Red wine with meat is still a useful rule. However, when you add sauces or other flavorings, you need to consider them as well. Some types of meat seem to have a particular affinity with wines made from certain grapes—lamb goes well with Cabernet Sauvignon or Rioja reds, for example, while pork and rabbit taste good with Pinot Noir or Rhône wines. For game and for most poultry dishes, the sauce and herbal flavorings make a considerable difference when choosing wine. White wine or even dry rosé will be the right choice with poultry on occasion, but red wine can work well, too.
BEEF
There are many wines that taste good with beef. As a general rule, good red wine goes well with plainly cooked beef. By experimenting with sauces and flavorings, you can choose from powerful Cabernets, Zinfandels, Barolos and Super-Tuscan red wines from Italy, or lighter reds, such as Merlot and Pinot Noir.
LAMB
In general, lamb is a very wine-friendly food. It has a great affinity with the Cabernet Sauvignon grape, used in red wines from Bordeaux and California. In Spain, Rioja is often served with lamb. California Zinfandel, Washington state Merlot, Australian Shiraz, Rhône reds and good Chiantis also work.
PORK
With its underlying sweetness, pork is a more difficult match than beef or lamb, and is often cooked with spices that are not wine friendly. The best bet is usually a younger low-tannin wine (white or red) with some acidity and fruit that can match the flavor profile of many pork dishes.
POULTRY
Some meat flavors match perfectly with certain grape varieties. In the poultry category, duck and chicken are a great match with Chardonnay.
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Guides, The Wine Guide, (Time-Life Books, 1999).