Do you ever wonder if the cohorts of sommeliers and wine writers who preach food and wine matching are little more than a vested interest lobby? If you follow general guidelines like red wine with meat and white wine with fish, can you go that far wrong? Possibly not if you accept that such generalities are indeed just guidelines and not rules to be followed slavishly. Drill down further and many of the classic matches like oysters and chablis, mussels and muscadet, port and Stilton, Roquefort and sauternes, lamb and bordeaux, game and burgundy, do genuinely work. Bear in mind though that accompanying sauces and side dishes can change the balance.

So far so good, but some of food and wine’s so-called marriages made in heaven are as often as not nightmare bedfellows that have unquestioningly passed into the canon of received wisdom. Take sauternes and foie gras for instance. Whatever you think of foie gras, this is richness piled on richness and consequently a hard act to follow. With foie gras, or pâté generally, you’re better off with a light riesling spätlese such as the fragrantly peachy 2005 Dr Hermann Erdener Treppchen Riesling Spätlese 2005, £10.99, Majestic, or a super-honeyed cheninc blanc with appley bite such as the 2010 Domaine des Forges Coteaux du Layon, £8.49, half-bottle.

For some reason, Alsace gewurztraminer is supposed to chime with Chinese food and curry, but heaviness and heat together are partners in crime, not wine. Better for me is an off-dry, well-chilled white in the mould of the aromatic and lively 2013 Leitz Rüdesheimer Rosengarten Riesling Kabinett, £14.49, Waitrose, or refreshingly pear-like 2013 Cave de Turckheim Baron d'Alsace Pinot Gris, £7.99, Morrisons. Equally, the clever marketing bods of Champagne would have you believe that rosé champagne and pudding will have you swooning. Sauternes, coteaux du layon, or sweet German, Alsace or New World riesling, yes, but pink champagne? Not on my table thank you.

The cheeseboard is the biggest minefield because an Old MacDonald’s farm of cow, goat and sheep, soft, hard and blue make for a potentially bewildering number of permutations. Red, contrary to popular opinion, is generally not the answer, although a ripe bordeaux may sometimes work with sheep’s cheese or an orange-fleshed Mimolette. Blue goat and sheep’s cheeses go beautifully with sweet German riesling like the apple and peach-laden 2012 Schloss Reichartshausen Rheingau Riesling Spätlese., Balthasar Ress, £19.95, Eton Vintners, or luscious botrytis nectar such as great 2009 De Bortoli Noble One Botrytis Semillon, £19.99, Waitrose. Goat’s cheeses on the other hand can handle a fine sauvignon blanc such as the mouthwateringly gooseberryish 2013 Florian Mollet Pouilly Fumé Antique, £17, Sainsbury’s, or pure Alsace in the shape of the 2011 Le Clos Sainte Odile Obernai Riesling, £13.99, Marks & Spencer.

Something for The Weekend

Night In

2013 Morrisons Signature Grüner Veltliner, Niederösterreich, Austria

In the hands of Markus Huber, Austria’s number one grape variety comes across as appetisingly fresh and mouthwateringly zingy, the perfect dry white for late summer sipping or accompanying a light Thai fish or chicken curry.
£6.99, Morrisons.

Dinner Party

2013 Paul Cluver Ferricrete Sauvignon Blanc

Restrained aromatics and full-bodied green bean ripeness make this grapefruit zesty Cape sauvignon an easy to match for the return of the R in the month seafood, and, of course, goat’s cheese. £10, reduced from £12, Marks & Spencer.

Splash Out

2012 Nicolas Perrin Crozes Hermitage Blanc

This serious dry Northern Rhône white is all about subtlety of texture and stonefruit richness derived from barrel-fermented old vine marsanne: a winner with fish and white meats. £15.72 - £19.99, www.slurp.co.uk; Fine Wine Company, Edinburgh; Askewine, London W12.