Lambrusco Grasparossa and pork

One of my favourite local restaurants Flinty Red in Bristol had put a Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro on by the glass when I went for lunch last week and it reminded me how incredibly delicious and versatile it is. So much so that we went on to order a full bottle.

We had it with panisse - some incredibly moreish chickpea fritters - with rabbit and gnocchi and with onglet but the match I thought worked best with the half bottle I took home (yes, I was that strong-minded) was some excellent homemade brawn from Castellanos Deli.

In fact it would be great with all kinds of porky dishes from pâté to salami - especially that delicious fennel kind. Or with rich eggy pasta which is apparently how they consume it in Emilia Romagna. Apparently it was a semi-secco but the overall impression was refreshingly dry with a lovely bitter wild cherry flavour. You could even drink it with a pizza.

The producer was Tenuta Pederzana from Castelvetro near Modena and it costs £11.99 from Flinty Red's sister shop Corks of Cotham. Serve it well chilled, as they did, in champagne flutes.

Game terrine and London dry gin

I’ve already written about how well game terrine pairs with oloroso sherry. Now I’ve discovered an equally good, if not better pairing: London Dry Gin.

The pâté I tried the other day - again from Stephen Markwick of Culinaria - was a hare one which was stronger than the previous guineafowl and pheasant version. It worked with a rare dry oloroso but I suddenly thought it would be interesting to see if I could pick out the juniper notes with a gin. The one I had to hand was Beefeater but any traditional London dry gin would do. (I say traditional because some newer gins like Whitley Neill accentuate other aromatic notes such as citrus.) Mine was at room temperature but I think it would be even better served cold like a frozen vodka shot. You could try the same pairing with a cold game pie.

If you want to make your own terrine - and I predict we're all going to be getting into home-made charcuterie next year - there’s a great master recipe (see right) in the book I’ve written with Stephen called A Very Honest Cook. You can still get it in time for Christmas if you ring the restaurant in time for them to catch the post today (0117 973 7999). Otherwise there’s always after Christmas . . .

Game terrine and sweet oloroso sherry

Last week I was given a couple of slices of gorgeous game terrine by Stephen Markwick of Culinaria with whom I’ve been writing a book (of which more news soon). We had it for lunch and the only wine I had open wasn’t up to the intensity of the spicing (which was dominated by allspice) and the accompanying damson chutney.

It occurred to me to try a sherry though I wasn’t sure if it would work given that it was a sweet oloroso (a Taste the Difference Cream Sherry from Sainsbury’s) but it was spot on.

I don’t think that means you should always go for cream sherry - a more anglicised style such as Harvey’s Bristol Cream for example would be too sweet but the Taste The Difference range which is made by Lustau always has great balancing acidity) You could also try a glass of Madeira.

Charcuterie and young Syrah

Last week I had lunch at my new favourite London hangout, the wine bar Terroirs which is run by a partnership including the quirky and original Caves de Pyrène. It's a place that you'll absolutely love if you're a Francophile: it feels just like a Parisien wine bar - without the surly service. The food is also cracking but as we'd resolved to kick off the new year by splitting a Vacherin Mont d'Or, as you can read on my cheese blog The Cheeselover, we didn't get a chance this time to sample chef Ed Wilson's robust bistro food.

Our meal kicked off with some really fabulous charcuterie - some of the best I've had in London, which we washed down with a bottle of Vin de Pays de L'Ardèche 2007, a vibrant young Syrah from Hervé Souhaut of Domaine Romaneaux-Destezet that was exactly right with the silky, sweet fat of the Lardo di Colonnato and some fine prosciutto and salami from Cinta Senesi.

Like many of the other producers that Caves de Pyrène handles, Souhaut is a natural winemaker who uses only organic and biodynamic winemaking techniques - his wines are widely available in the US and elsewhere if you check out his site

Surprisingly, as I have a strong preference for crisp dry whites with Vacherin, it also went with the cheese, mainly I think because of its own crisp acidity and lack of intrusive tannins.

It was one of Douglas Wregg's ('Caves' web maestro and restaurant advisor) favourite wines of 2008.