Top pairings
Top wine and beer matches for game
We Brits have always had a reputation for liking our wines old and our game high but times have changed. Today the key factor in matching game tends to be not how ‘gamey’ it is but how it’s cooked and what is served with it.
In many restaurants now game is cooked quickly and served rare so can take a younger, more tannic wine than would have once been the case. Accompanying sauces also tend to be robust, and wine-based, bringing more full-bodied reds into play. Nevertheless the reason for serving wild game such as partridge or venison - as opposed to chicken or beef - is that it does have a distinctive flavour for which you generally pay a premium so you want to pick your wine with some care. Here are the sort of wines you might go for.
* Simply roast birds such as partridge, pheasant, or grouse with simple accompaniments (e.g. roast potatoes, bread sauce and a light gravy rather than a heavy wine-based jus)
These remain the ideal opportunity to bring out a serious bottle of burgundy, a mature red Bordeaux or their New World equivalents (see here) If you like your birds underdone a younger wine may be a more flattering accompaniment. A good Chianti is always a reliable match for more everyday occasions.
The best wine pairings for partridge
Belgian sour red ales such as Rodenbach are also delicious with simply roast game.
* more elaborate game roasts with foie gras and/or truffles or a concentrated ‘jus’
Similar wines to the above but from a more recent vintage. The richer accompanying flavours can handle a more tannic wine.
* pheasant casseroled with apples
Apples tend to lead in the direction of a white (a dry Riesling with a couple of years’ bottle age would be perfect) rather than a red, particularly if the sauce has some added cream. You could equally well serve a French cidre bouché (semi-sparkling cider) or a gueuze (a Belgian lambic beer brewed with wild yeasts) especially if you’re serving braised cabbage as an accompaniment.
The best wine pairings for pheasant
* pot-roast pheasant
With any other flavourings or a red wine sauce a robust red should work well, especially reds that contain Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Tempranillo or Malbec. (So good quality Côtes du Rhône Villages, southern French reds and Rioja all make good choices, and a wine like Côte Rôtie a sublime one). I’d avoid very muscular young reds which are likely to overwhelm the flavour of the meat.
* Venison
Generally you can serve similar wines to those you would serve with beef though as the game flavour is more pronounced you might want to choose accompanying wines with a slightly gamey flavour of their own. Good examples would be Hermitage, Bandol and Ribera del Duero (or other examples of mature Syrah or Mourvèdre) though be careful of flavour overload with very concentrated sauces. Sometimes it can be better to serve a slightly lighter (though still well-structured) wine when your sauce is particularly dense and rich.
The best wine pairings for venison
So far as beer is concerned, venison dishes can be an excellent match for porter, a strong Trappist ale like Chimay or a French bière de garde.
* Cold game/game pie
As with simply roast game this is a great opportunity to drink your favourite red burgundy but cold game is also a treat with a full bodied vintage rosé Champagne such as Ruinart (or, of course, Krug). If your game is in a salad (like a warm pigeon salad or a smoked duck or venison one) you could also try a sour cherry beer such as kriek.
Vegetables with game
Vegetables that will flatter fine wines include mashed potatoes and pureed root vegetables such as celeriac (good combined with potato) and parsnips. Carrots and mushrooms also work well. Take care though with braised cabbage particularly red cabbage cooked with sugar and vinegar which can be a wine killer. (Fruity young reds like Shiraz, Barbera or Zinfandel should survive)
The best pairings with red burgundy
As with white burgundy there’s a world of difference between a simple village burgundy and an elegant premier or grand cru - most of which need 5 years at the very least to show at their best but the dividing line when it comes to pairing wine with red burgundy is age.
Is it a light wine you’re dealing with or a more mature, intensely flavoured one? Duck is almost always a winner but here are some other options.
