Top wine (and other) pairings for sausages

There are very few occasions on which sausages don’t appeal but what’s the best pairing for them?

As always it depends on the type of sausage and the way they’re cooked but I personally find that beer and cider are just as good matches as wine.

Sausage and mash

The quintessential British sausage dish is almost always better accompanied by Britain’s national drink, beer than wine, especially if served with onion gravy. (The same goes for toad in the hole.)

I’d pick a hearty ale like Timothy Taylor Landlord but if the gravy is dark and intense as in this recipe for sausages with rich Guinness gravy you could even try a stout or a porter. If you don’t drink beer a hearty southern French or Spanish red or Argentine malbec would all work well.

Pork and leek sausages

Lighter sausages such as pork and leek or pork and apple pair well with cider. You could also drink white wine with them - I’d suggest a chenin blanc or unoaked or subtly oaked chardonnay.

Hot spicy sausages e.g. chorizo and merguez

Spice generally calls for wines with a touch of sweetness but with sausages like chorizo, merguez or Cajun-spiced sausages I’d be looking primarily for a red with ripe fruit: one of the new wave Spanish reds such as Montsant, an unoaked Douro red, or a shiraz, pinotage or zinfandel. Avoid reds that are heavily oaked though as oak-ageing tends to accentuate chilli heat.

Sausage casserole

It depends on the other ingredients in the casserole. If onion, apple and cider are involved I’d drink cider with it too. If the sauce is tomato-based or includes red wine like Tom Kerridge’s recipe for sausage, tomato and butterbean stew I’d go for a rustic red similar to those I’ve suggested for sausage and mash. A decent Côtes du Rhône is usually a reliable option.

Tuscan-style sausages with beans

One of the most wine-friendly of sausage dishes with which you could drink a good Tuscan (or other Italian) red as recommended with this dish of roasted Italian sausages with borlotti beans and nduja sauce from Theo Randall.

Garlicky French sausages e.g. Toulouse

Work well with southern and south-west French wines of lesser known appellations such as Marcillac. Again particularly wine-friendly if accompanied by pulses such as haricot beans and lentils, as in a cassoulet. A modest Bordeaux wouldn’t go amiss.

Venison or beef sausages

Tend to have a slightly gamey flavour that generally goes with wines that pair well with game. More robust styles of Pinot Noir such as those from Central Otago, northern Rhône reds such as St-Joseph and Crozes-Hermitage come to mind.

German-style sausages such as frankfurters and bratwurst

Definitely beer in my book. A light lager, pilsner or Kolsch for frankfurters, a slightly sweeter beer like a helles or golden lager for grilled brats. Try a crisp, dry Riesling if you don’t like beer.

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Top food pairings with Barbera

Barbera is a versatile red that will happily partner pretty well any meaty dish you throw at it. It is more robust and typically drunk younger than its Piedmontese counterparts Barolo and Barbaresco.

It’s also generally less expensive which makes it a more affordable option for everyday drinking.

There are two DOC’s in its home region of Piedmont - Barbera d’Alba and Barbera d’Asti but I wouldn’t worry too much about the implications of that for food matching. Barberas made elsewhere such as California and Australia are more distinctive with riper fruit and less acidity and capable of handling spicier food.

In Piedmont the locals tend to drink it with the first courses of a meal - particularly pasta dishes - but it works really well with hearty main courses.

TOP MATCHES FOR PIEDMONTESE BARBERA

Grilled and roast pork and wild boar

Inexpensive steaks like hangar steak and onglet

Braised lamb dishes such as lamb shanks

Italian-style stews and braises such as rabbit with olives or braised duck

Italian-style sausages with lentils, or in a pasta sauce (alla salsiccia)

Pizzas with a sausage topping

Pasta with meat and cooked tomato sauces such as bolognese. In Piedmont that would often be the eggy pasta tajarin.

Spaghetti and meatballs

Meatloaf

Mushroom risotto

Meat-stuffed pasta such as ravioli and agnolotti

Fonduta with truffles

‘New world’ Barbera should also work with the above but also spicier stews with chili.

Barbera loves: garlic, tomato and olives

If you found this piece useful check out The Best Food Pairings for Barolo and Barbaresco

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The best food pairings for Grüner Veltliner

Winemakers like to tell you that their wines go with everything but in the case of Grüner Veltliner, Austria’s best known white wine, it’s true.

Short of Sunday roasts and large juicy steaks you can pair it with practically anything.

