Top pairings
Which wine (or beer) to pair with roast beef
Roast beef has the virtue of being one of the easiest dishes to match with wine. You can really drink any medium- to full-bodied red you enjoy. There are a couple of points to bear in mind, however, which might affect the style of wine you choose.
First of all, how will the beef be cooked? Will it be very rare or medium to well done?
That will partly depend on the cut - you’re probably likely to serve a very lean piece of meat or one that’s cooked at a low temperature more underdone that a joint with a fair amount of fat like a sirloin.
The rarer the meat is - and the more of a deeply savoury crust it has - the better it will deal with tannins and high levels of alcohol.
In other words rare beef suits young, full-bodied reds while older, more delicate reds are sometimes better with beef that’s cooked a little longer
Secondly, how is it sauced? With a typically English gravy or a concentrated wine-based ‘jus’?
If the sauce is intensely winey it again tends to suit full-bodied youthful reds like Syrah/Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon. If it’s served with gravy you’re better off with a more classic wine like a red Bordeaux or a Rioja - or of course, a traditional ale or porter (an under-estimated match with roast beef).
Horseradish sauce will also affect your wine match - not so much if it’s a ready-made creamy sauce but if it’s made with fresh horseradish I’d choose a wine that has intense enough fruit to handle it. A Douro red or a Malbec would fit the bill
Thirdly what are you serving in the way of vegetables? Not necessarily a crucial factor unless they’re strongly strongly flavoured like red cabbage but the more veg you have the more likely it is that some ingredient will throw your wine off-balance. If you’re pulling out a special bottle keep your accompaniments simple.
Personally I think roast beef is a great opportunity to open a good Bordeaux or other Cabernet/Merlot or Malbec blend. Or a great syrah or shiraz. Much the same wines that go with steak, in other words.
And in terms of beer? I’d probably go for a barrel-aged beer but there’s nothing wrong with a good traditional ale. A porter would also be good.
Note: Yorkshire pudding won’t make much of a difference to the match other than increasing the amount of carbs on the plate which probably makes beer an even more logical choice.
Photo ©Brent Hofacker at shutterstock.com
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The best food pairings for amarone (new)
Amarone or Amarone della Valpolicella is a full-bodied red wine from the Veneto region of Italy that gets its richness and slight sweetness from being partially fermented on the skins of dried grapes, a process referred to in Italian as appassimento.
Although styles vary it can reach alcohol levels as high as 16% which obviously dictates the style of food it pairs with best.
What food you enjoy with it depends a bit on your personal taste. If you appreciate its sweetness you’ll probably be happy drinking it with richly sauced meat dishes like ox cheek and beef shortribs, even a Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey
If you find it a bit overwhelming with savoury dishes you might want to treat it more like port and drink it with cheese, especially blue cheese.
Some people enjoy it with dark chocolate but I personally don’t find it quite sweet enough for that. A Recioto della Valpolicella works better in my opinion.
But it does particularly lend itself to rich red wine sauces especially if they’re made with amarone.
Because of its capacity to age it tends to fetch a premium price so save older vintages for a special occasion.
Traditional food pairings from the region
I doubt you’re going to want to serve pastisade de caval (horsemeat stew) or tripe but you might enjoy
Risotto all’amarone (a favourite of the River Café). You can find a recipe here
Strong cheeses including mature parmegiano reggiano (parmesan), Ubriaco all’Amarone (cheese matured in amarone grape must), Gorgonzola and other blue cheeses
Other good pairings, especially with rich red wine sauces
Braised ox or veal cheek and oxtail
Braised beef short-ribs
Wagyu beef
Dishes accompanied by roast bone marrow
Robust pasta dishes, e.g. with hare sauce (pappardelle alla lepre) or other rich ragus.
Pigeon
Duck cooked in balsamic vinegar (balsamic chimes in well with amarone)
Grouse
Wild boar
Venison - as you can see from this match of the week though the roast beetroot also contributed to the pairing
Reindeer and elk (amarone is apparently popular in Scandinavia)
American-style barbecue e.g. smoked brisket
Photo by Ipek Celik at shutterstock.com
What to pair with Beaujolais Nouveau (updated)
With southern hemisphere wines from the 2024 vintage already hitting the shelves the annual release of Beaujolais Nouveau has become less significant than it once used to be but it’s still a fun occasion to mark.
So far as food is concerned I suggest you go for the obvious-but-none-the-worse-for-it pairing of charcuterie.
