Which wine pairs best with tomatoes?

Tomatoes are generally held to be a problem for wine but as Jane McQuitty robustly puts it in The Times today - nonsense!

You do however need a slightly different strategy for dealing with raw tomatoes (where I’d go along with McQuitty’s suggestion of Sauvignon Blanc) and cooked ones which are frequently combined with other ingredients such as meat and cheese and with which I generally prefer a robust not over-fruity red. However there are exceptions - cooked dishes that could equally well be accompanied by white or rosé and two of Ramsay’s recipes fall into this category.

Beef tomatoes stuffed with pinenuts, sultanas and herb couscous
Here the tomatoes are merely served warm rather than cooked down or roasted to a caramelised sweetness and the other flavourings are milder than you might think from the recipe description. A robust dry southern French rosé would hit the spot pretty well.

Roasted tomato soup with goats’ cheese crostini
If you were to serve the soup cold, as Ramsay suggests, I’d definitely go for a white and given the goats cheese crostini, a Sauvignon Blanc would be the obvious choice (even though the crostini are served warm) If you were serving the soup hot or without the crostini I’d go for a vivid young Italian red with good acidity like a Rosso di Montalcino.

Seasonal glut tomato chutney
It’s not tomatoes that are the problem here but the vinegar. All chutneys are tricky with wine. Ramsay suggests using it as an accompaniment to cheese which will offset its sharpness. Three suggestions: a rustic French red like the delicious young Vacquéyras we’ve been drinking for the past couple of days from the co-operative at Beaumes de Venise, a Southern Italian red like a Copertino or Squinzano or an amber ale or French bière ambrée.

Which wine to match with Dover sole?

When you have a fish as fine as Dover sole you don’t want to mask its delicate sweet flavour in any way. Here are my suggestions for Gordon Ramsay’s recipes in the Times today.

Whole Dover Sole with Herb Crust
There’s quite a lot of parmesan as well as the herbs in the crust which made me rethink my first instinct to pair this with a cool climate, crisp Sauvignon Blanc or possibly even a dry German Riesling. They add an element of umami that will probably key in best with a subtly oaked Chardonnay such as a Puligny-Montrachet or a Chablis 1er Cru - my failsafe suggestion for most sole dishes. In fact so long as you don’t choose a white wine that’s too light, has too much residual sugar or is too oaky (a Meursault or similar barrel-fermented Chardonnay would be too powerful) you should be on track.

Dover Sole with Caper, Anchovy and Parsley Brown Butter
A more robust treatment, normally meted out to skate. Obvious fruit would be an unwelcome element here, I think so I’d go for something dry, mineral and comparatively neutral though sufficiently powerful to cope with these strong flavours: Chablis again or an Austrian Grüner Veltliner.

Rolled Dover sole fillets in creamy shallot and white wine sauce
Cream is a natural partner for sole and also for Chardonnay though I’d again go for the restrained sort of style I was recommending with the first recipe (the braised fennel will make this an even more hedonistic match). If you really feel like splashing out crack open a bottle of Champagne or serious new world sparkling wine which will add a nice textural counterpoint to the cream. This would also be a good dish to show off a fine, dry but not too evolved Riesling. (You don't want too much in the way of kerosene flavours to intrude.)

Image credit: Paolo Botio

What to drink with Turkish food

Turkish food is not traditionally accompanied by wine. And although the Turks do have a wine industry not much of it makes its way over here. But here are some thoughts on possible pairings for Mark Hix's Turkish inspired recipes in the Independent this weekend"

Mackerel in oil with vinegar and shallots
This sort of escabeche dish is tricky to match with wine. Raki - the Turkish equivalent of ouzo - would make a good accompaniment, particularly if there were a whole selection of mezze on the table, but not everyone likes its aniseedy taste. A sharp lemony white like - dare I say - the Greek Assyrtiko from Santorini or a Spanish Rueda would do the job.

Yoghurt with honey, pistachios and pomegranate
Hix suggests this could be a dessert as well as a breakfast dish in which case you could serve a simple fresh sweet wine with it like a New World late harvest Sauvignon or Semillon but what immediately comes to mind is a freshly squeezed orange juice

Pancakes with spinach, spring onions and soft cheese
These are a little like spanakopitta and as such would go with almost any crisp dry white, an inexpensive sparkling wine or a light lager. Personally I'd go for a good Pinot Grigio from the Alto Adige like the one I had yesterday at a Great Western Wine tasting, the biodynamically grown Loacker Isargus 2007, expensive for Pinot Grigio at £12.50 but well worth it.

Duck kebab with spiced bulgar
This would work with almost any fruity red of character: try a Turkish or Georgian wine if you can get hold of one or an inexpensive young Syrah-based southern French red. And of course there's always Pinot Noir - a no-brainer with duck.

Wine (and other) pairings for Welsh recipes

Tomorrow is St David’s Day - cue for the media to roll out its annual selection of Welsh recipes. Wales produces its own wine, beer and even whisky so what should you drink?

Glamorgan Sausages
Not sausages in the normal sense of the word, more like melted cheese rissoles (delicious, actually). Given the mildness of the cheese (Caerphilly) and leeks a white would go better than a red so why not try a Welsh wine if you can get your hands on one? (There’s a list here) Other crisp dry whites or an unoaked chardonnay or Chenin Blanc would also work well.

Cockle and Smoked Bacon Pie
Again I would class this is a white wine dish and again Chardonnay would hit the spot, though with the pastry it could afford to be a fuller-bodied, oak-aged example. But actually what I’d really fancy is a golden ale or cider. Here are the recent Welsh champion beers to choose from and the site of the Welsh Perry and Cider Society

Cawl
Basically a Welsh version of an Irish stew - a simple dish of lamb and root vegetables. (You can find my version here) A natural for a pale ale or a cider (see above)

Roast loin and braised shoulder of Welsh salt marsh lamb with caper jus
A modern Welsh dish from Great British menu contestant Bryn Williams made with lamb from the salt marshes (see above). Despite the light sauce I'd go for a classic red - a mid-priced red Bordeaux, Rioja reserva or Chianti Classico

Monmouth pudding
What seems to be a Welsh spin - traditional or not, I don’t know - on Queen of Puddings. Although warm (which can make a wine match harder) it’s served with vanilla icecream which will bring the temperature down so any sweet wine with good acidity should work. Try a late harvest riesling.

And what about that Welsh whisky? Well you could try it with a good Welsh cheddar like Hafod or with a slice of Bara Brith, the traditional Welsh fruited bread.