The best wine pairings with meatballs (updated)

Meatballs are essentially comfort food so you probably don’t want to drink anything too fancy with them.

That said, wine is generally a great pairing with meatballs, especially a red. 

What will affect the match is both the seasoning of the meatballs and the sauce - if any - they’re served in. Fragrantly spiced middle-eastern meatballs are a different proposition from a plate of spaghetti and meatballs in tomato sauce where the sauce is as much of an influence as the meat. With their creamy sauce Swedish or other Scandi meatballs call for a slightly different wine too.

Here are some of my favourite pairings:

Spaghetti and meatballs

This much loved Italian-American classic needs no more than a simple carafe of rosso - Sicilian I suggest as in this pairing of spaghetti and meatballs with nerello mascalese. I had a similar combination at the Francis Ford Coppola winery a few years ago and they had exactly the right idea. A young gulpable Chianti would also hit the spot as would a Rosso di Montepulciano or Rosso Conero.

Baked meatballs with cheese

A similar type of recipe to the above just slightly richer so it might need a gutsier red - the sort you’d serve with a lasagne. Try a zinfandel, a southern Italian red like a primitivo or nero d’avola or a barbera.

Middle-eastern meatballs

Here you have spice (usually cumin and coriander), garlic, loads of herbs (coriander, mint and parsley) and yoghurt to contend with. I’d pick a medium-bodied red wine from Greece, the Lebanon or even the Languedoc (see this match ) but a dry rosé would also be delicious. Or even a crisp white . . .

Swedish (or other Scandi) meatballs

More savoury than the other three and generally served with a creamy gravy. Take the cue from the lingonberry jam by which they’re often accompanied. A bright fruity red like a pinot noir would work or - and you may be surprised by this - an inexpensive red Bordeaux or Bergerac.

Albondigas

Spanish meatballs, often served as a tapa. I’d generally serve them with a young or crianza rioja but they’re very good with amontillado sherry too.

Spicy e.g. Korean meatballs

Seasonings like gochujang chilli paste may make meatballs like this challenging for wine - a fruity world rosé is probably the best bet but maybe try this offbeat pairing of a mango, ginger and lime-based gin and tonic I featured a while back 

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The best wine pairings with cheese fondue, raclette and tartiflette

Even if you’re not currently on the slopes you might want to take your chance to make one of the great ski-food classics, fondue, raclette or tartiflette. 

This post dives into my choice wine pairings - and favourite recipes - for these indulgent Alpine dishes. 

All, of course, involve melted cheese which isn’t the easiest thing to pair with wine, especially reds. In general (but not always) I’d go for crisp or aromatic white wines of the kind that are popular in the regions from which these dishes originate and avoid full-bodied, tannic reds.

Here are a few wine suggestions that I think work best with fondue, raclette and tartiflette:

Cheese fondue

The best wine I’ve found for fondue is a crisp dry white such as Swiss Chasselas or a Chignin or Roussette from Savoie. These wines are relatively hard to come by, however, but other crisp dry whites can work.

Muscadet, Chablis, dry Alsace or Austrian riesling or a young grüner veltliner would all be fine. If you fancy a red make it a fresh, light-bodied one like a young red burgundy, gamay or Dole. Or a poulsard from the Jura.

And here’s my favourite fondue recipe!

Raclette

Here potatoes and sometimes cold meats are involved which mitigates the intense cheesiness. I’d still go for a similar crisp white as the above but it could take a slightly more robust red like a gamay from the Auvergne or even an inexpensive Côtes du Rhône.

Tartiflette

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Tartiflette is like a super-charged gratin dauphinoise, with added bacon and Reblochon cheese. It originally comes from Savoie so again those wines I recommend with cheese fondue will work well. You could also try a savagnin or a Coteaux du Jura. (There’s a good recipe here in Felicity Cloake’s excellent ‘The Perfect’ series for the Guardian. Or try my slightly less time consuming après-work tartiflette. 

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The best wine pairings with Beef Wellington

Beef Wellington is real treat and deserves an equally indulgent red wine to pair with it.

