Shish kebab and Turkish red wine

Red wine is an obvious pairing for a lamb kebab but a lot of people would instinctively think in terms of a lager.

However if you’re having one in a Turkish restaurant and there’s the opportunity to drink a Turkish wine why wouldn’t you?

The wine I ordered at the newly opened ike Cappadocia’s Table Five in Bristol was Yakut Kavaklidere, a blend of indigenous grape varieties Öküzgözi and Bogazkere which turned out to be an easy drinking medium bodied red which was great with their Kuzu Shish.

I’m not sure I would go out of my way to order it at home but if you’re looking for something unusual (and want to put your smugger wine friends on the spot) you can buy it from indies such as Gusto Wines who are selling it for £11.99.

Ordering by the glass in restaurants is a great way to extend your wine knowledge.

See also What to drink with a kebab - and it’s not lager!

Or for other lamb pairings see Top Wine Pairings for Lamb 

Thai lime and coconut chicken curry with Aussie riesling

I know from past experience that Aussie riesling goes brilliantly with Thai food. Here is the latest proof.

The dish was one from Cook’s new Pan-Asian range (Cook is a UK frozen meals supplier) and I have to say very good it was too with really authentic Thai flavours - not hot but deeply aromatic.

The wine in this case was Yalumba’s 2023 Y series riesling which is only 10.5% ABV but intense enough to add a delicious extra layer of lime to the curry. (Aussie riesling has a particularly limey character.)

You can buy it from independents like Palmers Wine Store for £11.50 or from Ocado for £12.25.

If you’re not based in the Uk or near a Cook outlet there are plenty of recipes on the internet for similar Thai curries (even Delia has a version!  But if you are, the Cook version will save you a lot of time and scratch that Thai food itch!

For other Thai food pairings see Which drinks pair best with Thai food 

For other riesling pairings The best food pairings for dry and off-dry riesling 

(This post was not sponsored by Cook by the way. I’m just a fan!)

Lamb, courgettes, fennel and cider

If you’re wondering what to drink with lamb you’re most probably thinking in terms of red wine but as yesterday’s feast at Burrow Hill Cider, part of the Somerset Food Trail proved cider can be a surprisingly good pairing

Actually it wasn’t just the lamb, which was simply cooked (barbecued but without a strong marinade) but the accompanying vegetables chef Lucas Hollweg of the caterers On the Spoon had cooked with it that were the key to the pairing.

Drawing on local ingredients, as he did for the whole meal, he made a base of courgette & fennel agrodolce - a sweet-sour dish of slowly cooked vegetables to which he’d added Burrow Hill’s cider vinegar, cider and honey.

It chimed in perfectly with the medium sweet ‘cider bus sparkling cider’ that they sell at Glastonbury* and other events. (There was also some local Westcombe ricotta scattered over the top of the veg - rather like feta in a Greek lamb dish)

It proves yet again that it’s no so much the basic ingredient that determines a match but the way you cook it and the flavours you put with it.

For other lamb pairings see Top wine pairings for lamb 

For other cider pairings see Top food pairings for cider 

*Unsurprisingly sold out though you can find other ciders along with their marvellous Somerset Cider Brandy in their online shop

A full English breakfast with Lambrusco

It’s not often you go somewhere for breakfast and they hand you a comprehensive wine list. Let alone a wine list tempting enough to make you drink at that time of day.

But a full English isn’t far short of a main meal anyway so the opportunity to order a glass of Lambrusco with it - yes, Lambrusco - was too good to resist.

This may come as less of a surprise when you discover the establishment is owned by Heath Ball of the award winning Red Lion and Sun. This is his newly opened pub The Angel in Highgate Village which in addition to offering all day breakfasts has an equally interesting wine list which includes, at the time of writing, three different lambruscos.

Real lambrusco, for those of you who have not come across it, is a dry, semi-sparkling wine from Emilia Romagna in Italy. Mainly red and dry with a taste of bitter cherries.

I ordered the Tenuta Pederzana ‘Spiriti Folleti’ Lambrusco Grasparossa di Casteleviro from the list which was a modest breakfast friendly 11%. It went incredibly well with the meatier elements of the dish including the (absolutely excellent) bacon, sausage and Conakilty black pudding. (I’d discovered on a previous occasion how well lambrusco goes with pork.)

If you fancy giving it a go the Angel is open from 8am though you can’t order alcohol until 10am. Which might be a little early for Lambrusco even for me. (We didn’t eat until 12.30.)

For other thoughts on wine with breakfast see What Wine to Drink with a Scottish (or English) breakfast 

And for other Lambrusco matches The best food pairings for Lambrusco 

What wines pair best with pork