Match of the week
Rioja rose and serrano ham crisps
This is not so much a wine pairing that’s greater than the sum of its parts as a great wine recommendation and food recommendation that happen to go really well together
The wine is the 2020 release of the Ramon Bilbao rosado and I think their best yet - crisp, clean and infinitely swiggable as you can see from the modest amount left in the bottle It’s currently on offer at Simplywinesdirect for £8.99 and £9.86 if you buy a case from Great Wine Co.
And the serrano ham crisps are from M & S and a good alternative if you’re trying to cut down on carbs (they’re only 99 calories a packet too though I wouldn’t go so far as to claim they were healthy!). I was already a fan but the new pancetta ones are good too. I think you could almost crisp them up in the oven and serve them in a something like a spinach, bacon and blue cheese salad.
Both would be pretty good with red wine too especially syrah or syrah blends and, of course, with sherry but the fresh savoury rosado was spot on. You can also order them from Ocado.
Meursault and black truffle crisps
Food is always a secondary consideration when you’re enjoying a really great bottle of wine but you don’t want anything to detract from it either.
So the choice by my neighbour and fellow wine buff Ruth Spivey of these Torres Spanish black truffle crisps with a very special bottle of 2008 Coche-Dury Meursault that we’d managed to persuade my pal and podcast collaborator Liam Steevenson to share with us, was inspired.
It was everything you would hope a mature Meursault would be, sumptuous, creamy, savoury, developing layers and layers of flavour in the glass. You never want to finish a wine like that - and you never forget it.
Given his generosity with the Coche I feel honour bound to mention we had a glass of Liam’s latest release, a deliciously, crisp, saline Alvarinho called Céu na Terra from Vinho Verde as a palate sharpener which would in any other circumstances have stolen the show. Especially, with seafood.
You can buy it from Red & White for £16.95. Which is a bargain compared to the £500-odd you’d pay for a bottle of Coche, if you could even get your hands on one. (And no, Liam didn’t pay anything like that!)
You can buy the crisps - and I would - for around £3.95 a 125g pack in good delis or online from Ocado for £3.49. They would also be very good with a decent bottle of Cava or vintage champagne.
RSS
Most popular
.jpg)
9 great wine pairings for duck (updated)
My latest book
How to Drink without DrinkingNews and views
.jpg)
Fine Wine and Fast Food
About Fiona
About Matching Food & Wine
Work with me
