Top pairings
Top wine and beer matches for game
We Brits have always had a reputation for liking our wines old and our game high but times have changed. Today the key factor in matching game tends to be not how ‘gamey’ it is but how it’s cooked and what is served with it.
In many restaurants now game is cooked quickly and served rare so can take a younger, more tannic wine than would have once been the case. Accompanying sauces also tend to be robust, and wine-based, bringing more full-bodied reds into play. Nevertheless the reason for serving wild game such as partridge or venison - as opposed to chicken or beef - is that it does have a distinctive flavour for which you generally pay a premium so you want to pick your wine with some care. Here are the sort of wines you might go for.
* Simply roast birds such as partridge, pheasant, or grouse with simple accompaniments (e.g. roast potatoes, bread sauce and a light gravy rather than a heavy wine-based jus)
These remain the ideal opportunity to bring out a serious bottle of burgundy, a mature red Bordeaux or their New World equivalents (see here) If you like your birds underdone a younger wine may be a more flattering accompaniment. A good Chianti is always a reliable match for more everyday occasions.
The best wine pairings for partridge
Belgian sour red ales such as Rodenbach are also delicious with simply roast game.
* more elaborate game roasts with foie gras and/or truffles or a concentrated ‘jus’
Similar wines to the above but from a more recent vintage. The richer accompanying flavours can handle a more tannic wine.
* pheasant casseroled with apples
Apples tend to lead in the direction of a white (a dry Riesling with a couple of years’ bottle age would be perfect) rather than a red, particularly if the sauce has some added cream. You could equally well serve a French cidre bouché (semi-sparkling cider) or a gueuze (a Belgian lambic beer brewed with wild yeasts) especially if you’re serving braised cabbage as an accompaniment.
The best wine pairings for pheasant
* pot-roast pheasant
With any other flavourings or a red wine sauce a robust red should work well, especially reds that contain Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Tempranillo or Malbec. (So good quality Côtes du Rhône Villages, southern French reds and Rioja all make good choices, and a wine like Côte Rôtie a sublime one). I’d avoid very muscular young reds which are likely to overwhelm the flavour of the meat.
* Venison
Generally you can serve similar wines to those you would serve with beef though as the game flavour is more pronounced you might want to choose accompanying wines with a slightly gamey flavour of their own. Good examples would be Hermitage, Bandol and Ribera del Duero (or other examples of mature Syrah or Mourvèdre) though be careful of flavour overload with very concentrated sauces. Sometimes it can be better to serve a slightly lighter (though still well-structured) wine when your sauce is particularly dense and rich.
The best wine pairings for venison
So far as beer is concerned, venison dishes can be an excellent match for porter, a strong Trappist ale like Chimay or a French bière de garde.
* Cold game/game pie
As with simply roast game this is a great opportunity to drink your favourite red burgundy but cold game is also a treat with a full bodied vintage rosé Champagne such as Ruinart (or, of course, Krug). If your game is in a salad (like a warm pigeon salad or a smoked duck or venison one) you could also try a sour cherry beer such as kriek.
Vegetables with game
Vegetables that will flatter fine wines include mashed potatoes and pureed root vegetables such as celeriac (good combined with potato) and parsnips. Carrots and mushrooms also work well. Take care though with braised cabbage particularly red cabbage cooked with sugar and vinegar which can be a wine killer. (Fruity young reds like Shiraz, Barbera or Zinfandel should survive)
Top food matches for Beaujolais (and other gamay)
Beaujolais - by which I mean red Beaujolais - is the most French of wines, the perfect wine pairing for a picnic or bistro meal.
It’s generally thought of as light and fruity, though it can also be quite full-bodied. In this post I’ll cover my favourite food pairings for specific types of Beaujolais (and other gamay). You’ll find it an enormously versatile wine.
Food-wise, it pairs with much the same ingredients and dishes as pinot noir, though gamay (the grape Beaujolais is made from) doesn’t have the best pinots’ complexity or silky, sensuous texture.
Beaujolais is almost always a winner with French charcuterie such as patés, terrines, rillettes, and saucisson sec and with white-rinded cheeses such as Brie and Camembert (provided they’re not overripe) but it’s a highly versatile wine that can easily take you through a meal where people are ordering different things.
Lighter styles of Beaujolais such as Beaujolais Nouveau, inexpensive Beaujolais, Beaujolais Villages, and lighter ‘cru’ (top level village) Beaujolais such as Fleurie or Chiroubles. (These wines can happily be served lightly chilled)
*Cold ham, especially the French jambon persillé (jellied ham and parsley)
*Cold turkey and chicken (Beaujolais is brilliant with Thanksgiving or Christmas Day leftovers)
*Salads, especially with chicken or bacon (think frisée with lardons) with pomegranate seeds, with berries like dried cherries or cranberries, or with goats cheese
*Seared tuna and salmon
*Fish stews like this cod pot au feu
*Sushi, if you like a red with it
*Strawberries (delicious with a young fruity Beaujolais poured over them)
More Full-bodied or More Mature Beaujolais
From riper vintages e.g. 2018, 2020 or weightier crus such as Morgon, Julienas, and Moulin à Vent
*Simply roast chicken, guineafowl, duck, or partridge
*Seared duck breast, especially with fruit like cherries or figs
*Classic French dishes in a creamy sauce like chicken with tarragon or kidneys with mustard sauce or even a retro boeuf stroganoff
*Simply grilled pork, lamb, or veal
*Toulouse or other garlicky sausages and lentils. (See also this quirky match with Toulouse sausage and prawn dumplings!)
