Flavor Interactions  You are only able to detect four distinct flavors with your tongue: sweet, sour, salty and bitter; while your nose is able to decipher over 200 different aromas.

Heavy vs. Light Next, consider whether a dish is “heavy” or “light” in nature, the difference between a meal consisting of steak and potatoes or one that tends toward a chicken and vegetable stir-fry.

Other Factors to Consider Other factors to take into account when looking at pairing potentials is the foods acidity.

Via wine.about.com

• To decide how many bottles you'll need for a dinner, a rule of thumb is a standard bottle is generally ample for three people and a half-bottle for two.
• A dry wine always precedes a sweet one as the sweet taste will linger.  Sweet wines should be served with deserts.
• White and Rose wines should be served chilled but don't uncork them until you are ready to serve, unless time is short. It will also cool quicker if placed in a container which has 1/3 ice cubes and 1/3 cold water as this allows the bottle to sink into the ice cubes rather than balance on top.
• If a guest brings wine it may be worth asking if they would like it opened immediately or would they rather have it at their next visit.  A good wine should be allowed to rest for 24hours after travelling otherwise it won't be at its best.

Via hintsandthings.co.uk

Via wineanorak