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Food and wine pairing for CMS exams: what the Court expects
Where pairing comes up in the Court of Master Sommeliers' exams, the Court's three keys, the rules of structure, the hard pairings, and how to answer like a sommelier.
Updated October 2026
Rewritten by Alper Billik, Advanced Sommelier
5 min read
The short answer: the Court expects you to recommend a wine for a dish and explain why, the way you would to a guest. The reasons come down to three things: structure (weight, acidity, sweetness, alcohol, tannin), flavour and texture. Pairing is part of the syllabus at every level, from the Introductory to the Master Sommelier Diploma.
Where I stand: I work with the Court of Master Sommeliers Europe, whose online Learning Portal SOMM DIGI builds. The Court publishes its approach in its own Journal: the Court's three keys. The explanations and examples below are mine.
Where pairing comes up in the exams
- Introductory: the Court of Master Sommeliers Europe teaches the fundamentals of matching wine with food, and expects basic competence in selling and matching wines with food.
- Introductory and Certified syllabus: the principles of pairing, how cooking changes flavour, and the difficult ingredients such as vinegar, chilli, chocolate and caramel.
- Certified service exam: the Americas list discussing food pairings among the tasks you may be given.
- Advanced and Master: you discuss the menu and the wine list and recommend wines for the food, knowing the products, their vintages and their character.
The Court's three keys
- The ingredients: what the dish is made of.
- The method of cooking: low, medium or high impact. Poaching is gentle; grilling, roasting and smoking add weight and flavour.
- The sauces, condiments and side dishes: often the strongest flavour on the plate, and the one people forget.
Structure: the rules that don't move
- Weight with weight. Light dish, light wine; rich dish, fuller wine. A lighter wine can still work if it has high acidity or intense flavour.
- The wine's acidity must at least match the food's, or the wine tastes flat. Tomato sauce wants a high-acid red such as Chianti Classico.
- The wine's sweetness must at least match the food's, or the wine tastes thin and bitter. Dessert wine must be sweeter than the dessert.
- Alcohol and heat don't mix. Chilli makes high alcohol burn, and salt can exaggerate it too. Choose lower alcohol, and a touch of sweetness.
- Tannin loves protein and fat, which soften it: steak and Cabernet Sauvignon. With oily fish, tannin can taste metallic.
Flavour and texture
- Salt loves sweet and fruity wines, and softens tannin: Roquefort with Sauternes, Stilton with Port.
- Oak in small doses. A heavily oaked wine flattens delicate food.
- Herbs, spices, fruit and nuts have no fixed rules. Echo a flavour, or contrast it.
- Green vegetables can leave a metallic taste with some wines. Go carefully.
- A complement is safer than a contrast, especially in an exam.
Set up a match in three steps
- 1. Find the dominant part of the dish, and decide how the wine will work with it.
- 2. Then the supporting players: the garnish, the sides, the spices.
- 3. Never forget the sauce.
Roast duck with a cherry sauce: the duck is rich and fatty, the sauce brings sweet fruit and acidity. A Pinot Noir with bright acidity and ripe red fruit meets both: think red Burgundy, or Pinot Noir from Oregon or Central Otago.
The difficult pairings
| Problem | Why it's hard | What works |
|---|---|---|
| Chilli heat | Makes alcohol burn and tannin feel harsher | Off-dry, lower-alcohol whites, such as a German Riesling Kabinett or Spätlese |
| Vinegar | Makes most wines taste flat | A high-acid wine, and a lighter hand with the dressing |
| Chocolate | Sweet, bitter and mouth-coating | A wine sweeter than the chocolate: Banyuls, Maury, ruby or late-bottled vintage Port |
| Caramel | Very sweet, with toasty notes | Sweet wines with nutty, toasty notes: tawny Port, Malmsey Madeira, Pedro Ximénez Sherry |
| Oily fish | Clashes with tannin | Crisp whites, or a light, low-tannin red |
- Chilli heat
- Why it's hardMakes alcohol burn and tannin feel harsher
- What worksOff-dry, lower-alcohol whites, such as a German Riesling Kabinett or Spätlese
- Vinegar
- Why it's hardMakes most wines taste flat
- What worksA high-acid wine, and a lighter hand with the dressing
- Chocolate
- Why it's hardSweet, bitter and mouth-coating
- What worksA wine sweeter than the chocolate: Banyuls, Maury, ruby or late-bottled vintage Port
- Caramel
- Why it's hardVery sweet, with toasty notes
- What worksSweet wines with nutty, toasty notes: tawny Port, Malmsey Madeira, Pedro Ximénez Sherry
- Oily fish
- Why it's hardClashes with tannin
- What worksCrisp whites, or a light, low-tannin red
Classic pairings worth knowing
What grows together goes together: wines from a region usually suit its food. These are worth knowing by heart, with the reason.
