A “surefire secret” for food and wine pairings comes to us from The Washington Post’s Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg.

It seems pretty simple once you hear it: “Make sure the same wine is in each.”

And the secret’s pretty easy to apply, as one of their match-ups illustrates.

Let’s say you’re having boeuf bourguignon (beef braised in red wine).

First, think French.

Then, of course, think red.

And what you come up with (resulting in “what we consider a holy grail pairing that all food lovers should experience at least once”): Red burgandy.

Page and Dornenburg serve up several other tasty examples — wines for foods ranging from fondue to caramelized scallops and mushroom risotto.

But then there’s the all important question: How to know when you’ve made the right choices?

They’ve got that covered, too.

“You can always tell when you hit upon a wonderful wine and food pairing, because it fills the space between the two. When you can find a way to add a splash of whatever is in your glass to what you’re eating, not only does that space disappear, but an entirely new flavor experience replaces it.”

As a bonus, they also mention a bottle that fits nicely in our “desperately seeking $10 wine values” category. It’s a 2005 Brancott Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc ($10).

Want to find a perfectly priced bottle of wine? Give the Smarter Wine Search a try.