Vinegar is the natural enemy of wine, so it's wise to push back your wine glass when you're digging into the salad bowl. Appetizers, on the other hand, may run the entire gamut. Consider the primary ingredient of the appetizers and apply the general principles listed on this page. Or go the festive route and open your evening with Champagne!

Hearty red meats like beef and lamb absolutely require dry red wine. Cabernet Sauvignon (Bordeaux), Pinot Noir (Burgundy) and the Syrah-based red Rhone wines are the classics, and naturally the equivalents from the U.S., Australia, South America and South Africa work as well. The big reds from Tuscany and the Piemonte in Italy -- Barolo, Brunello, Chianti -- make great marriages with red meats and even wild game, as do the very inky and robust American reds like Petite Sirah and Charbono.

Fish, at the other extreme, almost always demands a white wine, preferably a dry and crisp white. I love Sauvignon Blanc (from California or Down Under, or the Bordeaux and Loire whites from France) with all white-fleshed fish and seafood. Sancerre and Muscadet from the Loire are exceptionally suited to oysters, perhaps because shellfish are an important part of the local cuisine and the wine evolved to match. Pinot Gris, whether it's a dry, crisp version from Oregon or Alsace or the similar Pinot Grigio from Italy, also makes an excellent match with seafood and fish.

You can even get away with the right combination of red wine and fish! Keep the wine fruity and non-tannic (Beaujolais or a California or Oregon Pinot Noir), and it will sit up and play music with oily, full-flavored fish like mackerel or bluefish; a Central Coast Pinot will even work very nicely indeed with grilled salmon or tuna.

Be conscious, though, that very light, delicate fish like sole rarely work well with red wine; and tannic, astringent reds like young Cabernets don't show their best with fish, often bringing out an unpleasant metallic or tangy taste in both the wine and the fish. Similar principles apply to seafood: mussels, being dark and rich, go very well with reds, but lobster and scallops are really too "white."

Your choice of sauce or accompaniment may also be influential. Bouillabaise, cioppino, and other fish stews with tomatoes and lots of herbs call out for a Chianti or similar warm, Mediterranean-style red (and this is also the best way I know of to help shrimp marry with a red wine. If you add cheese to the equation, it may even bring up a lighter white fish to meet a red.

Following the "white wine with white meat" rule again, whites -- particularly richer whites like most Chardonnays and Pinot Blanc, go well with lighter meats like chicken, veal and pork. As an "in-between" category, though, this one gets interesting. Although chicken is a "white" meat, grilled or roasted chicken is great with a red, especially a fruity red like Zinfandel or Merlot. Veal and pork suggest a fine, rich White Burgundy (Chardonnay), but they'll go with any white or even with a light red like Beaujolais from France or Dolcetto from Italy.

Turkey is challenging because it has light and dark meat, and its meat has an oily quality that's not always friendly to dry wines. I call my solution "the cranberry sauce principle." Cranberry sauce goes well with turkey because it's both fruity and tart; so choose a wine with similar characteristics -- Beaujolais or Zinfandel if you want a red, or Riesling, Gewurztraminer or Chenin Blanc if you're inclined to a white.

Ham is challenging cause it's so salty and strong-flavored. My choices are fruity, quenching wines: A Beaujolais, a Zinfandel or a lighter-styled Pinot Noir.

In all honesty, I find that wine doesn't make a very good accompaniment for curries, Thai food and other hot-and-spicy dishes. The alcohol in still wines interacts with the otherwise pleasant fire of curries to create a burning sensation that I find unpleasant. Accordingly, I quite frankly recommend forgoing wine with food of this type, choosing instead either a good beer or, as the people of those cultures do, cold drinks, often dairy-based, such as the Indian yoghurt lassi or the sweet, cream-topped Thai iced coffee.

If you're absolutely set on wine with fiery fare, then I'd suggest choosing a modest sparkling wine. The carbonation seems to work reasonably well to ameliorate spicy heat, and Champagne-type wines go well with foods of all sorts. As a final alternative, if you must have a still table wine, choose one that's fruity and not overly tannic or acidic: A Beaujolais, for example, or an American Zinfandel or Australian Shiraz. But don't say I didn't warn you!

To make a long story very simple and short, I enjoy matching the food of a country with the wine of a country, picking Italian vino with Italian cocina, French vin with French cuisine and ... well, you get the idea. It makes simple sense that the people of wine-making countries evolve their foods and wines to go well together, so why second-guess tradition?

Vegetarian entrees are a little harder to match with wine, but think in terms of saving heartier fare like bean dishes, enchiladas, etc., for your red wines, and using the lighter whites with dishes based on green vegetables.

When I'm in the mood for a serious session of analytical wine-and-cheese tasting, I like to have a good array of cheeses and a selection of wines, tasting across the lines to compare and contrast the different ways they go together. But generally speaking, I'd propose the following broad categories for seeking the ideal marriage between a specific wine and a particular cheese:

Cheddars and similar sharp "English" cheeses: Dry reds, Cabernet Sauvignon or better Merlots.

Swiss, Gruyere, and the equivalent: Pinot Noir.

Blue cheeses: Sauternes (or other sweet, fine dessert wines) is traditional, but these also work nicely with dry reds, and surprisingly so with very dry (Fino) Sherries. Be careful about tannic reds like Cabernets, though, which sometimes get a funny metallic taste with blue cheese.

Ripe, creamy cheeses like Camembert and Brie: Rich, buttery Chardonnay. Or for a change of pace, try them with Champagne.

Hard cheeses like Parmigiano Reggiano, Romano, etc.: This is probably kind of a cliche, but I really do like them with dry Italian reds, from Chianti to Barolo. Or try a chunk of really fresh Reggiano with a heavy Amarone.

Sweet wines are generally better sipped by themselves and not with food. There are a few traditional matches, including foie gras with Sauternes and other great dessert wines; Stilton (or other fine blue cheese) and walnuts with Port; and a creamy, not-too-sweet creme brulée with a fine dessert wine. But in my opinion it's best to have the dessert wine be the dessert rather than serving it with dessert, or save the dessert wine for contemplative sipping after the meal has ended.