this. Mood and memory are big influencers in the way we taste and enjoy food and wine. But also, what we're eating changes our perception of the flavour of the wine - for instance, if you have very salty food then the wine will seem less acidic. This is why crisps are so very good with champagne."