Pork apricot and pistachio terrine with an Old-fashioned cocktail

Since my trip to Mexico where wine was particularly expensive I’ve been drinking rather more cocktails (no comment!) and so have been thinking about the fact that they may still be what you’re sipping when the first course arrives

I thought that was possible at The Corner House in Canterbury who make their own Old Fashioned with Copper Rivet Masthouse whisky which they age for 30 days in their own oak barrels and so consciously ordered a pork, apricot and pistachio terrine which I thought might go with it.

In fact it did - really well. There was a slight orangey note to the drink that worked well with the pork and apricot and the whisky offset perfectly the slight fattiness of the terrine.

It would be easy to replicate at home too. Even if you’re don’t make your own terrine (nor do I!) you can easily pick one from a good deli and you can even buy pre-bottled Old Fashioned these days. Harvey Nichols does a good one which would make a nice Christmas present

If you want to make one from scratch, which is really easy if you have the right ingredients, there’s a good guide to making one on the liquor.com site.

For other pork pairings see Which wines pair best with pork

Olives and Côte Rôtie

You’ll have to forgive me the vagueness of this week’s match of the week, which is actually more of a hack, but I’ve largely been desk-bound so it’s been slim pickings.

I could have written about how well tacos go with margaritas but I don’t think that comes as news to anyone.

But last night when I was at my music club (like a book club only we share music tracks) I was sipping a Côte Rôtie (one of the top wines from the Northern Rhône) that one generous member had brought along and distractedly nibbling a few olives and was struck by how delicious the olives made the wine taste. I mean it was good anyway but the olives made it seem even more sumptuous.

It’s not the first time I’ve had that insight but I’d forgotten about it. The reason is that the salinity of the olives accentuates the richness and fruit in the wine. It doesn’t in my view work with wines that are already soft and fruity but with the savoury, almost gamey Côte Rôtie it was transformative.

Not that there aren’t more interesting things to pair with Côte Rôtie (read this article for inspiration) but you might consider adding olives to a dish.

(Can’t tell you what the wine was, I’m afraid. As I say I was distracted by the music, taking time only to grab this somewhat blurry photo!)

See also The best food pairings for syrah

Chicken, cep and tarragon pie with Chinon

Actually there are a number of wines that pair well with chicken pie, also beginning with ch - chablis, chenin blanc and champagne to name three.

But when the flavour of tarragon is as marked as it was in this pie at my local, The Clifton in Bristol, Chinon - or other Loire cabernet franc which has a fragrant herbal edge of its own - works particularly well.

The bottle was a 2023 Chateau Coudray-Montpensier that I often order in the restaurant because it’s a versatile light red that works with a wide range of different dishes.

You can buy it retail from Noble Green for £17.90 a bottle or £15.90 on a mix six deal. Vinatis which is based in France has it on offer even more cheaply at £10.09 but I haven’t used the site myself. It appears to have some pretty satisfied customers though.

See also:

Six of the best wine (and other) pairings with chicken pie 

For food matches for other styles of cabernet franc The best food pairings for cabernet franc

Deep-fried shrimp tacos and Mexican sauvignon blanc

By and large I’ve been drinking beer and cocktails while we’ve been in Mexico but I was curious to see what the country had to offer in the way of wine

So when we were at a seafood restaurant Entremar yesterday I ordered a glass of De J Rivera Mexican sauvignon blanc from Guadalupe.

Wine isn’t cheap here - a glass is around the same price if not more than a cocktail - - but it worked perfectly with the small plates we were sharing, especially the deep fried shrimp taco - one of the myriad corn-based dishes you’ll find on every menu. It even stood up to the punchy pickled chile and onion condiment we had on the side.

It’s frustrating that restaurants don’t tend to put vintages on their wine list which doesn’t matter so much in the case of cheaper wines which more people are likely to order but might make the choice of a more expensive wine disappointing.

I can’t find any UK or US stockists for this particular wine but frankly any unoaked fresh sauvignon blanc should work equally well.

For other shrimp and prawn pairings see here

and for other sauvignon blanc pairings click here