*Steak tartare, as you can see from this post
*Bavette or hanger steak - the classic ‘steak frites’
*Confit duck
*Coq au vin or oeufs en meurette (Beaujolais makes a good red wine sauce)
*Fruity tagines like this lamb tagine with dates, prunes, and apricots
*Vegetarian dishes with butternut squash or sweet potato
See also What to Pair with Beaujolais Nouveau
There’s a more extensive list on the Beaujolais website
Photo ©jackmac34 at Pixabay.
5 wine and beer pairings for shepherd’s pie
You’ll always find people argue about shepherd’s pie but in my view it should be made with lamb rather than beef (that’s cottage pie) and with very little, if any tomato - apart from maybe a dash of ketchup for sweetness.
Traditionally it was a frugal dish to finish up the Sunday roast, made with leftover lamb and gravy - and and any leftover vegetables that were going. I personally think it’s better made with fresh lamb mince but still like it kept simple and old-fashioned - a little onion, a little carrot, maybe a few peas, a touch of gravy or roast lamb pan juices and some nice creamy mash.
In terms of the ideal pairing it’s a toss-up between beer and a dry medium-bodied red wine:
* a classic English ale like Timothy Taylor’s Landlord or, if you're not drinking, an alcohol-free beer like the Butcombe Goram IPA Zero I recommended in the Guardian
* Stout or porter also works well, particularly if you’ve used a slosh in the recipe
* Red rioja is always good with lamb. I’d go for a reserva with this plain kind of dish rather than a younger, more vivid crianza. The same applies to other oak-aged Spanish reds such as Valdepeñas.
* Inexpensive red Bordeaux - what used to be called a ‘lunchtime claret’ - is a great pairing. Again I’d opt for a more traditional style rather than one with higher alcohol and a lot of ripe fruit. It won’t do any harm to a more expensive mature claret either. Simple food is best with special wines.
* A southern French red like the ever-versatile Côtes-du-Rhône Villages or a named village wine like Vacqueyras is always a good match - with shepherd’s or cottage pie.
PS Look, I'm not saying you need a totally different type of wine for cottage pie but the filling often tends to be more like a bolognese sauce - or more tomatoey, at any rate. So check out my recommendations for spag bol or, if you go for one of the above wines maybe choose a more fruity or full-bodied version.
Image © istetiana at Adobe Stock.
What to pair with Camembert: 5 great drink matches
Although it seems similar in style to Brie, Camembert is a trickier cheese to pair with a slightly funky edge that can clash with many wines, particularly reds.
Fortunately, coming from Normandy there is another option and that is cider and other apple based drinks such as Pommeau and Calvados, depending on how well-matured your Camembert is. If you don’t drink and the cheese is mild apple juice is actually a very good pairing.
Here are my top picks:
Cider
The obvious ‘terroir’-based match. The slight bitterness of cider apples suits Camembert perfectly particularly if you’re eating the rind. Sparkling cider is possibly even better . . .
Pommeau
Stronger than cider, this blend of cider and calvados is ideal when your cheese has reached the oozy stage.
Champagne
Maybe that’s a surprise but the bubbles really work with a gooey Camembert, especially if it’s been baked
Chenin Blanc
Has a touch of apple itself and generally the weight and smoothness to partner the cheese provided it’s not got too mature. Loire chenins such as Montlouis and Vouvray are relatively local anyway or try a Chenin Blanc from South Africa
A soft fruity red
If you want to drink red go for one with a good whack of bright berry fruit like a New Zealand Pinot Noir, a Chilean Merlot or a Carmenère. I’d aim for one of 13-13.5% ABV. You don’t want too big and tannic a wine - or one that’s too light, acidic or weedy.
Tip: Camembert is a cheese to eat when it's fully matured. Keep it too long though and it will become bitter
The best pairings for sweet oloroso and PX sherry
Sherry gets a bad rap for being granny’s tipple of choice but if you’ve never tried an authentic Spanish style sweet sherry you haven’t lived.
There are two main kinds: sweet olorosos (though no longer officially referred to as that) which are aged without a protective layer of flor (yeast) and which I always think taste like liquid Christmas pudding and intensely treacley PX which is made from raisined pedro ximenez grapes. And cheaper cream sherries which are sweetened olorosos.
They are, of course, delicious to sip on their own but here’s some suggested pairings
Sweet oloroso and dark cream sherries
Blue cheese such as Stilton, Dorset Blue Vinney, Gorgonzola and Cabrales, especially with grilled figs
Mature Parmigiano Reggiano (parmesan) or Grana Padano
Mature sheeps cheeses such as Manchego
Mince pies
Eccles cakes
Panforte
Stollen
Christmas cake
Turron (Spanish nougat)
Dried fruits such as figs, raisins and dates
Nuts, especially brazil nuts
Pecan pie and walnut tarts
Pumpkin pie
Tiramisu
Chocolate creme brulée
Chocolate chip cookies
Coffee-flavoured cakes and desserts
Barbados cream/muscovado cream (see Nigella recipe here)
Caramelised banana desserts such as banana tatin
Millionaire's shortbread (shortbread with a toffee and chocolate topping)
Bitter orange- and marmalade-flavoured cakes
Gingerbread
Game terrine (I’d generally go for a drier sherry but it can work as you can see here)
Foie gras, if you eat it.
PX sherry
Ice cream especially vanilla, rum and raisin, brown bread and salted caramel ice cream (poured over as well as drunk with)
Dark chocolate
Chocolate sorbet as in this delicious dessert
Intense, dark chocolate tarts
More food and sherry matches:
- The best food pairings for dry oloroso sherry
- The best food pairings for amontillado and palo cortado
- The best food pairings for fino and manzanilla sherry
Download the e-book
If you love sherry but haven't got beyond sipping it with a few nuts and olives, then download my e-book, 101 great ways to enjoy sherry, packed full of pairings, recipes, cocktails, and more. Click here to download.
Image © © Maksim Shebeko at Adobe Stock
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