There are of course different styles but the one you’re most likely to come across is the crisp, fresh young style that typifies most inexpensive Grüners. What makes them distinctive is a herbal note and a distinctive white peppery twist.

In Austria they would be widely drunk with cold meats, salads, light vegetable dishes and fish - think the sort of dishes you would serve with a sauvignon blanc or a riesling. Further afield they’re a great choice in Asian or Asian-fusion restaurants especially with Thai and Vietnamese food

Asparagus

Austrians love asparagus - there are whole asparagus menus in the spring and early summer. It’s mainly white asparagus served either in a salad or warm with hollandaise but you can equally well drink it with the green variety. See also this match with asparagus soup.

Artichokes

Not many wines pair well with artichokes. Young fresh dry Grüner is one of them

Smoked ham, especially cut wafer thin as the Austrians do it

Smoked fish like smoked salmon or trout. Even smoked eel though I think riesling is better

Raw fish such as sushi, sashimi, carpaccio and tartares - especially with Asian seasoning like ginger or wasabi as you can see from this post.

Salads

Especially seafood salads with an Asian twist and salads with apple, kohlrabi or cucumber

Dishes with herbs

Grüner has a herbal edge itself and pairs beautifully with dishes that contain herbs especially dill, tarragon, mint and parsley. So salads as above, or chicken with a herb crust for example.

Light vegetable dishes such as braised fennel a courgette/zucchini gratin or a vegetable-based quiche. (Like an asparagus one, obviously)

Leafy greens especially cabbage, sprouts and kale. Think 'green wine, green vegetables'

Spicy but not over-hot south-east Asian dishes with ginger or galangal and lemongrass. Like dim sum, light stir-fries and mild Thai curries. Grüner is especially good with Vietnamese food particularly summer rolls and noodle salads.

Fried foods, schnitzel being the obvious example but you could happily drink Grüner with fish and chips or even fried chicken.

Fresh cheeses like goats cheese, young pecorino or mozzarella.

You can also pair Gruner Veltliner with many seafood and vegetable-based pasta dishes or risottos though for preference I'd go for an Italian white and I don’t think Grüner works with cooked tomato sauces.

Richer styles match well with roast pork or veal especially with a creamy sauce but not with an intense meaty ‘jus’.

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What wines and beers to pair with meaty stews and casseroles

Meaty stews and casseroles are hearty, comfort food so what type of wine should you pair with them or is beer a better match?

When it comes to pairing wine with a stew most of us would instinctively turn to a red, the big issue being how full-bodied it should be.

There are two ways of looking at it. Stews tend to be intensely flavoured with a rich thick sauce so you could argue that you need a big wine to hold its own. But that can be overwhelming. I prefer a slightly lighter more rustic red - grape varieties such as Syrah, Grenache, Malbec and Tempranillo hit the spot for me.

Of course it does depend what liquid’s in the stew. If it’s beer, as in a classic Belgian carbonnade then it’s almost wilful to drink anything else. Stews that have a savoury, meaty almost marmitey taste pair better with ales than with wine.

If they’re made with wine however. as in the classic French daube, it’s best to choose a similar style but slightly better quality of the wine you used for the dish. (Though not everyone agrees - see Marc Millon's argument in favour of cooking with Barolo)

If the stew is spicy like goulash or a tagine I would choose slightly sweeter style of red such as an Australian Shiraz, Zinfandel, Pinotage or a modern Spanish red, wines that also come into play when you serve sweet flavoured veg such as sweet potatoes, butternut squash and corn alongside. But watch out for big tannins which can combine with spicy flavours to create a palate overload.

Best wines for stews

• Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages, or, better still, village wines with their own denomination such as Cairanne or Vacqueyras

• Other Rhône appellations such as Crozes-Hermitage, Gigondas and Lirac

• Languedoc reds such as Corbières, Faugères and Minervois

• Rioja crianza and similar Spanish reds from e.g. Navarra

• Reds from the Douro in Portugal

• Barbera from Piedmont - or elsewhere

• Argentinian Malbec (and French Cahors)

• Australian or South African Shiraz

• Zinfandel - especially for rich stews such as braised oxtail or ox cheek

• Pinotage (particularly for spicier stews)

Best beers for stews

• Classic British ales such as Young’s Special London Ale, Timothy Taylor Landlord and Theakston's Old Peculier

• Strong Belgian beers such as Chimay and northern French beers from the Pas de Calais region

• Brown ales (for simple, old-fashioned stews without too much seasoning)

• Stout or porter - if that’s what the dish is cooked in.

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