A selection of saucisson, paté, rillettes and perhaps some jambon de Bayonne or mountain ham with some cornichons (gherkins), fresh radishes, butter and a good crusty baguette or two followed by a nice mature but not overripe Camembert or Brie.
I’d also suggest you chill your ‘nouveau’ for 30 minutes in the fridge before you serve it.
If you’re veggie a selection of crudités - fresh crunchy vegetables such as radishes, carrots and fennel - and a young goats cheese would work. really well.
If you’re feeling more adventurous you could try it with a Chinese takeaway avoiding stronger dishes such as crab or ribs in black bean sauce. I think it would go pretty well with sushi.
And if you’re anywhere warm enough to eat outside try it with a duck or chicken salad with some red fruits such as sun-dried cherries or pomegranate seeds.
And given it coincides with Thanksgiving this year, maybe drink it with the Thanksgiving turkey leftovers!
For pairings for Beaujolais Villages and ‘cru’ Beaujolais see Top Food Matches for Beaujolais (and other Gamay)
Image by roksen_andre from Pixabay
The best food pairings for Lambrusco (updated)
If you’re wondering why I’m devoting a post to Lambrusco you obviously haven’t tasted the real thing!
Forget the weedy, sickly-sweet lambruscos you may have tasted in your youth - most authentic lambrusco is seductively crimson, frothy and totally dry.
So what should you eat with it? Well, in Emilia-Romagna where it’s made they almost certainly go for pork as I’ve suggested before - salumi (cold meats) such as salami, prosciutto (ham), mortadella and bresaola, porchetta (rolled pork with herbs) and Italian-style sausages with fennel.
I love the idea of it as a Boxing Day wine with cold turkey and ham.
It’s fantastic with pizza (you should definitely try it with pizza!) You could even drink it with lasagne and other richly sauced pasta dishes.
But I reckon it’s also a brilliant barbecue wine - drink it lightly chilled with grilled chicken, lamb or pulled pork or even a burger or steak. It will offset fatty meats such as duck or goose - it would be great with confit duck. And there’s no reason not to drink it with meaty or oily fish such as grilled tuna or sardines.
Cheese-wise you could pair it with hard sheeps’ cheeses like pecorino and with aged cheeses such as parmigiano reggiano and grana padano - or drink it - as you would drink Beaujolais with a terrine, fromage de tête or brawn.
You can also find rosé lambruscos which again work well with salumi and other antipasti.
And sweeter (amabile) lambruscos are delicious with summer fruits, especially peaches and nectarines
The best food pairings for rioja
Rioja - and by that I mean red rioja - is one of the UK’s best-loved wines and one of the easiest ones to match with food too.
As you’d expect it pairs particularly well with Spanish food especially lamb and pork and recipes that contain red peppers, pimenton, garlic and saffron.
The main thing to bear in mind is the style of the wine - whether it’s a young (joven) rioja which can handle quite robust, even spicy dishes, or an older (reserva or gran reserva) one which would benefit from more simply prepared food.
Riojas that are made in a more modern style can also handle more spice than more traditional ones. Modern Indian food with rioja is a surprising hit.
These dishes will generally work with most riojas:
* Almost any kind of lamb dish from roast lamb to tender lamb cutlets grilled over vine clippings (a local favourite in the region) to slow braised lamb shanks or even a rogan josh. Shepherds pie, Lancashire hotpot, merguez, moussaka . . . It’s hard to think of a lamb dish that doesn’t work with rioja.
* Many pork dishes especially cooked Spanish style with beans. Chorizo and morcilla (black pudding) are both good pairings for younger riojas as are jamon (ham) and albondigas (meatballs) making red rioja a good match for more robust tapas.
* Dishes with red peppers and/or pimenton or paprika
* Almost any kind of mild or medium-hot dish with chillies like chilli con carne and other chiles. (Rioja suits south-west American food and American barbecue)
* Dishes with saffron such as paella or Moroccan tagines - including, surprisingly, chicken with preserved lemon and olives and Mediterranean-style fish stews
* Older gran reserva riojas are especially good with roast game birds such as pheasant and partridge. Indian-style game dishes work well with younger riojas
* Cheese, especially hard sheeps’ cheeses such as Manchego, although a mellow rioja reserva is a generally reliable choice with a cheeseboard - unlike many reds.
See also The best matches for white Rioja
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