Six of the best wine pairings with cassoulet

Anyone who has a passing knowledge of cassoulet will know that there are hotly disputed arguments about what constitutes the authentic version. But whichever way you make it it’s a substantial dish, a slow-cooked casserole of beans, meat and herbs. French-style comfort food.

I see little reason to stray away from the wines of cassoulet’s homeland of south-west France and personally much prefer red to white as a match.

Here’s what I’d go for...

6 Best Wine Pairings with Cassoulet

Marcillac

Probably my favourite choice, a delicious bright fruity red made from Mansois, the local name for Fer Servadou.

Madiran

Can be a little high in alcohol for such a heavy dish but if you like more robust reds it’s a good choice

Cahors (and other malbecs)

Another south-western French red that hits the spot. Malbecs from elsewhere in France and more savoury European styles of Argentinian Malbec would work well too.

Hearty Languedoc reds such as Minervois and Corbières.

Kate Hill, author of Cassoulet, A French Obsession, recommends a biodynamic Coteaux du Languedoc called Far Ouest made by biodynamic wine producer Mylene Bru.

Côtes du Roussillon

Lighter and brighter than some of the more expensive and extracted Roussillon reds, their freshness would offset the richness of cassoulet well.

Côtes du Rhône Villages

A good Côtes du Rhône especially from a named village like Séguret or Valréas would also be a good match as would a Costières de Nîmes

Red Bordeaux

This might be more of a surprise but can work really well as this pairing with Chateau le Puy demonstrates.

If you want to stray over the border into Spain there’s really no reason why you shouldn’t drink a Rioja crianza or other tempranillo.

For other bean pairings see The Best Wine Pairings with Beans.

]Photo ©Jerome.Romme at shutterstock.com

What to pair with Epoisses (and other stinky cheeses)

What on earth do you drink with Époisses and France’s other famous stinky washed-rind cheeses such as Pont-l’Évêque, Maroilles, Munster and Langres? 

The problem is that the more mature and stinky you like your cheese, the tougher it will be on any wine you pair with it.

Personally I think they’re better with a spirit or beer than with wine, particularly red wine which makes sense as the rind of the cheese is often washed with white wine, beer or eau de vie.

Here are some options you might not have thought of.

Marc de Bourgogne

Basically the local brandy. Strong and spicy - my favourite with an Époisses that’s practically crawling off the cheeseboard

Strong Belgian or Northern French beers

Trappist beers like Orval or Chimay or what are known in Northern France as bières de grade - again because they come from the same region as the cheese

Pear eau de vie or Poire William

A pairing I discovered went really well with England’s answer to stinky cheese, Stinking Bishop

Genever

The Dutch style of gin, served neat rather than in a G & T or cocktail. The Old Tom style works too if you can’t get hold of it.

Calvados

Would work with Pont-l’Évêque which comes from Normandy too. Or the slightly ligher Pommeau.

Gewurztraminer.

The classic local pairing for Munster in Alsace. Often the cheese is sprinkled with cumin seeds which helps the match along.

Sauternes or similar Bordeaux sweet whites

Sounds a bit too delicate to cope but they do work surprisingly well. Experiment with other sweet whites such as Rivesaltes.

Red burgundy

Reluctantly because it’s what the locals drink but don’t expect it to survive unscathed and make sure there’s a baguette to offset the cheese’s pungency. Personally I’d go for a rich Burgundian white like a Meursault though even then it won’t do the wine a lot of favours. A Jura chardonnay would be more forgiving.

See also Wine and Cheese Pairing for Beginners

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The best food pairings for dry Furmint

All countries like to boast that their signature grape variety goes with practically everything but in the case of Hungary’s furmint it’s true.

With “the aromatics of sauvignon blanc, the rich mouthfeel of chardonnay and the vibrant acidity of riesling” as my colleague Tim Atkin neatly puts it it really is a take-me-anywhere wine.

Hungary of course has a great gastronomic tradition of its own so you could obviously drink it with everything from foie gras which is hugely popular in the country to chicken paprikash.

But its rare combination of lushness and searing acidity makes it an incredibly good partner for the dishes that involve sweet and savoury elements that you often find in Asian cuisines and in Moroccan tagines. I reckon it would work with many Chinese, Korean, Burmese and Thai recipes that mingle hot, sour and sweet.

And at a recent online tasting, sommelier Isa Bal and Jonny Lake of Trivet played around with Japanese tastes and flavours using miso, sesame and kombu (seaweed) in their presentation.

I confess I’m still in the process of learning about this rather miraculous variety which you also find in Austria and Slovakia but some avenues you might want to explore are:

With fresh unoaked young furmints

Like other crisp white wines it would go with simply cooked fish and shellfish especially crab and prawns.

