The best wine pairings for feta cheese

Since this baked feta and tomato pasta recipe went viral on TikTok a couple of years ago, feta has been on every home cook’s radar but what sort of wine do you pair with it?

Greek wine is the obvious starting point particularly white wine which suits its sharpness and saltiness and the sort of ingredients you pair with it such as tomatoes, olives and courgettes (zucchini).

But you should also consider wines from further afield.

5 white wines to pair with feta cheese

Assyrtiko and other Greek whites

The traditional Greek salad of tomatoes, cucumber onion and olives is the classic pairing for an assyrtiko or assyrtiko blend. It will also work with other salads such as watermelon and feta salad and with whipped feta. With a baked feta dish you might want a Greek white with a touch of oak or a slightly older vintage.

The best food pairings for assyrtiko

Spain’s albarino and Portugal’s alvarinho also have that clean fresh sharpness that would suit feta-based dishes well as would . . .

. . .English Bacchus and . . .

. . .Greco di Tufo
Another good option from the south of Italy. Try Etna’s carricante too.

Citrussy sauvignon blanc
I’m thinking particularly of Bordeaux sauvignon and sauvignons from Chile with their lemon and grapefruit character rather than the fruitier examples from New Zealand or more mineral sauvignon blancs from the Loire (but, hey, if Bacchus, why not?)

Dry rosé
Especially with feta salads. But then rosé goes with practiclaly everything salady. There’s some good rosé from Greece these days to explore.

Does feta go with red wine?
It would be fine especially if you’re combining feta with aubergine (eggplant) or red meat. I’d choose a bright breezy red with good acidity such as a young syrah or a mencia or with this warm lamb salad with a pea, mint and feta cheese dressing, try a cabernet franc. (Basically you match the lamb not the feta.)

What about sweet wines?
Roasted with honey, as in this recipe in the New York Times, I’d choose a sweet wine like a Samos or southern French muscat though they recommend a drier white. Depends at what what stage you’re having it, at the beginning or end of the meal.

If you’re a baked feta fan you might also enjoy this recipe for Simit with lemon and thyme-baked feta

Photo © Fiona Beckett

Top wine pairings with goat cheese (chèvre)

Since goats cheese and Sauvignon Blanc is such a great match it might seem redundant to think of anything else but despite its reputation for being . . . well . . . goaty, goats cheese is easy to pair with other wines.

Unless you’re slathering it on a cracker as a sneaky snack the chances are you’re going to be eating it with something else - in a salad with asparagus, say, with roast red peppers or beetroot or on a cheeseboard with other cheeses - unless you’re in Provence where they don’t seem to serve any other kind.

With all those dishes it helps to have a wine with some fresh acidity of its own so here are my suggestions:

Sauvignon Blanc - you know that already. Doesn’t matter hugely where it’s from though I personally think the white wines of the Loire like Sancerre, Pouilly Fumé and even Sauvignon de Touraine work especially well. (The classic pairing is a Sancerre and a Crottin de Chavignol.)

Wines that taste like Sauvignon Blanc so other citrussy whites such as Bacchus, Côtes de Gascogne, Rueda and other crisp whites such as Albarino, Alvarinho, Chablis, Picpoul de Pinet, Pinot Grigio and other unoaked Italian whites, dry Riesling, Gruner Veltliner . . . (See what I mean about it being versatile?)

Crisp dry rosé especially Provençal rosé. Provence-style rosé and goats cheese is a great pairing (think summer picnics!)

Fresh, fruity reds such as Beaujolais and other gamays, inexpensive red burgundy and Loire cabernet francs like Chinon, Saumur and Saumur-Champigny

So basically any wine - white, red or rosé - that’s young, fresh, unoaked and lightly chilled will go with goats cheese. Which makes it the perfect summer cheese.

PS If you’re a cheese aficionado you may be a fan of more mature goats’ cheeses in which case I would go for an aged white like a Chablis or a mature Alsace riesling too as you can see from this post.

