Whisky and a cheese and onion toastie

You may be thinking more of whisky in the context of haggis this week given Burns Night is coming up but an accidental pairing suggested another direction to take it

I’d just finished an online whisky tasting for my Substack subscribers and was a bit peckish but couldn’t be bothered to make a proper meal so rustled up a cheese and onion toastie (grilled cheese sandwich) with the glass of Shackleton whisky I was finishing off. (Drunk neat with a splash of water)

I hadn’t consciously thought it through but whisky goes well with cheddar so why not a toastie? Shackleton is a light, versatile blended malt whisky (which you can currently buy from Waitrose for £20) and worked really well. 

A perfect late night winter snack when you didn’t think you were going to be hungry and suddenly are ...

For other whisky pairings see Which Foods pair best with Whisky 

And if you’d like to join my Substack which contains all my up to the minute food and wine tips and recommendations sign up here.

Photo (not of the toastie I made) by Brent Hofacker at shutterstock.com

Grappa, chocolate and orange

There were a lot of enjoyable wine matches in Trentino last week - the indigenous wines work really well with the local alpine food - but this unusual grappa pairing at the Campiglio Bellavista in Madonna di Campiglio was the standout combination.

The hotel regularly put out nuts and crisps with the aperitifs but when we went for an after dinner grappa they served a plate of orange slices and dark chocolate buttons instead.

I wouldn’t have imagined they would go with the grappas at all but they actually worked remarkably well as well as adding a bit of ceremony to the serving.

The two grappas we tried were the Casimiro Grappa di Solaris and the Segnana Grappa di Traminer, neither available in the UK so far as I can see. Both were delicious though I preferred the slightly more floral solaris.

The other big plus about drinking grappa which is the go-to drink of the region is that it’s much cheaper than ordering a gin or other spirit. Less than half the price, in fact!

For other chocolate pairing ideas read 3 things you need to think about when pairing wine with chocolate 

Chips with caviar dip and champagne

Caviar and champagne is a classic pairing but it doesn’t actually work with every champagne, especially fruitier rosé champagnes and cuvées with a relatively high ‘dosage’ (added sugar solution)*

At Bébé Bob (the newer offshoot of the better known Bob Bob Ricard) the other day we had caviar with both a Moët rosé and Taittinger (yes, I know, I know. Ridiculously indulgent) and it was much better with the drier, lighter Taittinger.

Adding chips to the equation which go brilliantly with champagne made the match even more successful and I loved their idea of serving them with a crème fraîche dip topped with caviar. Something you could easily do at home with a caviar substitute - or caviar if you were feeling particularly flush. 

*I’d also avoid vintage champagne which can be too rich and toasty for a delicate ingredient like caviar.

For other suggestions see 10 excuses to drink champagne this Christmas and New Year holiday

I ate at bébé bob as a guest of the restaurant.

Roast squash with sage and Crozes-Hermitage

I generally think of chardonnay when I’m pairing squash or pumpkin but this dish at the excellent wine bar and shop Cave in Bristol at our freelancers’ Christmas get-together last week suggested another good option.]

It was a dish of roast squash with goats curd, crispy sage and ample quantities of brown butter which, yes, would have gone with chardonnay but was also brilliantly good with a slightly wild, almost natural 2021 Crozes-Hermitage from Jean Louis Chave

While chardonnay would have complemented the sweet buttery flavours the Crozes-Hermitage picked up on the bitterness of the sage which chimed in perfectly with the wild briary edges of the syrah. A mellow middle-aged wine rather than a vibrant young one.

The wine, which is called Silène is from Chave’s Sélection range which is designed to be drunk earlier than his top wines. You can buy the 2021 from AG Wines for £27.95 while Yapp Brothers have the 2022 for £22.

What else to drink with squash and pumpkin

For other insights into the effect herbs can have on a wine pairing see What wine (or other drinks) should you pair with herbs