It is, however, less robustly flavoured than a steak or rib roast of beef with other key ingredients such as mushrooms and pastry which offset the flavour of the meat. So when picking a wine for Beef Wellington, you should consider flavour elements like: 

• Earthy umami mushrooms that call for a wine with similar savory or forest-floor notes
• Buttery pastry which can add a slight sweet note
• And of course the beef, which always commands a wine with plenty of structure

Given all of that, what to choose? 

Here are my top three wine pairings that I think fit the bill:

Good red burgundy and other pinot noir

Fillet steak - the cut that’s most commonly used for a Wellington - pairs particularly well with pinot noir - and that’s only improved by the mushroom duxelles (finely chopped mushrooms) in the filling. Think the best red burgundy you can afford with some bottle age (a 2017 vintage at the time of updating this entry in late 2023). A Chambolle-Musigny or Vosne-Romanée would be perfect if you can run to it. Top new world pinot from California, Oregon and New Zealand would also be great

For other great pinot noir pairings see here 

Saint-Emilion, Pomerol and other merlot-dominated Bordeaux

Also a top match though I’d suggest the right bank rather than the left - in other words merlot dominated wines such as Saint-Emilion and Pomerol, again at least 2-3 years old. Other good quality merlot from e.g. California would hit the spot too

Which other foods match well with merlot

Côte Rôtie (and aged shiraz)

In general I think syrah/shiraz is a bit powerful for a Wellington but Côte Rôtie from the northern Rhône has a finesse that would show both the dish and the wine off well. And I wouldn’t complain at a bottle of Grange or Hill of Grace!

Syrah also goes with these dishes.

Barolo

Beef Wellington isn’t a classic Italian dish but Barolo would be an excellent wine accompaniment.

Note: if you’re going for a top wine, particularly a delicate one go easy on the accompanying vegetables. Really buttery mash and maybe a few garlicky green beans or even peas would be perfect. Strongly flavoured veg like red cabbage would take it in another direction.

Similarly keep the sauce relatively light rather than dark, sticky and concentrated for these pairings

See also:

Which wine (or beer) to pair with roast beef

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What to drink with the turkey leftovers

The answer to the question of what to drink with the Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey leftovers might well be ‘whatever wine’s left over’ - if there is any, of course - but if you’re looking for a wine or other drink to match specific dishes here are a few ideas.

It depends of course on whether you’re eating the turkey cold or reheated - in a creamy sauce like a turkey pot pie or tetrazzini for example or a turkey curry or stir-fry.

Turkey, like chicken, is a relatively bland meat, especially when it’s cold so it’s much more about the other ingredients or sides you serve with it.

The classic Boxing Day - or Black Friday - spread - cold turkey, ham, chips and pickles - or turkey sandwiches

Although they’re mainly cold the Boxing Day leftovers have enough in the way of Christmas flavours to call for a bright, fruity red.

My ideal pairings would be Beaujolais, Mencia, young Cabernet Franc from the Loire or a vividly fruity young Pinot Noir or Syrah but a fruity rosé would work equally well if you’re in the mood.

A sparkling cider, often overlooked at Christmas, would also be delicious - or a pale ale.

Turkey pot pie

Depends a little bit on the sauce but if you’re going for the classic béchamel I’d pick a creamy Chardonnay or Chenin Blanc. You could also go for a Viognier or a blonde ale.

Turkey Tetrazzini

An American-style pasta bake made with turkey, mushrooms, cheese - and sometimes a dash of sherry makes this a richer dish than the pie above. I’d go for an aromatic wine like a pinot gris myself. You could serve an traditional oaked white Rioja or - a bit of an off-the-wall choice - a crisp Savagnin from the Arbois region of France which works really well with hot cheesy dishes.

Turkey curry

The ideal wine pairing will depend on the sauce and how hot it is. Assuming you’re not blowing your guests’ heads off and it’s a relatively mild one I’d go for a strong fruity rosé or a Viognier. If you’re giving your turkey the Thai green curry treatment try an Alsace, New Zealand or Oregon pinot gris.

Asian-style turkey salad

If you’re adding some fresh south-east Asian flavours to your leftovers as in this fresh-tasting salad try an Australian Riesling or Austrian Gruner Veltliner. A zippy New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc would work well too.

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