Smoked and cured fish like this beetroot cured salmon with horseradish I wrote about a while ago

Chicken with a creamy or herby sauce such as this Pot roast chicken with herby crème fraîche from Olia Hercules.

Sushi and tempura (Isa Bal suggested tempura of red mullet and sea vegetables (kombu) with a sweet and sour dip)

Salads and vegetable dishes that include citrus, especially orange

Lightly pickled vegetables

White asparagus

Goats’ or young sheep cheeses

You could also take a look at these pairings with Chablis which should work with lighter styles of furmint too.

With richer styles with oak or a few years maturity

Chicken or duck liver parfait (Ronan Sayburn and Marcus Verberne of 67 Pall Mall pair it with a chicken liver parfait with an orchard fruit compote of quince, pear, peach and apple in their book Wine and Food.

Seared scallops

Grilled or roast lobster

Roast goose

Duck à l’orange

Roast celeriac

Pork belly

Moroccan tagines

Aged Comté or Gruyère

Umami-rich Japanese or Japanese-influenced dishes (see above)

Off-dry styles which would still classify as dry rather than sweet should work with milder curries and, according to Hungarian wine expert Caroline Gilby, with chicken katsu! (In his book Tastebuds and Molecules Francois Chartier identifies a compound called sotolon which is present in curry powder and fenugreek and also in sweet wines such as Tokaji Aszú, Hungary’s famous sweet wine.

For more on late harvest furmints see The best food pairings for Tokai Aszu.

The wines shown above were provided as press samples by Wines of Hungary

The best food and wine pairings for Valentine’s Day

If you’re planning a special meal for Valentine’s Day you may be wondering which wine to pair with your menu. I’ve picked some favourite Valentine’s Day foods and suggested some matches that should work well with them.

Asparagus

If served on its own with melted butter or a hollandaise sauce a subtle, creamy white burgundy or chardonnay would be the most seductive choice. If dressed with a vinaigrette or in a salad with seafood I’d go for a crisper white like a Sancerre, Pouilly Fumé or other top quality sauvignon blanc.

Camembert

Camembert baked in its box makes a sexy instant fondue but isn’t the easiest of dishes to pair with wine (even trickier than when it’s served cold). Funnily enough a glass of champagne - or similar style sparkling wine - works surprisingly well or go for a dry white like a Chablis.

What to pair with Camembert

Caviar (or, more likely, a caviar imitation)

Dry champagne. (Vodka is arguably better but not as romantic.)

Chocolate (dark)

There are possibilities with wine (sweet reds like Maury or Quady’s seductive Elysium being good choices - see

www.quadywinery.com) but my own preferred option with dark chocolate is a frozen shot of cherry brandy or other fruit-flavoured spirit or liqueur or a small glass of sloe or damson gin. An orange-flavoured liqueur like Grand Marnier also works well.

Chocolate (white)

An ice-cold raspberry-flavoured wine or liqueur like Southbrook Winery’s Framboise from Canada. Especially if the dessert includes raspberries.

Duck

Pinot Noir. Look to New Zealand and Chile for the best value

Ice cream (vanilla)

Tricky with wine. A toffee or chocolate-flavoured liqueur is your best bet. Very sweet PX sherry can be wonderful poured over it.

Ice cream (chocolate)

Try a coffee-flavoured liqueur like Toussaint or Kahlua.

Lobster

Good white burgundy (or other chardonnay) or vintage champagne.

Wine with lobster: 5 of the best pairings

Oysters

Champagne or Chablis. Not Guinness on Valentine’s Night, I suggest.

Best matches with oysters

Passion fruit

Can be quite sharp so you need a very sweet wine to balance it. A sweet riesling or late harvest semillon or sauvignon blanc will work well. If it’s mixed with a creamy base as in a passion fruit brulée you could drink a sweet (demi-sec) Champagne or other dessert wine. Or a passion fruit flavoured beer. (Yes, such drinks exist! Try Floris from Belgium.)

Prawns/shrimp

If you’re serving a classic prawn cocktail I suggest a dry or off-dry riesling which would also work with an Asian-style stir-fry or salad. A sparkling rosé - including champagne - would be a suitably kitsch all-pink choice.

The best pairings for prawns or shrimp

Smoked salmon

Champagne on this occasion. But see

other possibilities.

Scallops

Made for top white burgundy or other really good chardonnay. Champagne is also spot on if that’s what you’re drinking.

Top wine pairings with scallops

Steak

The best full-bodied red you can afford. Whatever turns your partner on . . .

My 5 top wine and steak pairing tips

Strawberries

If served plain and unadorned, gently sparkling Moscato d’Asti or Asti is lovely or go for the luscious

Fragola liqueur. If they’re served with cream you could serve a classic sweet wine like Sauternes.

My top pairings with strawberries

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