6 perfect pairings for pumpkin pie

if you’re planning to make a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving here are some great wine and other pairings to serve with it.

Pumpkin pie tends to be very sweet and often a little bit spicy which means that it will overwhelm a lot of lighter dessert wines so you might as well go for broke and serve something equally luscious.

Think fortified wines rather than conventional dessert wines ...

Australian Liqueur muscat

So what could be better than a treacley Australian liqueur muscat otherwise known as a sticky? Stanton & Killeen do a great Rutherglen Muscat or try De Bortoli’s Show Liqueur Muscat.

Aussie ‘port’

The Aussies also make great tawny-port style wines which are a sweeter and less woody than the traditional Portuguese versions. Try the utterly delicious Grant Burge Old Boys tawny (also a great match for Stilton if you’re thinking ahead to Christmas) or Bleasdale’s The Wise One tawny.

Dark cream or sweet oloroso sherry

Delectable raisiny sherry is also a great match for pumpkin pie - and incredibly good value. Your local supermarket should have an own-label one. Sweet malmsey madeiras and marsala dolce will do a similar job.

Sweet riesling

If you find these suggestions just too sweet or if your pie is made in a lighter style like Rowley Leigh’s version here you could go for the contrasting acidity of a late harvest riesling. Or try a French muscat like St Jean de Minervois.

Barley wine

. . .which is not wine but a strong sweet beer - absolutely brilliant with pumpkin pie. Try J W Lees Harvest Ale.

and finally . . . a tot of rich, sweet dark rum

In fact a spiced rums would work particularly well - The Kraken Black Spiced rum would be a great colour contrast for Hallowe’en. Serve in small shot or liqueur glasses.

Here’s my own recipe for a roast pumpkin and pecan pie together with some other suggestions for Hallowe’en entertaining if you’re not having to trick or treat!

Photo ©leekris - Fotolia.com

What to drink with an omelette (or frittata)

There aren’t many wine pairings that form the subject of a book title but Elizabeth David’s Omelette and a Glass of Wine immortalised the combination.

Unlike other egg dishes wine actually does go pretty well with omelettes but should it be red or white?

*David herself expressed a preference for an Alsace ‘Traminer’ or a glass of Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé. I’m not sure I’d fancy the former (a bit too lush and aromatic) but the latter would certainly go with a light omelette fines herbes, an asparagus omelette or one with seafood or goats cheese - as would other crisp dry whites like Chablis and Italian dry whites like Soave and Gavi di Gavi.

*With other kinds of cheese omelettes I’d go for an Alsace Pinot Blanc or a lighter style of Chardonnay like a Mâcon-Villages.

*Sparkling wines like Cava - and, of course, Champagne - are always a popular choice with eggs. Blanc de blancs or other all-Chardonnay fizz seems to work best.

*Reds come into play if you have a more robust filling such as mushrooms or bacon - or even chorizo as you might in a frittata. A young Rhône red or Rioja - nothing too fancy - would do the trick.

*Belgian-style witbier or a bière blanche is a great match with lighter omelettes too.

See also Which Wines Pair Best with Eggs

Photo by Anshu A on Unsplash

The best food pairings for amarone (new)

Amarone or Amarone della Valpolicella is a full-bodied red wine from the Veneto region of Italy that gets its richness and slight sweetness from being partially fermented on the skins of dried grapes, a process referred to in Italian as appassimento.

Although styles vary it can reach alcohol levels as high as 16% which obviously dictates the style of food it pairs with best.

What food you enjoy with it depends a bit on your personal taste. If you appreciate its sweetness you’ll probably be happy drinking it with richly sauced meat dishes like ox cheek and beef shortribs, even a Thanksgiving or Christmas turkey 

If you find it a bit overwhelming with savoury dishes you might want to treat it more like port and drink it with cheese, especially blue cheese.

Some people enjoy it with dark chocolate but I personally don’t find it quite sweet enough for that. A Recioto della Valpolicella works better in my opinion.

But it does particularly lend itself to rich red wine sauces especially if they’re made with amarone.

Because of its capacity to age it tends to fetch a premium price so save older vintages for a special occasion. 

Traditional food pairings from the region

I doubt you’re going to want to serve pastisade de caval (horsemeat stew) or tripe but you might enjoy

Risotto all’amarone (a favourite of the River Café). You can find a recipe here 

Beef braised in amarone 

Strong cheeses including mature parmegiano reggiano (parmesan), Ubriaco all’Amarone (cheese matured in amarone grape must), Gorgonzola and other blue cheeses

Other good pairings, especially with rich red wine sauces

Braised ox or veal cheek and oxtail

Braised beef short-ribs

Wagyu beef

Dishes accompanied by roast bone marrow

Robust pasta dishes, e.g. with hare sauce (pappardelle alla lepre) or other rich ragus.

Pigeon

Duck cooked in balsamic vinegar (balsamic chimes in well with amarone)

Grouse

Wild boar

Venison - as you can see from this match of the week though the roast beetroot also contributed to the pairing

Reindeer and elk (amarone is apparently popular in Scandinavia)

American-style barbecue e.g. smoked brisket

Photo by Ipek Celik at shutterstock.com

What wines pair best with soup? (updated)

One of the few food and drink combinations I don’t feel that happy about is wine and soup. Not all soups, obviously, but many of them. 

It has as much to do with the type of food soup is (wholesome and comforting) as its texture and temperature. If you’re having a bowl of soup on its own or as the main component of a light meal it seems superfluous to drink wine with it. Soup, unless it is virtually thick enough to stand a spoon in, doesn’t really need another liquid to accompany it. Especially if that liquid is chilled.