Basic red burgundy (Bourgogne rouge)
Best thought of as a companion for simple French meals, even picnics. My number one choice would be charcuterie - simple saucisson sec, paté, rillettes and terrines
Mild cheeses such as goats cheese and creamy but not too mature brie (but stinkier cheeses such as Epoisses will overwhelm them)
Seared tuna especially with an Asian accent such as a sesame crust
Chicken or rabbit with a creamy mustard sauce
Good quality youthful red burgundy 2-5 years old e.g. Marsannay, Mercurey and Santenay
You don’t want to overwhelm this with heavy sauces so think simply cooked rare meat rather than heavily charred or sauced. (You can also, of course, pair them with the dishes above)
Rack of lamb with a herb crust
Seared duck breast particularly accented with red fruits like cherries or blackberries
Offal - liver, especially calves liver, kidneys and sweetbreads
Mushrooms - as with white burgundy mushroom risotto works particularly well but a mushroom sauce will frequently kick a pairing into touch. Think mushroom stroganoff too
Beetroot (particularly roast beetroot but avoid vinegar) Good with riper fruitier styles from warm vintages (like 2015 at the time of writing)
Peas - weirdly but they almost always enhance a pinot match
Light umami-rich broths such as you find in sukiyaki (see this very successful pairing)
Weightier, more serious red burgundies such as Nuits-Saint-Georges and Gevrey-Chambertin
A great foil for meats of all kinds - even richly sauced dishes like boeuf bourguignon and coq au vin
Feathered game - particularly with elegant wines such as Vosne-Romanée or Chambolle-Musigny: roast grouse, pheasant, partridge as well as high quality farmed meats such as guineafowl and goose
The best wine pairings for partridge
Lean red meat such as venison, fillet steak and lamb
Simply roasted white meats like rare breed roast pork, roast veal or a good roast chicken
Dishes with a sauce based on red burgundy such as coq au vin and boeuf bourguignon
Four favourite matches for coq au vin
Dishes with black truffles and porcini
Cheese - though I say this tentatively. They would definitely serve the best red burgundies with cheese in France and more traditional dining rooms in the UK but I personally think the wines struggle, particular with pungent washed rind cheeses such as L’ami de Chambertin and Epoisses. Even the official Burgundy wine site favours white wines with cheese!
See also
The best food pairings for pinot noir
9 fine pairings with white burgundy
photo © Stephanie Frey at shutterstock.com
The best food pairings for Grenache
Although grenache is a grape variety that is not often celebrated, it’s one that deserves a closer look. As usual it’s hard to pin down a definitive style but it’s fair to say grenache is usually full-bodied, soft and low in acidity. Some grenaches are pretty powerful - usually due to natural bedfellows like syrah and mourvèdre being blended in - others, like Côtes du Rhône, are easy-drinking.
Its natural homeland is the Southern Mediterranean, especially France and Spain where it is called garnacha but there are some fine examples from Australia, California and Washington State. It’s a great wine for autumn and winter drinking.
But what truly makes Grenache shine is its ability to pair beautifully with a wide variety of foods. Whether it’s robust braises and stews or classic British pub dishes, Grenache has no difficulty standing up to big flavours. In this post, we’ll explore the best food pairings for Grenache, with tips and insights that will help you make the most of this versatile wine.
Top Food Pairings for Grenache
Braises and stews
My favourite type of food for grenache is braises and stews: long slow cooked roasts of pork or lamb that may even be a little bit fatty (shoulder of lamb and lamb shanks, for example). It suits daubes and stews with dark, winey sauces too
I like grenache too with classic French bistro dishes such as rabbit and hearty Spanish or Portuguese country cooking. It can take a bit of spice - I think there’s a particular affinity with paprika and pimenton. I enjoy a grenache with a goulash - and it would certainly go with milder curries like a rogan josh though I wouldn’t serve it with lighter Indian dishes. Grenache-based wines tend to go well with the slight sweetness of Moroccan tagines too.
British pub classics
A simple grenache or grenache blend like a Côtes du Rhône is a versatile match for many British pub classics like sausage and mash, shepherds pie and steak and kidney pie. Its absence of tough tannins also it a more accommodating match for cheese than many more structured reds, especially British regional cheeses such as Cheddar and Red Leicester. Grenache also pairs well with cooked dishes like macaroni cheese and with veggie bakes and lentil or bean-based dishes. Lighter, fruitier styles such as cheap Garnachas from Spain make good barbecue drinking - Grenache seems to like a bit of smoke.
Even the Christmas turkey!
A serious Grenache dominated red such as Châteauneuf-du-Pâpe is good with richer and gamier birds - I think it makes a great match for the Christmas turkey but you could also pair it successfully with guineafowl, pheasant or pigeon, especially if accompanied by caramelised roast root vegetables like carrots, beets and parsnips.
Priorat can take even more robust dishes such as venison and oxtail as you can see from this post though other grapes may have a more dominant influence.
There are of course also Grenache - or Garnacha - whites (characteristically earthy/Rhôneish) and strong, dry rosés - good partners for charcuterie and Spanish classics like paella and pork and beans and porty southern vin doux naturels like Maury, Banyuls and Rasteau which, like port, pair particularly well with chocolate, grilled figs and blue cheese (not all together, obviously!)
What not to pair with red grenache?
Well, it’s usually pretty high in alcohol so it wouldn’t be my ideal choice for steamed or raw dishes such as seabass or salads - even ones including meat - or subtle cuisines such as Cantonese or Japanese. It’s not great with citrus either which, for me, rules out Thai. And I think there are better matches for Italian food (most Italian ones) although Grenache is oddly good with dishes that contain cooked tomato and aubergine. But it’s a great seasonal wine - a warming, welcoming bottle to serve for the coming days of autumn and winter. Grenache should have its place in every cellar.
