Match of the week

Roast venison and madeira
It was a tough call coming up with a single wine pairing last week - there were so many good ones but I’m going for this combination because it’s such a cool serving suggestion.
It was at a very glitzy event hosted by Marks & Spencer and themed around clementines (featured in this course as clementine steamed dumplings though I don’t think this had a huge effect on the match)
The venison was served with a glass of madeira which I’m guessing was probably this 5 year old medium rich then a beefy stock was poured into the empty glass. (Nice idea though I don’t think it picked up quite enough madeira flavour. I think you’d want to leave half a shot in the glass to get the full effect - or make the ‘tea’ with a good slug of madeira in it.)
I also reckon it would lend itself well to roast beef. A bit like drinking a savoury hot toddy. (As an alternative to gravy rather than with it)
* Sorry about the pic. The very jazzy lighting effects meant that the original was bright pink!

Sweetbreads, morels and madeira
Lots of good food and wine combinations this week but I’m picking out the one with the most unusual wine: Barbeito's Rainwater 5 year old reserva medium-dry madeira which I had at Bell’s Diner in Bristol on Friday night
It has much the same sort of nutty character as a dry amontillado but is less oxidised and a little fruitier.
We drank it with a range of small plates including salt cod croquetas but the outstanding match was a dish of sweetbreads, morels and broad beans with a rich sauce that I’m guessing had also seen a splash of madeira or sherry. Just wonderful.
Why the name Rainwater? Well there's a couple of interesting hypotheses on the Fareham Wine Cellars blog. They stock the Barbeito for £11.99 a 50cl bottle. You can also buy it from The Solent Cellar for £12.99.
Barbeito is apparently one of the more traditional producers on the island and doesn’t de-acidify or add caramel to their madeiras.
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