8 great drinks to match with mince pies (updated)

Mince pies are so popular we all start eating them well before Christmas so what’s the best drink to pair with them?

If you’re sneaking one as an afternoon snack it’s most likely to be a cup of tea but they do pair particularly well with fortified wines like port, sherry and madeira, wines that also go well with Christmas cake in case that’s on the menu too.

For those of you who don’t live in the UK and are unfamiliar with mince pies, they’re a small sweet pie traditionally made from minced meat but nowadays made with dried fruits such as currants, raisins and sultanas.

Although there lots of variations on mince pies nowadays I’m thinking mainly of the classic mince pie ‘cos Christmas is all about tradition ... 

* Mulled wine - Never mind the match it’s just what you offer the carol singers on Christmas Eve isn’t it? To tell the truth - whisper it - mulled cider is just as good. Find my favourite recipes here

* Sweet sherry - again a traditional pairing and I think a good one. One of my favourites is Matusalem but own label cream sherries are perfectly good.

* Sweet madeira - less traditional than sherry, but just as delicious. Basic blended madeiras like Blandy’s Duke of Clarence, are fine otherwise look for a Bual or Malmsey

* Tawny port - you may be used to drinking a ruby port like a Late Bottled Vintage but why not try a nutty 10 Year Old Tawny for a change? Otima is a modern interpretation that goes particularly well with mince pies

* Sweet port-like wines from the south of France like Banyuls, Rivesaltes and Maury - maybe a little harder to track down but ideal if you want something different

* Barley wine - which is not actually a wine but a strong, sweet-tasting beer. Any indie with a decent beer range should have one.

* Christmas ales - I’m never totally convinced about Christmas ales with savoury food - except perhaps ham - but they’re great with Christmas baking.

* Black tea Which you might think hardly bears saying but try making it from loose leaf tea, in a pot rather than with a teabag and taste the difference.

photo by Monika Borys For Unsplash+

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

How Thanksgiving sides can inspire your wine pairing

Although we all talk turkey at Thanksgiving, in fact it’s the sides that tend to steal the show.

Finding a wine that can cope with them all is never easy but you may just find your favourite side or dressing can inspire your choice.

Sweet sides

Sweet potatoes with their maple syrup glaze or a marshmallow topped casserole like this one are likely to be the sweetest element of the meal - and a tricky one to match with wine.

Given the savoury elements of the meal a sweet wine is probably overkill for most but try a refreshing spätlése or other medium-dry riesling or a rich chardonnay.

Grenache is a grape with a lot of natural sweetness if you want to serve a red wine or, if you have a sweet tooth, go for one of the new wave of sweeter reds like Apothic.

Corn is another sweet-tasting vegetable that goes particularly well with chardonnay or try a rich young viognier like Laurent Miquel’s Verité from Languedoc in southern France

Creamy sides

Lots of Thanksgiving sides have creamy sauces which should again incline you towards chardonnay - a grape variety that simply loves cream. If you’re planning an oyster casserole, Chablis would be a great pairing.

Fruity sides

There’s usually a cranberry relish somewhere in the equation, sometimes with a hint of orange - so if that’s your favourite Thanksgiving flavour choose an equally bright fruity red.

A young zinfandel or merlot, a really fruity pinot noir or even what the Australians often drink with their Christmas dinner, a sparkling shiraz

Green sides

Maybe we’re becoming more health conscious but green vegetables such as green beans, collard greens, sprouts and kale seem to play a bigger role in the Thanksgiving feast these days. (OK, sometimes with cream!)

There are two grapes that have a touch of green about them themselves - carmenère from Chile and cabernet franc - even cabernet sauvignon can pick up on those dark leafy flavours.

Savoury sides

If you’ve a taste for the more savoury aspects of the Thanksgiving feast like the sausage stuffing or dressing think of pouring syrah or shiraz, maybe combined with grenache and mourvèdre as it is in the Rhône and southern France (in Chateauneuf-du-Pape for example). If there’s a mushroom element that’s another reason to reach for the pinot noir.

There are of course huge variations in sides as this marvellous feature from the New York Times, The United States of Thanksgiving, shows so do adapt these suggestions to your local specialities - maybe even picking a local wine, beer or cider if you have a producer near you.

Photo © Ezee pics studio - Fotolia.com

6 perfect pairings for pumpkin pie

if you’re planning to make a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving here are some great wine and other pairings to serve with it.

Pumpkin pie tends to be very sweet and often a little bit spicy which means that it will overwhelm a lot of lighter dessert wines so you might as well go for broke and serve something equally luscious.

Think fortified wines rather than conventional dessert wines ...

Australian Liqueur muscat

So what could be better than a treacley Australian liqueur muscat otherwise known as a sticky? Stanton & Killeen do a great Rutherglen Muscat or try De Bortoli’s Show Liqueur Muscat.

Aussie ‘port’

The Aussies also make great tawny-port style wines which are a sweeter and less woody than the traditional Portuguese versions. Try the utterly delicious Grant Burge Old Boys tawny (also a great match for Stilton if you’re thinking ahead to Christmas) or Bleasdale’s The Wise One tawny.

Dark cream or sweet oloroso sherry

Delectable raisiny sherry is also a great match for pumpkin pie - and incredibly good value. Your local supermarket should have an own-label one. Sweet malmsey madeiras and marsala dolce will do a similar job.

Sweet riesling

If you find these suggestions just too sweet or if your pie is made in a lighter style like Rowley Leigh’s version here you could go for the contrasting acidity of a late harvest riesling. Or try a French muscat like St Jean de Minervois.

Barley wine

. . .which is not wine but a strong sweet beer - absolutely brilliant with pumpkin pie. Try J W Lees Harvest Ale.

and finally . . . a tot of rich, sweet dark rum

In fact a spiced rums would work particularly well - The Kraken Black Spiced rum would be a great colour contrast for Hallowe’en. Serve in small shot or liqueur glasses.

Here’s my own recipe for a roast pumpkin and pecan pie together with some other suggestions for Hallowe’en entertaining if you’re not having to trick or treat!

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