Photo ©Rostichep @fotolia.com
Six of the best pairings for Cabernet Sauvignon
If you’re looking for the ideal food pairing for cabernet sauvignon you don’t have to look very far. Almost any red meat, especially served rare, is going to do the trick.
That said there are different styles of cabernet - powerful new world cabernets from California, Chile and Australia with their intensely flavoured cassis fruit and more restrained elegant cabernets from Bordeaux, often blended with merlot and cabernet franc.
With young cabernets it helps to have an element of charring or spice to offset the sweetness and tannins. With older, more mellow cabs braised or more subtly sauced, classically European dishes come into their own.
Seasonings that tend to flatter cabernet are garlic, rosemary, mint and porcini (dried mushrooms). Dishes that are cooked in red wine and combinations of meat and cheese (as in a burger) are also successful.
My six favourite food pairings for cabernet sauvignon
Steak
The obvious one. Especially slightly fattier steaks like ribeye and sirloin, served rare to medium-rare
A good burger
Which is, after all, simply chopped steak. Generally though it’s the other ingredients that determine the success (or otherwise) of the pairing. At a burger tasting I went to a while back at Palm steakhouse, the winning combination was a Napa Valley cabernet sauvignon with the restaurant’s Bozzi Burger which was topped with aged gouda, smoky barbecue sauce and crispy fried onions. Better with new world cabernet than Bordeaux which can be a little light.
Six of the best pairings for a burger
Beef short ribs and other braised beef dishes
Slow-braised beef - or venison - can be great too especially when cooked in red wine. Fashionable ox cheek dishes are also a good pairing - even a chilli con carne: a good match for an inexpensive, jammy cabernet
Roast or grilled lamb
A butterflied leg of lamb or a lamb steak with rosemary is always a winner especially with red Bordeaux. Add a gratin dauphinoise on the side and you’re in clover.
Portabello mushrooms
If you’re not a meat-eater, a big juicy grilled Portabello mushroom (or two) with butter and garlic is a great pairing. The intense flavour of dried porcini mushrooms will also make a cab shine.
Cheese
If you’re wondering what the best cheese is with cabernet sauvignon you’ll find it’s a good all-rounder for a cheeseboard especially with hard cheeses such as an aged cheddar or gouda.
Blue cheeses like Gorgonzola work well too especially in combination with a steak or a burger. A side of cheesy polenta will also help show off a good cab.
What type of wine goes with blue cheese?
Note this useful tip on sides and seasonings from sommelier Andrea Robinson: “Bitter-edged veggies like broccoli rabe, grilled radicchio and roasted brussel sprouts are real winners. I also find the more pungent, piney herbs like rosemary basil and thyme really work well to pull out the cedar/eucalyptus elements in these wines.”
So what do you pair with a blockbuster cabernet?
Image by Evgeny Karandaev at shutterstock.com
The best food pairings for Pinotage
Like any other red South Africa's Pinotage comes in different styles - some lighter and fruitier than others. When you're matching it with food you take a cue from the sort of ingredients and dishes that go with its two ancestors - Pinot Noir and Cinsault.
Pinotage never has the elegance of a fine burgundy of course but it will go with the same sort of dishes as a more robust, rustic Pinot Noir: dishes like smoked duck and pulled pork for example. The Cinsault heritage gives it a compatibility with Mediterranean ingredients like peppers and aubergines, rustic French bistro dishes and baked pasta dishes like lasagne. It’s also not a bad wine to serve with a pizza, particularly one with a meaty topping.
It can also take a fair amount of spice. I’ve successfully paired it with a hot curry (Indian rather than Thai) and it more than holds its own with spicy barbecue sauces and with chilli con carne. (In general I think it benefits from being served a couple of degrees cooler than the ambient temperature - that is to say, cool rather than chilled).
You could happily drink the lighter styles which are becoming increasingly popular with charcuterie, especially coarse country patés and more robust styles with wintry stews like the one-pot South African potjies (especially with game). Its slight portiness also makes it a good match for hard cheeses like cheddar and even a blue, especially if served with fresh figs.
Its forte however is with a classic South African braai where it will take almost anything in its stride from marinated lamb to Cape Malay or Cajun-spiced ‘blackened’ fish. (Like Zinfandel it loves chilli and smoke) It’s also really good with venison burgers and sausages or - come the winter - a hearty game pie.
Veg-wise think in terms of aubergines, grilled portabello mushrooms and dark leafy greens.
Photo © johnnyslav at Adobe Stock
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