Which wines to drink on St Patrick’s Day

It’s hard to avoid the obvious on St Paddy’s Day. Guinness, Bailey’s and Irish whiskey are the usual suspects but if none of these appeals here are the sort of wines that will work with classic Irish fare.

Oysters

Here’s where the Guinness comes in but if you don’t like Guinness, what then? A crisp white like Chablis, Muscadet or Picpoul de Pinet hits the spot

Smoked salmon and soda bread

Sauvignon Blanc is a better match for smoked salmon than champagne if truth be told. I’d go for one from the Loire myself like a Sancerre, Pouilly Fumé or - bargain drinking - Côteaux du Giennois, available in Majestic and Marks & Sparks

Cockle and mussel chowder

A lovely recipe from TV’s Rachel Allen. The blissful combination of shellfish and cream generally calls for a Chardonnay. Chablis would be classic but any other cool climate chardonnay would do. Or try an Italian white like Soave or Gavi

Irish stew

A plain, old-fashioned dish that works better with beer (bitter or pale ale rather than Guinness, I suggest) than with wine to be honest. Otherwise try a decent (but not too alcoholic) Côtes du Rhône or a mature Rioja

Boiled bacon and cabbage

Again I really like stout with this kind of dish but wine-wise I’d be looking at a cru Beaujolais or other Gamay, an inexpensive red Burgundy or a young Syrah. Natural wines with their vivid fruit flavours work well with ham. Try the Raisins Gaulois I recommended in the Guardian a while back. Cider would also be a good pairing.

Corned beef and cabbage

Another classic St Patrick’s Day dish from Darina Allen. Basically this is boiled salted brisket and vegetables - a simple meal that will make any accompanying wine taste sweeter than it otherwise would. I’d probably go for an inexpensive red Bordeaux though you could drink a crisp white like an Aligoté, Chablis or Grüner Veltliner.

Beef and Guinness pie or stew

Anything cooked in Guinness like these braised beef and champ pies or sausages in Guinness gravy are a good match with Guinness or other stouts or porters. Wine-wise I’d go for a robust Languedoc red, Syrah or Malbec

Roast rib of beef with horseradish sauce

There’s a long tradition of Irish-owned chateaux in Bordeaux so a good claret would be in keeping with the occasion. But any medium-to full-bodied red you enjoy is going to do the trick.

An Irish cheeseboard

Ireland has some fantastic cheeses like Adrahan, Coolea, Gubbeen and Cashel Blue though they tend to be quite strong. I’m not sure this isn’t an occasion to crack open a bottle of vintage port if you’ve got one. A good Late Bottled Vintage or 10 year old tawny if you haven’t.

There’s no classic St Patrick’s Day dessert that I’m aware of. Darina’s Rhubarb Bread and Butter pudding would do nicely (I’d pair a Sauternes with that) or try these clever Irish whiskey shots with a cream float from Rachel Allen

Photograph © Brent Hofacker - Fotolia.com

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 

Image ©Mironov Vladimir at shutterstock.com

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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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