The secret to tomato/wine pairing: It's all about the acid

Tomatoes - or more accurately, their acidity - might seem like a problem when you're choosing a wine to pair with them. But as with most other foods, my advice is: Don't be scared. Remember to match acid with acid. Acidic foods make wines taste less acidic. So tart wines will taste fruitier when paired with tomatoes, while richer wines will skew toward the flabby side.

So for fresh tomatoes, think crisp, summery wines such as rosé. Rosé means summer, so tomatoes drenched in olive oil and sprinkled with basil are a perfect match. The olive oil softens the tomatoes' acidity, as does the mozzarella in a Caprese salad. And don't forget that bubbles go with everything. A sparkling wine, especially a rosé, can match the acidity of the tomatoes and emphasize the fruit flavors in the wine.

"Tomatoes are not really hard to pair with wine," says Nadine Brown, chief sommelier at Charlie Palmer Steak on Capitol Hill. "There is just a short list of things that don't work, like big tannic reds or oaky chardonnays." Such full-bodied, oaky and tannic wines will clash with the fresh acidity of tomatoes. After all, you want your wine to make love to your food, not duke it out.

With dishes that feature raw tomatoes or fried green tomatoes, Brown favors "high-acid whites" such as sauvignon blanc, albariño, pinot grigio, "and, of course, rosé."

A fresh tomato pasta sauce is an opportunity to experiment with a searingly mouth-puckering txakoli from the Basque region of Spain, a delicious wine that can be too tart by itself but shines with bright-flavored food. Less adventurous, but just as reliable, would be a Roero Arneis, Soave Classico, Orvieto or other Italian white wines made from Greco di tufo or falanghina.

Cooking the tomatoes reduces their acidity and brings out their sugars and deeper flavors. That gives you a wider range of wines to choose from.

"With dishes where the tomatoes are cooked or stewed, I would stay with high-acid reds that are not tannic or aggressive," Brown says. "These would be Italian reds like barbera or traditional Chianti. But I also am a fan of domestic cabernet franc, such as Barboursville's from Virginia, or Acorn's from the Russian River Valley in Sonoma County. Cool-climate zinfandels and "GSMs," or Rhône-style reds blended from Grenache, syrah and mourvedre, can also work, she adds.

Barbera and Sangiovese, the main grape of Chianti, would be my choices with a chicken or eggplant Parm, or a hearty meatball dish. Adventurers might look to a Lambrusco - again, bubbles for their palate-cleansing quality - especially when there's sausage or ham in the dish. Lambrusco loves smoked meat and is a great partner with charcuterie.

Even with cooked tomato sauces, we shouldn't forget white wines. A good tomato-based pasta sauce can excel with pinot grigio, bringing out the fruit flavors in a wine that otherwise can be nondescript.

A good pinot grigio is also great with chocolate brownies, but that's another story.

There are plenty of guidelines about pairing wine and food. In the end, say s Brown, "Just drink what you like."