It's better first to consider the weight of the foods and wines you are trying to match when looking for good combinations. A delicately flavored main dish will be enhanced by a delicately flavored wine. A hearty main dish will stand up to a more robust wine. This is the next step of the game, where the fine-tuning comes in. The flavor of a wine, which is the most enjoyable aspect of the food and wine game, can add to a dish as much as seasonings or other ingredients.
All wines can share some common flavor characteristics, such as spicy, buttery, floral or herbal.
When combining wine and food, you can choose to match the flavors of each, or simply complement them. When you match or echo a particular flavor in the wine and the food, that flavor will be softened or sometimes cancelled out. When attempting to complement food and wine flavors, think of flavors that may blend well. I like to use the black cherry and berry flavors of a cabernet sauvignon to complement the gaminess of venison. The accompanying chart presents an overview of the relative weight of some white and red wines, as well as a few characteristic flavors and smells and possible matches with foods.