Red is the new white . . .

It wouldn’t have happened 10 years ago, and possibly not even five. According to our latest poll 39% or two in five of you say that Pinot Noir is the best wine to drink with grilled salmon.

I wasn’t entirely surprised. As pinot gets softer and more accessible and salmon more robustly treated it just seems to work better and better as a combination. In fact it’s not an over-exaggeration to say it’s become a new classic.

The other votes were more unexpected. With 33%, Sauvignon Blanc ran Pinot Noir a very close second, and once or twice overtook it during the period the poll was up. As it’s not a traditonal pairing with salmon that shows just how huge Sauvignon is at the moment. Chardonnay by contrast trailed a miserable joint third tying with ‘other’ at 12%. Now that can’t be because it’s not a good match - it’s a great one - simply that we’re all chardonnayed out and want something different. Riesling, perhaps, or Viognier.

The most striking result though was the miserly 3% who voted for ‘a golden ale or lager’. Now that might be my fault. You may have thought I meant something like a Bud or a Fosters when what I had in mind was an English summer ale like Hop Back Summer Lightning, Duvel, a strong golden ale from Belgium or a nice refreshing Budweiser Budvar from the Czech Republic. Something with real flavour. If you haven’t tried them with salmon before do give them a go.