Coincidently, that's also how a corked bottle of wine gets opened, too. Wines with screwcaps, on the other hand, are opened in a much less dramatic fashion; crack.

I don't have a preference, to be honest, so long as the wine inside is good, that's what counts.

Right now the world is not good - as far as global pandemics go.

One day you're making plans to have dinner with friends and share a bottle of wine in your favourite restaurant.

The next day that same favourite restaurant has morphed swiftly into a takeaway shop and you need to source your wine from elsewhere.

Funny how the world works.

Thankfully, Newcastle is full of quick thinkers with enterprising minds. Many of our favourite restaurants, pubs and bars have already switched gears into government social-distancing-approved takeaway and even delivery mode.

It's time to eat fast food with fine wine.

The most important rule you need to know when making a good food and wine match is that there are no rules.

If you want to drink a bottle of Bin 555 shiraz with a piece of fleshy fish, just do it.

If you want to slug a bottle of Oyster Bay sav blanc with a packet of cheese Twisties, knock yourself out. I prefer Cheezels, but ok.

And, look, if you want to smash that bottle of Domaine Leflavie against a plate of parmigiana with a side of chicken salted chips, be my guest ...

Rules notwithstanding, there are, of course, guidelines to taking a good food and wine match and elevating it up to become a great food and wine match. The golden rule, now more than ever, is balance. Balance is crucial. Balance is key.

Don't believe me?

What do you think made RUN DMC/Aerosmith's seminal 1986 single Walk This Way such a classic? Sure, producer Rick Rubin was important - it was his idea, after all. Yet, more important than Rubin was, balance. Balance enabled the deftly fresh fusion of '80s hip-hop with '70s rock, which, in the process, united the cultural divide between these two genres and their fans. Balance rocks!

To achieve balance between food and wine is easy; lighter foods love delicate wines, while richer dishes befriend bigger wines. Have a think about the elements of taste between the individual ingredients of the food and the wine - we all know you've got some spare time! Which components are bitter, salty, sweet, fatty, acidic, or boozy? Experimenting is half the fun. Call it R&D, it sounds more professional.

Here are a few fast food and fine wine examples that I suggest you order in tonight, tomorrow, and every night next week in order to experience the finesse and elegance of a fine wine with the corpulent excesses of contemporary fast food, and support your favourite local throughout this suddenly strange time.

Scotties, Fish & Chips ($16), w/ Tyrrell's Wines 'Johnno's Semillon' (2018/$70) Name a more iconic duo than seafood and semillon. You can't. Scotties batter locally-caught fish to within an inch of its life, until it's crispy and golden on the outside yet still moist and flaky on the inside. Add a side of lightly salted crunchy chips for extra texture. Then, wash down with a chilled bottle of lemony, limey, textually juicy, bright and brilliant Johnno's Semillon, made from 112-year-old vines; planted in 1908, long before Scotties, or you, or I, were even a twinkle in our maker's eyes. Local harmony at its finest.

Bao Brothers, Mushrooms with Attitude Bao ($13), w/ BOBAR 'Chardonnay' (2018/$35) - One for the plant-based bandits. You'll have to hunt down the Hunter's notorious B.B.F.T. (Bao Bros. Food Truck), or head up to their 'Corner' store at Charlestown Square to enjoy panko-crumbed mushroom, tangy pickled ginger, some soy mayo and fresh shallots held tight in a cloud-like Gua Bao. And match it with a bottle of this alt-Chardy, made by Tom and Sally, aka BOBAR from the Yarra Valley. Misty melon, nashi pear and proper apple cider flavours integrate around a slightly sinewy feeling of fresh texture and thrum. The wine's technically vegan too.

Mayfield West Kebabs & Charcoal Chicken, Papou Jim Box "PJ" ($18), w/ Krinklewood 'Francesca Rosé' (2019/$28) Fried chicken and rosé is good, but charcoal chicken and rosé is better. This Mayfield West takeaway's reputation for amazing avian cooked to perfection is well known amongst native Novocastrians. Place an order for a 'PJ' featuring small snack pack (packed with meat and cheese, onion, sauce, and chips), plus a quarter charcoal chicken, and a side salad, for balance ... obviously. Bring to the beach or kitchen bench and crack open a bottle of rose petal pink Mouvèdre rosé, grown biodynamically in Broke. Bursting with juicy watermelon and delicate red berry freshness finishing dry, savoury, and moreish. Fast food and fine wine never tasted so fresh.

Napoli Centrale Pizza Bar, Quattro formaggi ($24), w/ Brash Higgins 'FRNC' Cabernet Franc (2017/$30) Italian pizza, and wine, so fast and so fine, it practically eats and drinks itself. The wood-fired pizzas of Napoli Central have become part of the fundamental fabric of Newcastle over the last few years. Never ever leave us, Napoli Centrale, please. For your next visit, order the slightly piquant Quattro formaggi; a four-cheese composition featuring Fior de latte mozzarella, provolone, Gran Pandano parmesan, and gorgonzola. Match that to the fragrant ruby perfumes of red and blue fruits, currants and berries, green peppers and herbs featured in the fantastic flesh and bone textures of Brash Higgins' charming red wine, 'FRNC' from McLaren Vale. Perfetto!

Rascal, The Rascal burger ($11.90) w/ Mount Pleasant 1880 Vines Old Hill Shiraz (2017/$130) Only the best deserves only the finest. Rascal makes some of the best burgers in Newcastle. Fact. Mount Pleasant makes some of the finest wines in the Hunter (and the world). Fact. The classic Rascal burger of beef, cheese, special sauce, lettuce, tomato, onions, and pickles makes for a wealthy pairing thanks to the power and presence of juicy black fruits, crushed peppers, sappiness and silkiness of textures and tannins from Mount Pleasant's gorgeous, 'Old Hill Shiraz' (made from centurion vines). Be sure to take plenty of pictures for the 'Gram, so that all your fans and followers, including your Mum, knows how well you're doing.

Chiko Roll ($3) w/ Albert Bichot Chablis Premier Cru 'Les Vaucopins' (2017/$75) Class divides dissolve in the face of this improbable pairing between two icons of Australia and France. Chiko and chablis. The two-tubed fancy feast of summer; one, a steely, mineral run of limes, quince and apricot, so fresh, bright, and brilliant. The other, a hand-held, deep-fried bag of beef mutton, cabbage, celery, onion, carrot, salt, and spices. Trust me, don't knock it till you've tried it.

And that goes for all of the above.