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The best wine matches for fishcakes (updated)

Fishcakes are one of the ultimate comfort foods - but is there an equally comforting wine pairing?

In general they go well with dry white wines, however it depends what type of fish and other ingredients you use and whether you’re serving a sauce or salsa alongside.

You’ll want a different wine with a classic salmon fishcake with a hollandaise, for example than a Thai fishcake with a sweet chilli sauce which might well be served alongside other dishes.

Here are some good wines to choose from:

Salmon fishcakes
Salmon fishcakes are quite rich and often served with a butter sauce such as hollandaise. I tend to favour the same types of wine as I’d pick for a fish pie - unoaked or lightly oaked Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Pinot Blanc or a Sauvignon/Semillon blend such as you find in Bordeaux or the Margaret River region of Australia

‘Melting middle’ fishcakes
‘Melting middle’ fishcakes, often with an oozy cheese filling have become a popular supermarket staple in recent years. Given they’re on the richer side they’re also a good match for Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc. 

White fish cakes with parsley
Not being quite as rich these are fine with a lighter, crisper white such as Albarino, Muscadet, Picpoul de Pinet or Pinot Grigio. A minerally Sauvignon Blanc like a Sancerre is a good pairing too

Maryland crab cakes
Crab has a delicate flavour which again responds well to an elegant dry white wine such as a Sancerre, Pouilly Fumé or albarino but would be great with a glass of champagne or crémant too

Fishcakes with chorizo
The chorizo brings a spicy meaty element to a fishcake that makes a medium-bodied red wine as good a match as a white. I’d be inclined to pick an inexpensive red Côtes du Rhône red but a full-bodied white from the region would work too.

Thai fish cakes
Here the seasoning is all-important together with the sweet chilli sauce with which they’re often served. I’d tend to go for a dry Riesling - particularly Clare or Eden Valley Riesling though you could also drink a New Zealand - or other zesty - Sauvignon Blanc. Witbier/bière blanche (wheat beer) is also a really good match

See also 4 good wines to pair with fish pie

Photo ©Magdanatka at shutterstock.com

Top wine pairings with scallops

Scallops are some of the most delicious seafood around and some of the most flattering to a serious white wine.

They’re also incredibly quick and easy to cook which makes them a great choice for a romantic dinner for two, especially with a wine lover!

When it comes to pairing wine and scallops there’s one grape variety that will almost always see you right but in this brief guide I’ve given some other options depending on the other ingredients in the dish.

Grilled or seared scallops

Searing scallops enhances their sweetness and makes them a sure-fire match with chardonnay.

Almost any kind especially white burgundy - it’s a great way to show off an older vintage. Old vine chenin blanc is also a good match.

Champagne, especially a blanc de blancs, is not too shabby either.

The best food pairings with white burgundy

Scallops with pea purée or pea shoots

Bring peas - or asparagus into the equation and I’d probably go for a sauvignon or sauvignon-semillon blend such as you find in Bordeaux or Western Australia. Albarino is also a good match

Coquilles Saint Jacques or other scallop dishes with a creamy sauce

Back to chardonnay again for this classic dish. Especially Chablis

Scallops served with Asian-style dressing

Give scallops an Asian twist as in this recipe and I’d reach for a dry or off-dry riesling

Scallop and crab or lobster risotto

Risotto immediately makes a scallop dish richer especially if it also includes crab or lobster. You have a choice: you can go for a matching richness (yup, chardonnay again) or a smooth Italian white like a Gavi or Soave or for a contrast in terms of a wine that will bring a zing of freshness to the dish as I did here.

Scallops with pancetta or chorizo

Sometimes scallops are given more robust treatment and partnered with bacon, pancetta, chorizo or even black pudding. In that case you can drink a light red like a pinot noir or a Beaujolais. Lightly chilled, I suggest.

For other insights see this account of Rye Bay Scallop Week

Image © Oran Tantapakul at fotolia.com