Peaches, burrata and white vermouth

I knew that peaches and burrata were a perfect pairing but what to drink with them?

I happened to have a glass of Cocchi’s Extra Dry white vermouth to hand which I hadn’t really expected to work - vermouth is generally the sort of drink you sip before a meal rather than with one - but it was utterly delicious.

Although it states on the label it’s ‘extra dry’ it’s actually not. Not quite a bianco but definitely fruity - like a charentais melon with a citrus twist. I suspect the basil also enhanced the subtle herbal notes of the drink - it's definitely a modern and very accessible take on vermouth.

I just drank it over ice though you could have made it a longer drink with a light tonic or soda

I think the dish would also go with a rich aromatic sauvignon blanc, with a southern Italian white such as a Greco di Tufo or, as here, with a Cape White blend

Lovely and summery anyway.

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.

Cracked olives with fennel and Noilly Prat

At this time of year in the Languedoc the markets are full of bowls of every conceivable type of marinated olives - so hard to resist with an ‘aperitif’.

Yesterday at Saint Chinian the queues were so dense we could hardly get near them then spotted a gap in the crowds and took our turn. We went for some cracked olives with fennel, fierce and bitter yet strangely good with local wines such as Picpoul, dry rosé and aperitifs like the famous Noilly Prat which is made just down on the coast at Marseillan.

We had the slightly sweeter ambré in the fridge which was delicious (over ice, with a dash of Fernet Branca, in my husband's case!) but I think the original drier, herbier version would have been even better. Or even a martini had we been so minded.

We'd also bought some msemen, a wonderful flaky bread that a Moroccan woman was making by hand in the market to tear and wrap each olive in which seemed to add to the experience.

I suppose it’s the hot sunny weather but vermouth seems such a good drink at this time of year. And now we’re off back to cool, cloudy England :(

See also how pastis and olives make an excellent pairing.

Robiola, chestnut honey and sweet vermouth

Vermouth probably isn't the first thing you would think of pairing with cheese but this combination I enjoyed at our local wine bistro Flinty Red in Bristol the other night was just dazzling.

The cheese, a Robiola della Valle Belbo had just been brought back from Piedmont by the chef Matt Williamson along with some chestnut honey that our waiter said had a slightly bitter edge.

We thought it might overwhelm the dessert wines on their list so went for a Moscato-based vermouth, Bonme from a Barolo and Barbaresco producer called Poderi Colla.

In fact the honey was milder than we thought and the cheese quite delicately fresh and moussey but they still worked perfectly with the fragrant, slightly herbal vermouth.

You can read more about riobiolo on Wikipedia and the Bonme on the Poderi Colla website here. Interestingly they recommend it with strong, piquant cheeses, such as natural gorgonzola, or herb- and spice-flavoured cheeses.

If you enjoy vermouth you might also be interested to read my recent Guardian feature here.