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

What wines (and other drinks) pair best with noodles?

If you’re wondering what to drink with noodles you need to think about the way and the flavours with which they’re cooked rather than the fact that they’re noodles. (Yes, I know pasta counts as noodles too but I’m thinking more of Asian recipes.)

They’re not an obvious dish with which to drink wine particularly if they’re served in a broth like this recipe for Khao Soi noodles. In fact you don’t actually need to drink with them at all. But dry dishes do go quite well, particularly Japanese noodle recipes.

Here are some wine and other pairings to try:

Aromatic white wines

The most obvious go-to with a bowl of noodles. My favourites would be a dry riesling or grüner veltliner or try a Hungarian dry furmint or harslevelu. Often it’s the sauce or broth that dictates that as with this laksa.

Crisp dry white wines

Crisp whites like albarino, picpoul de pinot and koshu pair well with cold noodles like this prawn noodle salad

Inexpensive red burgundy

Maybe not the most obvious choice but it did the trick with this sukiyaki. It would probably go with a beef pho too

Lager

Probably most people’s choice when it comes to beer. It certainly works with ramen and pad thai (below) though if you’re eating a cold noodle dish like this one try a weissbier.

Sake

Particularly with Japanese noodles for obvious reasons

Green tea

Especially genmaicha - a particularly savoury green tea flavoured with roasted brown rice. Again good with Japanese noodles.

Kombucha

Being a fermented drink kombucha (fermented tea) has a tiny amount of alcohol but unless you’re avoiding it altogether it’s negligible. A good match for many noodle dishes too

Sour plum tea

A recent discovery that worked really well with some spicy Sichuan noodles

A fruity cocktail

A fruity cocktail like this Guava Collins works well with hot spicy noodles

White or red wine? What’s the best pairing for risotto?

Talking about wine matches for risotto is a bit like talking about wine with pasta - it’s depends on the other ingredients you use, not the rice.

That said, risotto is usually a delicate, creamy sort of dish which is served among the primi (the first main dish) on an Italian menu and generally suits a white better than a red.

It’s also typical of the northern half of Italy rather than the south, particularly the Piedmont area which points to an Italian white from that region.

In this post you’ll find my top wine pairings for popular types of risotto, including spring vegetable risottos (e.g. asparagus risotto), seafood risotto (e.g. Risotto ai Frutti di Mare), mushroom risotto, beetroot risotto and pumpkin risotto. Read on to learn which types of risotto best suit a white wine and which are better with red.

Spring vegetable risotto

With a light risotto made with spring vegetables like asparagus or courgette (zucchini) flowers or with seafood like shrimp or prawns I’d drink a Gavi, Soave or a Roero Arneis or - and this might surprise you - a glass of dryish* prosecco.

Seafood risotto

If the risotto was a bit richer - made with crab or scallops for example - I’d go for a richer white wine but still one with some acidity - a light creamy chardonnay for example or a pinot bianco. Premier cru Chablis, although not local, would be a good match and I have enjoyed a crisp fresh-tasting sauvignon with this style of risotto

Mushroom risotto

Chardonnay, especially white burgundy, is also a good pairing for a chicken or a mushroom risotto which tend to be richer and more savoury but you could also drink a pinot noir or a Barolo, even though this is not traditional in the region. (They generally save it for the meat course and drink a Barbera.). If truffles are involved, I would go for the Barolo though!

Beetroot risotto

I’d also drink a red wine with any risotto that was made with red wine, served with meat or one that was based on beetroot. Barbera would probably be my top choice but again pinot noir would work very well especially if that’s the wine you use in the recipe.

Beetroot and pinot noir risotto

I also prefer an earthy red like Barbera with a risotto made with saffron like the classic risotto all Milanese but again you could go for a crisp white like a Gavi.

Pumpkin risotto

And for rich pumpkin or butternut squash I might go for a richer style of chardonnay or viognier.

Wines that don’t go quite as well

Enjoying a risotto is all about the creaminess of the dish and the texture of the rice so you don’t want a wine that’s too intrusive either in terms of fruit character or tannin. So I personally wouldn’t go for a pungent New Zealand style of sauvignon blanc or a full-bodied red like a cabernet sauvignon or shiraz. Feel free though if it works for you!

* I deliberately use the word ‘dry-ish’ rather than ‘dry’ because that’s a classification in the prosecco region that actually means medium-sweet’. You want to look for ‘brut’ style proseccos.

Image © Ale02 at shutterstock.com

Eight great drink pairings for sushi

You might think sushi would be tricky to pair with wine but surprisingly that’s not the case. And there are other drinks that work too.

There are of course different toppings and fillings for sushi, some mild, some, like eel, quite strongly flavoured but I don’t think you can be chopping and changing with each bite you eat.

What you do have to bear in mind is that you’re not only dealing with raw fish: sushi has a touch of sweetness to take account of too. And it also depends how much soy and wasabi you add.

Here are eight drinks I think make good pairings:

Koshu and other crisp whites. If you haven’t come across koshu you will soon. It’s a crisp clean white wine that’s made in Japan from the koshu grape. Marks & Spencer even stocks one. Other crisp whites like Muscadet, Chablis, Gruner Veltliner, Gavi and even Pinot Grigio work well too.

Low dosage champagne and other dry sparkling wines such as drier styles of prosecco and Crémant d’Alsace. Delicious.

Sake Not traditional in Japan (you don’t drink sake with rice) but it’s a brilliant combo, as is fino sherry. Chilled rather than warm.

Dry riesling - very dry - so think Alsace, Austria and southern Germany rather than the Mosel or more fruity rieslings from Australia or New Zealand.

Oaked Portuguese white - can’t explain exactly why but it works especially with the more full-on flavours of modern sushi (especially if it involves sesame) See this post about a meal I had in Foz.

Young red burgundy - now this may come as a surprise. It was recommended to me by a Japanese sommelier. I still prefer a white or sparkling wine with sushi but if you prefer a red this is the type to go for. (And see this very successful pairing with red Sancerre.)

Japanese beer - not the most flavourful but it feels right. Or other light lagers. A big sweet hoppy craft beer would be too overpowering.

Genmaicha (roasted rice) tea - refreshingly nutty. Served warm rather than piping hot. Green tea (though not matcha) is nice too.

image by Natalia Lisovskaya at shutterstock.com