Chaource cheese paired with vermouth

I have to thank my colleague drinks writer, wine guru and good time pal Kate Hawkings for this week's pairing. Once she squealed excitedly about it on Twitter I knew I had to drop by her restaurant (Bellita) and give it a try.

Kate (also author of the excellent new Aperitif) is a big vermouth fan and was sipping a glass of her latest find when she tried it with a slice of Chaource, a creamy, slightly citrussy brie-like cheese from the Aube, the southern part of the champagne region. Maybe it wasn’t *quite* match of the century as she claimed - we have a good few years to go yet - but it was utterly delicious.

The vermouth, or vermut as they call them in Spain, is a delicately honeyed bianco style called Ciento Volando from Diego Fernandez Pons - off-dry but not over-sweet and was almost like eating a luscious ripe pear with the cheese. It's not available in the UK - yet - but do experiment with other dry and off-dry vermouths which are more flexible than you might think with food.

Chaource (pronounced sha-orss) also goes really well with champagne, chablis and other white burgundies should you feel so minded and actually won’t throw a good red burgundy (it’s a less pongy than brie as it matures). You can even buy it in Sainsbury's for the very affordable price of £3 (and almost certainly in Waitrose too).

For more inspiring wine pairings download my ebook 101 Great Ways to Enjoy Cheese and Wine.

Turbot paired with white Chateauneuf-du-Pape

This week I’ve been celebrating a big birthday with some extravagant feasting including a sublime dinner on the night at my son’s restaurant Hawksmoor Borough. (Well, you might as well keep it in the family!)

There was - of course - some magnificent beef - from my good pal Pete Hannan of the Meat Merchant and some terrific reds to go with it including a beautiful Conti Costanti Brunello, a Barbera from Guasti Clementi and a magnum of Chateau de Beaucastel Chateauneuf du Pape (excuse lack of vintage information but it *was* my birthday) but the pairing that really stood out for me was a 2016 white Chateauneuf-du-Pape from Chateau La Nerthe which we drank with the turbot. (You can read about the estate which is farmed organically here.)

Turbot is a meaty fish that suits a rich-full flavoured white but that was accentuated by it being served with crispy chicken skin (yes, as good as it sounds!) and chicken jus which made the match even more sublime.

For other turbot matches see The Best Wine Matches for Turbot

Korean fried chicken paired with a soju cocktail

Last week’s ‘Girls can Grill’ event at Jinjuu in Soho provided plenty of inspiration as you may have already seen from the kimchi fried rice recipe I posted but there was also a cracking drinks match of the introductory cocktail with Korean fried chicken.

Korean fried chicken is a bit different from standard southern fried chicken with its spicy coating and accompanying hot sweet barbecue sauce so it's much better suited to a sweet-tasting cocktail or, as chef Judy Joo recommends, an ice cold beer, than a glass of wine

The cocktail we were served was called Jumi - a blend of Earl grey-infused soju, yujacha (citron tea) lemon and Mediterranean tonic which was a wonderfully refreshing contrast to the spicy food. It also went well with the Ssam specials - spicy grilled meats in lettuce wraps. (The Thai-style grilled pork Naem from Jane Alty of The Begging Bowl was particularly good)

I ate at Jinjuu as a guest of the restaurant.

Prawn laksa and dry German riesling

It was a bumper week for wine pairings with some classic favourites such as pork and Beaujolais (an excellent Fleurie at Cora Pearl) and oysters and muscadel (at the new Hawksmoor in Edinburgh) but I’m going for this riesling pairing as it solves the thorny problem of what to drink with laksa.

Actually I discovered I’d flagged this up once before but 8 years ago so it felt it was worth reminding you. The laksa was at the newly opened - and wildly popular* - Sambal Shiok in Islington. We chose a moderately hot version which was maybe a mistake as it lacked a bit of punch but that was probably a plus so far as the wine - a very delicious off-dry Mosel riesling - was concerned. (The list is put together by writer and wine consultant Zeren Wilson who also chooses the wine at the Thai restaurant Smoking Goat)

The riesling also went brilliantly with the sides we ordered including a gado gado salad and Malaysian fried chicken with peanut sauce. Often I advocate slightly sweeter rieslings with spicy food but this was wonderfully refreshing. And - unusually for the Mosel - 12%, so strong enough to carry the punchy flavours.

*Go if you’re in that part of town but I wouldn’t cross London for it.