| Dish | Wine | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Oysters | Muscadet or Chablis | Lean, high-acid whites for briny, salty shellfish |
| Crottin de Chavignol goat's cheese | Sancerre | Acidity meets acidity, from the same place |
| Roquefort | Sauternes | Salt against sweetness |
| Stilton | Port | Salt against sweetness; the fat softens the tannin |
| Jamón, almonds, olives | Fino or Manzanilla Sherry | Salty and savoury with bone-dry, tangy wine |
| Bistecca alla fiorentina | Chianti Classico | Tannin and acidity for grilled beef, from the same place |
| Choucroute garnie | Alsace Riesling | Acidity cuts the fat and the richness |
| Munster cheese | Alsace Gewurztraminer | A strong cheese with an aromatic, full wine |
| Boeuf bourguignon | Red Burgundy | Cooked with it, served with it |
| Fried food, caviar | Champagne | Bubbles and acidity cut salt and fat |
- Oysters
- WineMuscadet or Chablis
- Why it worksLean, high-acid whites for briny, salty shellfish
- Crottin de Chavignol goat's cheese
- WineSancerre
- Why it worksAcidity meets acidity, from the same place
- Roquefort
- WineSauternes
- Why it worksSalt against sweetness
- Stilton
- WinePort
- Why it worksSalt against sweetness; the fat softens the tannin
- Jamón, almonds, olives
- WineFino or Manzanilla Sherry
- Why it worksSalty and savoury with bone-dry, tangy wine
- Bistecca alla fiorentina
- WineChianti Classico
- Why it worksTannin and acidity for grilled beef, from the same place
- Choucroute garnie
- WineAlsace Riesling
- Why it worksAcidity cuts the fat and the richness
- Munster cheese
- WineAlsace Gewurztraminer
- Why it worksA strong cheese with an aromatic, full wine
- Boeuf bourguignon
- WineRed Burgundy
- Why it worksCooked with it, served with it
- Fried food, caviar
- WineChampagne
- Why it worksBubbles and acidity cut salt and fat
Designing a flight for a tasting menu
- Go from lighter to fuller, and from drier to sweeter.
- A white after a red is fine, as long as the white is the richer wine.
- If you must open with something slightly sweet, make it very refreshing, such as an off-dry Riesling.
- Use regional matches wherever you can, and keep the provenance of the ingredients in mind.
How to answer in the exam
Use the same shape every time: recommend, reason, alternative. “With the duck I'd suggest a Pinot Noir from Central Otago: its acidity cuts the fat and its red fruit matches the cherries. If you'd like something from France, a red Burgundy works beautifully.” Name the wine precisely. At Advanced and Master level, the Court expects you to know the producers and vintages on your list as well.
To practise, ask SOMM DIGI AI for a pairing and its reasons, then argue with it. For the rest of the Certified day, read how to become a Certified Sommelier.
Questions people ask
What are the Court's three keys to food and wine pairing?
The ingredients, the method of cooking, and the sauces, condiments and side dishes.
Should the wine be more acidic than the food?
At least as acidic, or the wine will taste flat.
Is food and wine pairing on the Introductory exam?
It is part of the Introductory syllabus. The Court of Master Sommeliers Europe teaches the fundamentals of matching wine with food at that level.
What wine goes with spicy food?
Off-dry, lower-alcohol whites such as German Riesling Kabinett. Avoid high alcohol and big tannin, which the heat makes harsher.
What wine goes with chocolate?
One sweeter than the chocolate: Banyuls, Maury, or a ruby or late-bottled vintage Port.
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