How to succeed with the 10 ingredients that are impossible to pair with wine

With gazpacho, artichokes, or a spicy dish, we can break out in a cold sweat when we decide to pair them with a wine: Is there one that truly belongs? Or are we doomed to take unpleasant sips until we finish the dish and move on to the next? Since it's difficult to find a wine that suits dishes like these, there's even talk of impossible pairings, but we shouldn't give up at the first attempt. Sommelier Ferran Centelles, in charge of drinks at Bullipedia—the gastronomic encyclopedia led by chef Ferran Adrià—admits that "there are products and dishes that are much more difficult to combine," but he has successful suggestions for even the greatest challenges he faces.

Centelles, who worked at El Bulli with Adrià and addressed complicated pairings in the book What came with this duck? (Planeta Gastro, 2016) explains that there's a basic rule: "The more intense the flavor, the harder it is to find the right pairing." A raw anchovy, for example, "has many pairings because it has a lower flavor intensity." An anchovy in vinegar can also be easy to pair, especially if it has little vinegar, while turning it into anchovy makes it "much harder to pair" because it increases the intensity of the fishy and salty flavor.

One of the most difficult dishes to find harmony with wine is sea nettles, what in Andalusia they call nettles. "At El Bulli we made some sea nettles raw ones that really drove us crazy, because it's such a penetrating taste, so powerful, in the sea and in iodine, that it was very difficult to add any wine," Centelles recalls. They opted to accompany them with some sherry or with very oxidized whites to counteract the taste of these seafood delicacies, but he insists: "It's one of the products."

There are many other challenges. "Red wines with a lot of tannin are the most difficult wines to pair with vinegar, bitters, and artichokes," Centelles emphasizes. Very salty products are not friendly to tannins either. So, when faced with complicated products, it's best to "look for wines with less tannin, lots of fruit, and less alcohol." The sommelier exemplifies this with versatile wines from cold regions, with acidity and varieties that aren't overly aromatic, but you can also experiment at home: "A Muscato is more difficult to pair than a Xarel lo, which is less aromatic. It's a versatile wine that can work when things get complicated."

In every pairing, there are three dimensions: the food, the wine, and the person. "A sommelier who makes two-way pairings is not on the right track, because the best pairing on a technical level may not be the most appropriate, because it depends on the person," he argues, referring to an idea often put forward by the head sommelier of the Bodega de Can Roca, Josep. Pitu Rock. Now Centelles is finishing the eighth and final volume of the Wine Sapiens from Bullipedia, scheduled for 2026 and focusing on the restaurant customer experience, shares some insights on what to do when faced with ingredients or dishes that may seem impossible to pair:

Vinegar isn't a big problem, unless it's too present, because "a dish with a lot of vinegar is very penetrating and takes away the subtlety of the wine, but a touch softens it," Centelles explains. A can of aperitif with vinegar works well with a contrasting pairing, such as vermouth, which has residual sugar, or a sparkling wine, which cleanses the palate.

"Liquid on liquid is tricky," Centelles admits: it can be interesting to pair these dishes with wines that are consumed in small quantities and have an oxidative profile, such as sherry.

Centelles has studied it well. He has tried artichokes in 10 cooking methods and 10 wines, and it's easiest to pair when preserved in vinegar, boiled thoroughly, or pureed. He cites a legendary pairing from sommelier Jordi Paronella: grilled artichokes with a white wine with residual sugar, such as a Riesling.

"Green asparagus is the tricky one," says the sommelier, because "it's very bitter and intensifies the bitterness of the wine." A red wine from a greenish variety, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, or a wine with a herbaceous profile might be a good match. "Of course, it will be a bitter pairing," he warns.

Products like smoked salmon are easy to pair. "Anything smoked works very well with wines that have been aged in a butt," Centelles emphasizes, since "the butts are roasted to build them and contribute smoky aromas to the wines" that pair well with smoked foods.

Regarding eggs, Centelles explains that "they're problematic when they're raw," because their fatty film "doesn't allow the wine to make good contact with the taste buds," so "if you want to pair them with eggs, you have to cook them a lot."

Another tricky pairing. "It's best to choose easy, novice, oak-free, and young red wines, because those with more tannins or oak ageing fare poorly," Centelles admits, and offers the ultimate advice: "Wines that you sip without thinking are ideal."

"Spicy wines are tricky because they numb your mouth a bit," Centelles recalls, adding that "when you eat something spicy, the wine tastes hotter afterward." Therefore, it's always a good idea to look for wines with moderate alcohol content.

The classic cheese platter accompanied by red wine can be more beautiful than good. "For great red wines, cheese is not the most suitable, because they tend to suffer quite a bit," Centelles acknowledges, given that the wine loses strength and tannins. A somewhat rustic red might work better because the cheese will soften it—hence the legendary Spanish phrase: Don't let them fool you with cheese, don't let them give you cheese to mask what a wine is really like without success – and, as an alternative, it may be more appropriate to have a white or sparkling wine.

This is one of the products that generates debate. It's always easier to pair when it's low in sugar. "The more bitter, the simpler," Centelles assures. Some people like chocolate with a strong red wine, while others prefer a sweet one.