What sort of food to pair with prosecco?

Prosecco is so often drunk on its own that you may not have given much thought to the kind of food you can pair with it but if I had to sum it up in two words it would be ‘party food’

In fact when I went to the region a couple of years ago for the annual prosecco festival Vino in Villa we ate almost nothing but - it was all about canapés and finger food - Italian style, of course.

The key thing to bear in mind is that prosecco is generally sweeter than other sparkling wines especially (confusingly) the ‘extra dry’ style which is best matched with pastries, biscuits, cakes and other sweet things - in other words it’s the perfect wine for a tea party ....

Here are my favourite prosecco pairings:

Drier ‘brut’ styles of prosecco

Parma and other air-dried ham

simple cocktail-sized sandwiches

foccacia

mini quiches and frittata

mild cheeses such as fontina

white asparagus

sushi

seafood and vegetable-based dim sum especially prawn toasts and seafood dumplings

Sweeter (extra dry) proseccos

Panettone and Easter Colomba

Light sponge cakes and gateaux

Italian-style biscuits like brutti ma buoni

Macarons

Sweet soufflés like this seville orange soufflé

Mousses and parfaits

Jelly with cream or ice cream

Popcorn!

Image by Atanas Paskalev from Pixabay

Some great food pairings for tequila

Despite the recent increase in interest in Mexican street food like tacos consumers in the UK still have to take to tequila (maybe because they’re too busy drinking gin) but in fact it’s an attractive and versatile spirit to pair with food

The style you’re most likely to come across is silver tequila, the type that’s most often used in a margarita, but you may also come across reposado tequilas which are aged in wood and anejo, older tequilas which are ideal for after-dinner drinking. (Think of them like rum: Silver is like white rum with a herbal twist, reposado like a golden rum and anejo like an aged sipping rum).

Obviously the natural starting point is Mexican food but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t drink tequila with other cuisines such as Latin American, Caribbean and newly fashionable African.

Here are the type of dishes that I think work best

Tacos
The street food of 2017, especially fish tacos which with a white or silver tequila. Try a reposado if you’re eating meatier tacos like pork

Raw fish
Particularly ceviche and punchily seasoned fish tartares but there's no reason why you shouldn’t try a silver tequila with sushi or sashimi

Grilled seafood like squid or prawns
Especially with garlic or a touch of chilli. Silver, again

A wide range of vegetables especially asparagus, green peppers and tomatillos (silver) and corn (reposado) Also avocado which of course is technically a fruit but counts as a veg in my book - guacamole being the obvious option

Recipes with fresh herbs especially coriander
Again this appears regularly in Mexican food but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t sip a silver tequila with Indian street food like samosas or puris and green chutney. It should go with middle eastern grills and salads too.

Recipes with citrus especially lime and orange
Citrus works particularly well with the flavour of agave (the plant from which tequila is made)

Pork
Pulled, grilled, served with corn (like posole) - all good with a reposado. Think also empanadas with a pork filling

Steak
You can partner a good steak or burger with a reposado or an anejo. Even fajitas though I probably wouldnt drink anything tooo fancy with them.

Chocolate
Like most aged spirits anejo tequila goes well with dark chocolate - or even milk chocolate if it’s Mexican which has a particularly delicious fudgy texture.

There's a useful longer article on pairing food with tequila here.

Six of the best drinks to pair with tacos

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Which wine to drink with paella?

Paella, the iconic Spanish dish, can be paired  with a range of wines, but choosing between white, red, or rosé depends on the type of paella you’re eating and its key ingredients.

Recipes vary - and are much argued over - but traditionally the dish either includes chicken or rabbit or seafood like prawns, mussels or clams - not meat and seafood in the same dish.

Nowadays the idea of what goes into a paella is less strict though so here’s a guide to the wine pairings I think work best for different recipes whether they’re based on seafood (paella de mariscos), meat, a mixture of the two (paellal mixta) or vegetarian versions (paella de verduras). 

You’ll find that the wine you choose doesn’t need to be overly complex or expensive. Instead, focus on wines with fresh, vibrant flavors that enhance the dish’s key ingredients without overwhelming them.

Crisp whites, fruity rosés, and light-to-medium reds (and even sherry!) all have their place, depending on the style of paella being served. 

How paella’s serving style can influence the match

Paella is typically eaten at a relaxed sort of family gathering so I wouldn’t advocate anything too grand. 

A chilled dry rosé from Navarra or Rioja (one of the more traditional bottlings, not the more fruit driven rosés made in a New World style) generally hits the spot perfectly but there’s absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t drink an inexpensive red Rioja or other medium-bodied tempranillo or garnacha (grenache) or garnacha blends (again lightly chilled till cool rather than at room temperature). But I’d avoid ‘fruit-bombs’ or overly alcoholic, tannic reds.

