Provençal-style fish soup and Picpoul de Pinet

We’re down in the Languedoc for a few days and ended up at one of our favourite fish restaurant Le Glacier at Marseillan.

It’s not that the cooking is amazing but the local oysters are the best I’ve eaten, the portions are generous and the prices - 25€ for the basic set menu - more than reasonable.

It’s been so incredibly cold down here I decided to go for the fish soup which came in a huge steaming tureen along with croutons, rouille (a spicy garlicky mayonnaise-type sauce) and grated cheese. I could have made a meal of that alone.

We were drinking - as we always seem to end up doing down here - the local Picpoul de Pinet, a versatile crisp dry white that seems to go with everything you throw at it. And it was perfect - the right wine for the place and the occasion.

Dark savoury French fish soups like this can take slightly stronger earthier whites and even dry rosés but what you don’t want is a wine that’s too oaky or too fruity so I’d steer clear of wines such as rich chardonnays and New Zealand-style Sauvignon Blancs.

Beetroot-cured salmon and Godello

Despite the razmatazz surrounding the launch of Dom Perignon 2003 and a serious amount of wine and truffle action to which I’ll devote more space shortly I’m picking a more modest match from last week - the delicious beetroot-cured salmon, capers and egg yolk and 2010 Godelia Godello I had at José Pizarro’s new London restaurant Pizarro.

This is the kind of dish you could easily pull off at home. Beetroot gives a nice note of earthiness and sweetness which counteracts the slight oiliness and smokiness of the salmon. The crisp citrussy Godello, the newly fashionable Spanish white, adds the equivalent of a squeeze of lemon. You’d think the egg would have an impact on the pairing but it simply adds an extra layer of richness.

The Godello would obviously go with other fish and shellfish dishes too such as crab - see the link below.

Ribs, bourbon and picklebacks

It’s not often these days that I hit on a totally new discovery but this combination at the newly opened Pitt Cue Co, a southern American-style ribshack is the business.

They do amazing beef ribs slathered with a sticky, smokey but not oversweet marinade and serve it with homemade pickles. Quite a challenging combination for any wine to cope with but spot on with a pickleback - a shot of bourbon served with a sweet and sour chaser of home-made pickle juice. It’s also great with the St Louis ribs - and, I almost forgot, the smoked hot wings. The wings are awesome.

Even better it’s only £4. (The ribs are a very reasonable £9.50)

The downside? Pitt Cue, which is in Newburgh Street which runs parallel to Carnaby Street, is a tiny 30 seater which doesn’t take bookings. Still, worth it to taste some of the best, if not the best barbecued food in London. If you can’t face the queue to sit down they do pulled pork buns to takeaway.

Dim sum and Champagne

A very Western approach to Chinese food, admittedly, but if you're celebrating Chinese New Year today with a dim sum lunch you'll find that Champagne - or other sparkling wine - makes a perfect pairing.

For those of you who haven't come across dim sum before they're bite-sized snacks that are traditionally served during the day in tea houses (tea, obviously being the more usual accompaniment). They're a mixture of flavours and textures - some delicate and steamed (usually seafood), some more robust or fried (like pork buns).

Champagne is always at home with delicate seafood dishes and with crisp, deep-fried foods and its slight sweetness keys in perfectly with with the subtle spicing. A good prosecco would also work well. You might possibly want to move on to a red with the meatier dim sum if you're having a long lunch or if you move on to duck, say, but if you're keeping it simple a glass of fizz is just fine.

See Square Meal for a list of London's best dim sum restaurants.