Chicken, cep and tarragon pie with Chinon

Actually there are a number of wines that pair well with chicken pie, also beginning with ch - chablis, chenin blanc and champagne to name three.

But when the flavour of tarragon is as marked as it was in this pie at my local, The Clifton in Bristol, Chinon - or other Loire cabernet franc which has a fragrant herbal edge of its own - works particularly well.

The bottle was a 2023 Chateau Coudray-Montpensier that I often order in the restaurant because it’s a versatile light red that works with a wide range of different dishes.

You can buy it retail from Noble Green for £17.90 a bottle or £15.90 on a mix six deal. Vinatis which is based in France has it on offer even more cheaply at £10.09 but I haven’t used the site myself. It appears to have some pretty satisfied customers though.

See also:

Six of the best wine (and other) pairings with chicken pie 

For food matches for other styles of cabernet franc The best food pairings for cabernet franc

Deep-fried shrimp tacos and Mexican sauvignon blanc

By and large I’ve been drinking beer and cocktails while we’ve been in Mexico but I was curious to see what the country had to offer in the way of wine

So when we were at a seafood restaurant Entremar yesterday I ordered a glass of De J Rivera Mexican sauvignon blanc from Guadalupe.

Wine isn’t cheap here - a glass is around the same price if not more than a cocktail - - but it worked perfectly with the small plates we were sharing, especially the deep fried shrimp taco - one of the myriad corn-based dishes you’ll find on every menu. It even stood up to the punchy pickled chile and onion condiment we had on the side.

It’s frustrating that restaurants don’t tend to put vintages on their wine list which doesn’t matter so much in the case of cheaper wines which more people are likely to order but might make the choice of a more expensive wine disappointing.

I can’t find any UK or US stockists for this particular wine but frankly any unoaked fresh sauvignon blanc should work equally well.

For other shrimp and prawn pairings see here

and for other sauvignon blanc pairings click here

Sopa Azteca with pale ale

One of the things Mexicans seem to be particularly good at is soup and there’s a special one that is served around Day of the Dead called Soap Azteca which I tried in a restaurant called La Casa del Gigante in Patzcuaro.

It’s - or at least it was at this restaurant - a thick soup of blitzed beans and tomatoes topped with fresh cheese, avocado, smoky chiles, sour cream and crispy tortilla strips though there seem to be other versions including this recipe from the James Beard Foundation. (I don’t recall mine including chicken). 

Because it was so hearty it wasn’t a difficult dish to pair (soups can be tricky as you can see below) and went particularly well with the local Victoria beer which was basically a pale ale. (Wine is mega expensive here in Mexico so we’ve been mainly drinking beer.)

Anyway it was delicious and well worth trying to recreate at home.

See also Matching Wine and Soup

Wine, beer and other pairings with Mexican food 

Mature gruyère and white port

I don’t drink a lot of white port, I must confess. More often in summer with tonic rather than at this time of year.

But now I’ve discovered how well it goes with gruyère, I may.

Port is an obvious pairing with cheese*, I know, but a mature white port like the Kopke White Colheita 2010 my fellow wine writer Kate Hawkings produced the other night adds a different dimension.

At that age it’s showing a degree of oxidation, not unlike a vin jaune but with a sweetness that works well with the deep savouriness of gruyère. There’s a touch of quince and orange peel in there too.

You can buy it, somewhat to my surprise, from Waitrose - though only in a few branches, I imagine - and online from their website and Waitrose Cellar for £42.99 which is obviously not cheap but would make an interesting Christmas present for a winelover.

*I was reminded, going through the archives, that 20 year old tawny port is also a great match for gruyère

See also Christmas pairings with port, sherry and madeira 

The best wine matches for Comté (which is very similar).

Gruyère photo by barmalini at shutterstock.com