Lamb mechoui and 2007 Chateau Musar

This, I think, was the standout pairing from our Honey & Co wine club on Sunday and a great illustration of the difference a dish can make to the way a wine tastes.

The wine was the 2007 vintage of the legendary Chateau Musar from the Lebanon, a wine which was showing its age when we tasted it on its own but was utterly transformed by the spicy, slightly gamey meat which revived the lovely sweet mellow fruit in the wine and made it taste velvety and delicious. The dish also included pulses in the form of a broad bean & mint mashawsha or hummus - another factor in the success of the match. Pulses can be as flattering to wine as meat.

We have one more Honey & Co event on May 8th which will focus on Southern Italian and Sicilian food and wine* then break until the autumn but I hope to be doing another couple of events at other restaurants over the summer. if you’d like to be on my events mailing list email events@matchingfoodandwine.com

*currently a sell-out but do call Honey & Co and ask to be put on the waiting list in the event of any cancellations

Tacos and tamarind agua fresca

It’s always good to come across a soft drink that pairs as well with food as an alcoholic one and the Mexicans have a particularly refreshing one in agua fresca.

It can come in different flavours - hibiscus is a common one - but I particularly liked the tamarind flavoured one they served at the newly opened Santo Remedio the other day. It might not have been the most prepossessing of colours (a muddy brown) but its sour, faintly citrussy flavour was the perfect match for the punchily flavoured tacos and flautas we were eating.

It’s not the first time I’ve enjoyed this combination as you can see from this old post on margaritas, tacos and tostadas but it’s good to be reminded what a good combination it is.

You could of course serve agua frescas with other styles of food, not just Mexican. I think I’m going to be experimenting with them over the summer. There’s a really good selection of ideas for different flavoured agua frescas on The Kitchn website.

Albarino with arroz negro (rice with squid ink)

If you’re an albarino fan I’m sure you know it pairs brilliantly with seafood but here’s a twist to take the experience to another level.

It was at the brilliant Barrafina in Adelaide Street in London last Monday where Mar de Frades hosted a fascinating tasting and lunch to show off their experiments with older vintages.

Up until that point I’d been less keen on their top wine Finca Valiñas, a richer style which is given skin contact and partly aged in wood (I like the purity of unoaked albarino) but I have to say it was a fantastic match with this rich dish of dark, deeply savoury squid-ink flavoured rice with clams, prawns and squid*.

On the basis of this I’d say keep your young, fresh albarino for uncooked shellfish, seafood salads and simple grilled fish and more complex styles for richer fish and rice dishes like this. (Paella too, of course.)

The Finca Valiñas doesn't seem to be currently available in the UK but enquire about it from importers Sommelier's Choice. They have the 2014 Mar de Frades albarino for £12 for 50cl or £16 for a full-size bottle. Amazon also stocks it for £16.53 + £4.95 delivery.

* Also called arròs negre

I attended the tasting and lunch at Barrafina as a guest of Mar de Frades.

Chicken liver crostini and Rosso di Montalcino

One of the most striking things about my trip to Tuscany last week was the reminder of how good young red wines are with Tuscan food - right the way through the meal, not just with the main course.

It was certainly true of the first lunch we had when we arrived which was co-hosted by the Bolgheri winery Poggio al Tesoro and San Polo in Montalcino, both owned by the Allegrini family.

I expected Poggio al Tesoro’s fragrant Solosole Vermentino to match the crostini that were handed round at the beginning of the meal - and it did - but not quite as well as the elegant 2014 San Polo Rosso di Montalcino which sailed effortlessly through the tomato, mushroom and (most challenging of all) chicken liver toppings. It also paired really well with a creamy dish of fettucine, zucchini, pancetta and robiola cheese - as did the 2008 vintage of the Solosole which I was also tempted to make my match of the week.

This would apply equally well to youthful chiantis or any other young sangioveses. It’s the acidity that makes them work so well - and the fact that, like white wines, they’re served at cellar temperature.

The San Polo Rosso di Montalcino costs £16.99 from slurp.co.uk and £18.95 at Eton Vintners.

I travelled to Tuscany with Liberty Wines