Mature gruyère and white port

I don’t drink a lot of white port, I must confess. More often in summer with tonic rather than at this time of year.

But now I’ve discovered how well it goes with gruyère, I may.

Port is an obvious pairing with cheese*, I know, but a mature white port like the Kopke White Colheita 2010 my fellow wine writer Kate Hawkings produced the other night adds a different dimension.

At that age it’s showing a degree of oxidation, not unlike a vin jaune but with a sweetness that works well with the deep savouriness of gruyère. There’s a touch of quince and orange peel in there too.

You can buy it, somewhat to my surprise, from Waitrose - though only in a few branches, I imagine - and online from their website and Waitrose Cellar for £42.99 which is obviously not cheap but would make an interesting Christmas present for a winelover.

*I was reminded, going through the archives, that 20 year old tawny port is also a great match for gruyère

See also Christmas pairings with port, sherry and madeira 

The best wine matches for Comté (which is very similar).

Gruyère photo by barmalini at shutterstock.com

Aubergine (eggplant) tart and Chianti Classico

It’s more common to think of pasta, roasts and grills as natural accompaniments to Chianti Classico than vegetarian dishes but I had a tart at Terra di Seta that turned out to be a perfect match.

It was an upside down tart, also including sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts, with a rich concentrated flavour - with maybe a dash of balsamic vinegar - that gave it a sharpness which worked really well with the 2019 riserva we were tasting.

Terra di Seta is a family-run organic kosher winery in Vagliagli in the south of the Chianti region. You can visit their estate for food and wine tastings. It also has an agriturismo with a stunning infinity pool.

You can buy the wine in the UK from The Grapevine for £36.99 though it doesn’t specify the vintage and in the US from Brighton Liquor in Brooklyn amongst other suppliers.

For other Chianti Classico pairings see here

Six other good wine pairings for aubergine/eggplant

Guacamole and dry riesling

Alsace riesling isn’t the first drink I’d have reached for with guacamole but it makes perfect sense. 

In fact I’d forgotten just how well it goes. Previous experimentation had thrown up Peter Lehmann’s Wigan riesling, sauvignon blanc and English rosé as good pairings even though it was the beers - especially a citrussy IPA - which stole the show. (If you’re wondering how I could have forgotten it was 11 years ago!)

This riesling, a 2021 riesling from Louis Sipp, which sells for £13.95 at The Wine Society, wasn’t as limey as the Wigan riesling but still fresh and citrussy so worked really well. It could even have taken an off-dry style given there was a bit of fresh chilli in the guacamole which I’m not sure is authentic or not. And there would have been riesling-friendly fresh coriander if I’d had any.

I don’t know why it only gets 2 stars from the member of the Wine Society who rated it - that’s the problem about star ratings. One review can make it look as if the wine isn’t much good. Seemed a textbook example and perfectly good value to me.

For other riesling pairings see The best food pairings for dry or off-dry rieslings 

And for other Mexican food pairings see Wine, Beer and other pairings with Mexican food

Baklava and Moroccan mint tea

Although sweet wines like Samos muscat pair well with baklava sometimes you might not have a bottle or have decided you don’t want a further glass of wine and Moroccan mint tea is just as good.

It’s actually not just mint and hot water.

If you’re making it for one you put a green tea bag and a good sprig of mint and half to one teaspoon of sugar in a mug, top up with just under boiling water and leave for a couple of minutes to infuse. Even if you don’t normally take sugar in your tea, as I don’t, it works, the sugar reducing the slight bitterness of the tea and the mint.

And it’s marvellous with those honey-drenched pastries that they have all through north Africa and the middle east.

Last weekend we served some ready-made ones from Waitrose’s Levantine Table range along with a refreshing orange fruit salad with orange flower water but you can pick them up from any middle-eastern shop.

A simple and refreshing way to end a meal.

Photo by Lottie Griffiths on Unsplash