Looking outside Spain, lighter reds and rosés from the neighbouring Languedoc-Roussillon would work well as would the new wave of characterful roussanne, marsanne and viognier-based Languedoc whites if white wine is your preference.

What I look for in a white with paella is an earthy richness rather than a sharp citrussy or floral character so I personally wouldn’t go for a sauvignon blanc or a riesling. (You’ll enjoy them more, I think, with simply prepared fried or grilled seafood on its own.)

Wine pairings for popular types of paella

Paella comes in many variations, each with its own unique set of ingredients and regional influences. Here are some of the most popular types of paella and the wines to go with them:

Paella Valenciana

Traditionally made with chicken, rabbit, and sometimes snails, along with green beans, white beans, tomatoes, rosemary, and saffron. This is the original paella from the Valencia region and often includes a mix of land-based proteins rather than seafood.

Wine pairing: A medium-bodied red wine like Tempranillo or Garnacha. 

Paella de Marisco (Seafood Paella)

This version focuses solely on seafood, such as prawns, mussels, clams, squid, and fish. It omits meat and relies on seafood stock to enrich the rice with a briny, oceanic flavour.

Wine pairing: A crisp, citrusy white wine like Albariño or Verdejo

Paella de Mar y Montaña (Surf and Turf Paella)

Combines elements from both sea and land, such as chicken or pork with seafood like prawns or squid. Not traditional but a popular combination that works well with a Spanish rosado (rosé) from 

Wine pairing: try a strong Spanish rosado (rosé) from Rioja or Navarra

Paella Mixta (Mixed Paella)

Similar to the above, including meat and seafood but also vegetables. Again rosé is a good pairing.

Paella de Verduras (Vegetable Paella)

This vegetarian version is packed with seasonal vegetables like artichokes, bell peppers, tomatoes, peas, and green beans. It’s often flavoured with herbs and spices but excludes meat and seafood.

Wine pairing: A light, herbaceous white wine such as a Rueda which could be made from Verdejo or Sauvignon Blanc.

Paella Negra (Black Paella or Arroz Negro)

Made with squid or cuttlefish and tinted with squid ink, which gives the dish its distinctive black colour. It has a rich, briny taste and is usually garnished with aioli for added flavour.

Wine pairing: A crisp, mineral-driven Albariño or a Godello from Galicia.

Paella de Bogavante (Lobster Paella)

A luxurious variation featuring lobster as the star ingredient, often paired with other seafood for a rich and indulgent meal.

Wine pairing: a fuller-bodied chardonnay always works well with lobster or try an oaked white rioja.

Image by EstudioWebDoce from Pixabay

3 things you need to think about when pairing wine with chocolate

Chocolate is supposed to be impossible to match with wine but like any other ingredient it depends on the chocolate and how it’s used.

In general I’d discourage you from serving a lighter dessert wines like Sauternes but if the chocolate flavour is not too intense and some kind of fresh fruit (strawberries or passionfruit, say) is involved it should be fine.

If you’re trying to find a wine pairing for chocolate it helps to ask yourself these three questions. (The answer may not necessarily be wine!)

What kind of chocolate?

Are you trying to match milk chocolate or dark chocolate or even white chocolate though some would argue that isn’t really chocolate at all? The lighter the chocolate - and the airier your dessert - the easier your task is. See these suggestions for chocolate mousse for example. With a chilled chocolate soufflé you could even serve a glass of bubbly, rosé champagne or sparkling wine for preference.

What are you serving with it?

Think of the fruits that match with chocolate and it’ll give you a clue as to which wines - and other drinks - work too. Cherries are great with dark chocolate for instance and would make a sweet red dessert wine like a Maury or a late bottled vintage port a good match (or a cherry beer or liqueur).

Orange and chocolate? A well-tried and tested combination. An orange-flavoured moscatel or marmaladey Tokaji will echo those flavours . Dried fruit like raisins and figs pair with chocolate too as does a figgy, raisiny sweet sherry or madeira while a chocolate dessert with nuts is a great match for a tawny port or amaretto.

(See this post on the best matches for a chocolate yule log which vary depending on the filling.)

Is it hot or cold?

A cold chocolate dessert is easier to match than a hot one, the trickiest being a molten chocolate fondant pudding. Serving it with cream or ice-cream will help but you’re still better to choose a fortified like a liqueur muscat rather a conventional dessert wine (PX sherry, I've discovered, is insanely good with warm chocolate brownies and ice cream.) Oddly enough a dark beer like a porter or imperial stout is particularly good with molten chocolate puds as you can see from this post.

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Download the chocolate e-book

You might think there was no way of enjoying chocolate more than you already do but we’ve come up with 101 of them - all amazing drink pairings to enable you to get even more pleasure out of your favourite food. Download the e-book: 101 great ways to Enjoy Wine & Chocolate.