Perfect Pairings & Recipes for
Full-bodied Red Wine

Top flavour pairings and full-bodied red wine recipes, revealed through the hidden methmatics of flavour.

Full-bodied red wine immediately conjures the evocative embrace of tannin and the kiss of oak, but beneath its umaminess lies a complex symphony of subtle flavour notes, such as polyphenol, cherry, and hints of blackberry, giving it remarkable depth. The magic of the kitchen unfolds when we pair full-bodied red wine with ingredients that let these nuances sing.

To illuminate these harmonies, we embarked on an ambitious journey, analysing thousands of ingredients. Each was meticulously deconstructed across 150 distinct flavour dimensions, allowing us to pinpoint precisely which notes complement in both classic and unexpected ways. Our analysis reveals, for example, how chanterelle mushroom's cantharelloid tones ground full-bodied red wine, and how white chocolate's vanillic notes create a surprising synergy with its dry sensation.

An ingredient's flavour comes from its core characteristics, like woody, acidic, and spice, combined with its unique aroma notes (outer bars). When pairing ingredients, aim to include a broad variety of core characteristics for a balanced dish. And choose aroma notes that complement each other for a harmonious combination.

The Flavour Code

To understand how flavour notes harmonise, we analysed more than 50,000 popular ingredient combinations. By exploring these pairings, we identified specific flavour notes that frequently occur together, indicating they share a harmonious relationship.

The Flavours That Harmonise With Tannic Notes

Our analysis shows that the flavour of tannin is strongly associated with the flavour of vanilla. This suggests we should look for ingredients with a vanillic flavour, such as white chocolate, when pairing with the tannic aroma accents of full-bodied red wine.

The recipe below provides inspiration for pairing full-bodied red wine with white chocolate.

Harmonious Flavours Of Full-bodied Red Wine

Just as our analysis revealed that tannin and mouldy flavour notes combine harmoniously, we can identify the full profile of flavours that harmonise with each of the flavours present in full-bodied red wine. For instance, the oaky notes of full-bodied red wine are strongly associated with chanterelle and petrichor flavours.

The aroma notes linked to the various aroma accents of full-bodied red wine can be seen highlighted in the pink bars below.

Matching Flavour Profiles

The flavour profile of chanterelle mushroom offers many of the aromas complementary to full-bodied red wine, including chanterelle and apricot aroma accents. Because the flavour profile of chanterelle mushroom has many of the of the features that are complementary to full-bodied red wine, they are likely to pair very well together.

The chart above shows the unique profile of chanterelle mushroom across 150 dimensions of flavour, while the recipes below offer inspiration for bringing these flavours together with full-bodied red wine.

Recipes That Pair Full-bodied Red Wine With Chanterelle Mushroom

Linked Flavour Notes

Looking at the notes that are most strongly associated with the various flavours of full-bodied red wine, we can identify other ingredients that are likely to pair well.

The left side of the chart above highlights the aroma notes of full-bodied red wine, along with the complementary aromas associated with each note. While the right side shows some of the ingredients that share many of the aroma notes complementary to full-bodied red wine.

How Flavonomics Works

We've pioneered a unique, data-driven approach to decode the intricate art of flavour pairing. Our goal is to move beyond intuition and uncover the science of why certain ingredients harmonise beautifully. This rigorous methodology allows us to provide you with insightful and reliable pairing recommendations.

Our analysis begins with over 50,000 carefully selected recipes from acclaimed chefs like Galton Blackiston, Marcello Tully, and Pierre Lambinon. This premium dataset ensures our model distils genuine culinary excellence and creativity.

Each ingredient from these recipes is deconstructed across 150 distinct flavour dimensions, creating a unique numerical "flavour fingerprint." This quantification allows us to apply advanced analytical methods to identify complex patterns between flavour notes.

We identify popular ingredient combinations that frequently appear in our recipe database. Regression analysis is then performed on these pairings to statistically validate and pinpoint truly harmonious flavours.

These insights drive our predictive model, which allows us to take any ingredient (e.g., Full-bodied Red Wine), analyse its detailed flavour profile, and accurately reveal its complementary flavours and perfect ingredient partners.