On the other hand if you’re in a restaurant and everyone else is ordering starters or your soup kicks off a three course dinner party at home you’re probably going to want a glass of wine. So which kind?

When can wine work with soup? 

Many soups are quite delicate in flavour so the wine you choose with these needs to act as supporting cast rather than the star.

Sometimes however, with very rich, creamy soups such as a creamy chicken soup or a chowder, wine can provide a welcome note of freshness and contrast - almost like a squeeze of lemon or an extra layer of flavour. The classic pairing of consommé and sherry (or Madeira) comes into that category. The sherry adds a touch of sweetness and nuttiness to balance the meaty savouriness of the soup.

The wines that I think generally pair best with soup are crisp dry whites with some intensity and persistence. Chablis and other inexpensive white burgundies, Alsace Pinot Blanc, Pinot Grigio and other neutral Italian whites such as Soave, Spanish Albarino and crisp, minerally Sauvignon Blancs like Pouilly Fumé or Sancerre.

In short the sort of wines you drink as an aperitif and can carry on through the soup, sipping as much - or as little - as you like.

Here are some more specific suggestions for wine with soup

Photo by jenvit keiwalinsarid at pexels.com

Thin soups

Classic French consommé: dry amontillado sherry or dry Madeira. Tomato consommé (Loire Sauvignon such as Sancerre).

Asian broths flavoured with fish sauce, coriander and lime (Grüner Veltliner, dry German Kabinett Riesling)

Creamy vegetable soups
Smooth creamy vegetable soups such as leek and potato. soup generally go well with dry Italian whites such as Soave or with Pinot Blanc from Alsace. Fennel and cauliflower soups, which are particularly wine friendly, match well with good (but not over-oaked) white burgundy or other subtly oaked creamy Chardonnays, white Bordeaux, southern French blends of Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier or Chenin Blanc (The creamier a soup is the more full-bodied a wine it can take)

Carrot (and coriander) soup
Again a relatively neutral smooth dry white like a Soave or a chenin blanc. Medium dry cider is good with carrot soup too and I enjoyed this pairing of the carrot, lemon and tahini soup below with Roussanne.

Carrot and tahini soup

Mushroom soup
If it’s creamy drink lightly oaked Chardonnay. If it’s darker and more mushroomy a Pinot Noir would work better

Chicken soup
Again a lightly oaked Chardonnay is the easiest match, if it’s creamy. If it’s a Thai style soup made with coconut milk try pairing it with an Australian Riesling or Verdelho. With Jewish chicken soup don’t drink anything alcoholic - it’s supposed to be healthy and restorative!

Fish soups

 With a classic Provençal fish soup the flavours of garlic, tomato and saffron are as important as the fish and lead in the direction of a very dry crisp white like a Picpoul de Pinet or a full flavoured Provence rosé like a Bandol rosé 

Lobster bisque by SYED IBAD RM at shutterstock.com

Rich crab or lobster bisques match well with lush, opulent whites such as good white burgundy or a good quality but not overpowering Chardonnay. Creamy chowders fare better with a lighter, less expensive Chardonnay

For more about fish soups and stews see this post

‘Green’ soups such as watercress or spinach sometimes have a touch of bitterness about them that needs careful handling. Neutral dry Italian whites such as Soave, Bianco di Custoza and Lugana tend to match best. With an asparagus soup like this one you could try a Loire sauvignon blanc like a Sancerre or Pouilly Fumé or a Touraine Sauvignon. They’d also work with a fresh pea soup.

‘Sweet’ vegetable soups such as butternut squash and pumpkin pair well with rich Chardonnays or Viognier

Tomato soups
If they’re made from fresh tomatoes and are quite light in taste and texture go for a crisp white like a Sauvignon Blanc or an Albariño. You could also drink a well-chilled manzanilla sherry. If the soup has a richer, roast or cooked tomato flavour or is mixed with roast peppers you could also drink a medium bodied Italian or southern French red or a young Rioja.

With gazpacho you could try a modern unoaked white Rioja, Rueda or a fino sherry.

What wine to drink with gazpacho

French onion soup by By Natalia Lisovskaya at shutterstock.com

French onion soup has a very particular character, its melted cheese topping making it more like a hot cheese dish than a soup as you can see from this recipe. Traditionally the French would pair it with a basic vin blanc or a really sharp white like an Aligoté or a Chasselas - the sort of wines you’d drink with fondue and I think that’s the best answer.

Borscht and other beetroot soups
Really quite tricky with wine. Pilsner is incomparably better

Chunky, rustic soups with beans or pulses e.g. minestrone, lentil soup and soupy pasta e fagioli - the kind of soup that’s almost a stew. These match well with medium bodied rustic reds like Côtes du Rhône or young Syrah or Sangiovese. Chianti Classico is particularly good with chickpea soup.

This bean-based Mexican sopa azteca I wrote about recently was great with a pale ale. And I’d probably go for beer with black bean soup too. Given the lighter toppings maybe a lager though I think a dark beer would work too. There’s a recipe here if you’d like one.

Chipotle black bean soup

Cold soups

Light, crisp dry whites such as albariño and assyrtiko are again the answer except for fruit soups which can make them taste uncomfortably sharp. (Try sparkling wine or a complementary fruit beer instead).

I loved this cold herb soup with assyrtiko.

Cold herb soup paired with assyrtiko

Top picture © NatalyaBond at shutterstock.com