A new regular feature on the site to give you a chance to play sommelier and practise your matchmaking skills. Here’s how it works:

Two or three times a month I’ll give you six dishes. You work out what wines - or other drinks you’d pair with them. I’ll give you my ideas and occasionally those of the restaurant’s sommelier in small print at the bottom of the list (no cheating!) You see how your ideas compare.

To kick off here a six fish dishes from current London (and one Cornish) menus. Remember it’s not the type of fish that makes the match but the way it’s prepared and the flavourings that the chef has put with it.

The dishes to match

1. Ceviche of Irish organic salmon with chilli, grapefruit and coriander (from the tasting menu at Gordon Ramsay’s Boxwood Café)

2. Pan-fried slip-soles with brown butter (Scott’s)

3. Pan-fried fillet of cod with a crab risotto and tarragon dressing (J. Sheekey)

4. John Dory with olives, capers and rosemary served with first pressing olive oil, sliced olives, capers, sun-dried tomatoes, broad leaf parsley, anchovy and potato (Rick Stein’s Seafood restaurant, Padstow)

5. Sauté of turbot and chicken wings with shallot purée, garlic mushrooms, roasting juices and thyme. The Square, Mayfair

6. Coda di Rospo avvolta in Pancetta con Funghi Selvatici (Monkfish wrapped in Pancetta with sautéed Wild Mushrooms) Zilli Fish


And my suggested pairings

1. A ceviche is raw fish, marinated in citrus - usually lime but here obviously grapefruit has been used and the dish spiced up with a bit of chilli. The suggested pairing is New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc (Isabel Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough 2005) which should have the power to deal with the raw fish, the high acid level of the marinade and heat of the chilli.

2. A simple preparation designed to show off the delicate flavours of the fish. The brown butter (butter that has been allowed to turn colour, giving the dish a delicious nuttiness) to me suggests an oaked wine but not too powerfully oaked to overwhelm the fish. A classic white burgundy would fit the bil, though these don’t come cheap at Scott’s. The best value I spotted on-line was the St. Veran ‘Les Terres Noires’, Domaine des Deux Roches 2004

3. Cod is a more robust fish than sole and can sometimes take a red but the accompaniment is delicate and creamy. Unoaked chardonnay (especially Chablis) would be a safe bet but I’d be quite tempted by an Italian white like an Arneis or a Soave

4. This dish is firmly stamped with punchy Mediterranean flavours - olives, capers, rosemary, anchovy and sundried tomatoes are quite a challenge for any wine. My current favourite with this type of dish would be a Spanish Albarino but other dry intense whites such as a top quality Pinot Grigio or even Stein’s own Tower Estate Hunter Valley Verdelho should work.

5. A rich, opulent fish dish (chicken wings, shallots, mushrooms, and roasting juices all have powerful umami flavours) It would be wonderful with vintage champagne if you’re feeling in celebratory mood or a really top quality white burgundy or chardonnay with a good couple of years bottle age. (The Square has an awesome wine list)

6. Several pointers towards a red rather than a white. Monkfish, which is meaty, pancetta (salty and savoury) and meaty, umami rich mushrooms. Pinot noir, especially red burgundy would be an obvious pairing but this being an Italian restaurant you could go for a light Italian red. Nothing much to write home about on the Zilli Fish winelist though.