A lot of wine pairing writing assumes you're eating a tasting menu with individually plated courses. Most of us are eating a big bowl of ragù, a grilled chicken, or a shared platter of vegetables — and the pairing logic for that kind of food is a little different, and honestly a little more forgiving.
Match weight before you match flavour
Our simplest rule: match the weight of the dish before you worry about specific flavour notes. A rich, slow-braised ragù needs a wine with enough body and acidity to cut through it — we usually pour a Sangiovese-based red, since the acidity does the heavy lifting a lighter wine can't. A charred vegetable platter, by contrast, is often better with something lighter and higher in acid, so it doesn't get flattened by the smoke.
Don't be precious about the grill
Wood-grilled dishes carry so much of their own flavour from the char and smoke that an overly delicate or expensive wine tends to get lost next to them. We usually recommend something a little rustic and inexpensive with the sirloin or the half chicken — the food is doing most of the talking already.
"The best pairing for comfort food is usually the wine you'd actually order twice, not the one that sounds most impressive on the list."
If in doubt, ask
Our floor team tastes through the wine list regularly specifically so they can make real recommendations against what you've ordered, rather than reciting tasting notes. Tell them what you're eating and how hungry you are — that's usually more useful information than which region you prefer.