Potato spread, potato bread and weissburgunder

This may seem a bit of a random pairing but it was the ‘amuse’ at the start of a really delicious meal at Schloss Ottersbach during our trip to Austria’s Südsteiermark (Styria) region last week.

It was held at Schloss Ottersbach, because of the numbers involved (over 50 of us) but cooked by chef Tom Riederer of Vicarage St Andra.

But surely potato spread on bread is a bit of a carb overload? Well maybe but it was utterly delicious: a moist light rye (I’d guess) bread with chunks of potato in it and a light creamy potato purée to spread on it which offset the weissburgunder (pinot blanc) perfectly. It also went well with morillon (the local name for chardonnay)

There was no particular wine that matched better than others - we had access to a whole line up of different wines to try - but I particularly liked the Felberjörgl Ried Kreuzegg 2013 and the rich Gross Nussberg GSTK 2011 which was served in magnum and was also brilliant with a delicious slow-cooked egg served with pumpkin seed oil foam. (And I say this as someone who doesn’t normally like slow-cooked eggs)

Italian cheese and a Provence red from Microcosmos

I don’t often pair red wine with cheese, let alone make it my match of the week but the Italian cheeseboard I had the other day at Bocca di Lupo in Soho proved a great pairing for a highly unusual Provencal red

Well, actually, the grapes (old vine Carignan and Grenache) are grown in Provence but the wine is made in Marseille at Fabienne Vollmy’s quirky urban winery Microcosmos Chai Urbain.

I was actually attracted to the tasting and lunch because she also makes Vermentino about which I have a bit of a thing at the moment but this deliciously wild, ripe, unfined, unoaked red handled both the cheeses - a pecorino and a deeply savoury red wine-washed cheese (a good style of cheese for red wine). I think the candied orange peel also helped.

The wine, which is called Cargo*, also paired well - more predictably - with lamb chops

All Fabienne’s wines are made in tiny quantities - she’s a true garagiste - but the Cargo is available in the UK for £237 a case from The Burgundy Portfolio.

* Named because the winery is only a few hundred metres from the port of Marseille.

Moscato d’Asti and rose macarons

There were two strong candidates for match of the week this week but as my last three pairings have involved a crisp white wine (which reveals something about my current preferences) I didn’t think I could feature yet another one*

The other was one of the pairings I showed at a ‘Fabulous Fizz and food’ event TV presenter and cookery writer Thane Prince and I hosted at a tasting for The Women’s Chapter at city bank Arbuthnot Latham last week and for me it was the match of the night.

We had a hunch macarons would work with moscato d’asti but weren’t sure which flavour would go best. So I had the arduous task of nibbling my way through a box and rose came out top. (Followed by vanilla in case you're interested. Avoid coffee.)

We suggested it would be a great way to finish off a midweek supper if you didn’t have time to make a pudding but frankly it’s so good I’d keep it to yourself. The macarons were by Ladurée, the Moscato, a Vietta Cascinetta, from Bibendum (£14.95 from allaboutwine.com or £18.95 from Roberson. See wine-searcher.com for other stockists

*I’ve made it my wine of the week instead!

Vermentino and seafood

Normally this weekly post features a specific dish and wine but vermentino goes with so many fish dishes I think it’s worth flagging up its sheer versatility.

Over the weekend’s visit to the Porto Cervo wine festival we drank it with everything from oysters and raw scampi to grilled seabream to spaghetti alle vongole and it took every one of them in its stride.

If you want to refine the experience you could drink younger, crisper less expensive vermentinos with raw shellfish and cold, fish-based antipasti and more expensive, richly textured ones such as Capichera’s VT or Argiolas Is Argiolas with dishes like this baked seabream we had at Il Vecchio Mulino or lobster rice.

See also this post on other matches for spaghetti alle vongole

I was invited to the Porto Cervo wine festival by Starwood Hotels and ate at Il Vecchio Mulino as a guest of Capichera.