The best food pairings with Saint-Emilion

Saint-Emilion is a familiar name on a wine list but what sort of food goes with it best? Sommelier Nathalie Gardiner suggests her favourite pairings.

As one of the four main red wine producing regions of Bordeaux, Saint-Emilion offers the typical Right Bank combination of merlot and cabernet franc. Even though the blend remains the same across the majority of the area, its wines are incredibly varied; by vintage, by class, by vineyard and even by individual plot.

AOCs around the main appellation such as Lussac Saint-Emilion, Montagne Saint-Emilion, Saint-George Saint-Emilion and Puisseguin Saint-Emilion also produce similar wines (often at a more reasonable price) which go with the same type of dishes.

Pairing food with Saint-Emilion is best approached by age and style. Generally, you can’t go wrong with partnering it with local dishes like confit duck or beef entrecôte, but there are plenty of other, more diverse international options too.

Basic Saint-Emilion (Saint-Emilion Grand Cru)

This is your entry-level wine in Saint Emilion; they meet the basic appellation rules, and tend to be more youthful, juicy and simple than your Grand Cru Classés and above.

Duck or game terrine with some quince jelly on the side would be great due to its rich fatty content that balances with the freshness of the wines.

Comté or similarly mild, slightly sweet cheese.

Shoulder of lamb roasted with rosemary or thyme, with seasonal greens

Rich, tomato-based pizza and pasta dishes, such as a pizza napolitana, or lasagne

If you have a Saint-Emilion that has a higher proportion of merlot, spicy Asian dishes like rogan josh, or Chinese or Korean hotpots can work well; just make sure that the wine is fleshy enough to handle the spice

A big ol’ sticky rack of ribs, especially when eaten with hands and sauce dripping down one’s face; seems like a bit of a long shot, but once you try it you will be convinced!

Good quality Saint-Emilion, 2-5 years old (generally within Saint-Emilion Grand Cru Classé classification)

At the time of writing, the past few years of released vintages of Saint-Emilion have been considered quite varied, so check the vintage on the label. It’s the general consensus that 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016 are the best recent years: with these vintages especially you will want your dishes to be richer, more flavourful and more heavily sauced. This is to keep up with the riper tannins and higher levels of alcohol and greater concentration that has become the norm in the merlot dominated blends of the Right Bank.

Classic Entrecôte à la Bordelaise is, irrefutably, the best dish with Saint-Emilion wines; perfectly cooked rib of beef with the famous red wine and shallot sauce. Serve it with some ceps and you’re on the road to pure joy.

Along the same lines, Beef Wellington (known in France as Boeuf en Croute) is a rich dish that benefits from the power of a good Saint-Emilion

Roast pigeon, preferably served with a thick, rich red wine jus and confit onions (paradise!)

Stews of lamb or game, especially those with slightly more middle-eastern influences, such as tagines.

Chilli con carne (or ‘sin’ carne, as your diet dictates), or other Tex Mex dishes like beef burritos.

Macaroni cheese/mac’n’cheese - a surprise pairing, maybe, but a good one as you can discover here

Tapas of any kind will go well, specifically patatas bravas, pulpo Gallego and croquetas de jamón

Confit de Canard, another classic Aquitanian dish of confit duck legs

Saint-Nectaire cheese, which can be found on any cheese plate in Saint-Emilion despite its roots in the Auvergne, or any other earthy, nutty semi-hard cheese

More evolved, mature Saint-Emilion of 10+ years

(These can be within any class in the entire Saint-Emilion Classification, definitely including Premier Grand Cru Classé, but of high quality)

These wines tend to be more delicately balanced, with tannins that are well integrated. The ripe fruit that was there in its early years will most likely have turned into earthy, mushroomy or dried fruit flavours. Of course vintages are still important but it is better to steer away from those rich sauces that were better with the younger wines.

Any kind of roast bird would be fantastic with an older Saint-Emilion. Christmas dinners are the perfect time to open a beautiful vintage with turkey, goose or partridge, and all the trimmings (especially the bread sauce!).

A mushroom risotto or tagliatelle with creamy morel sauce would be great, since wines that age well still have a freshness that will give some life and lightness to the rich sauces.

Sautéed chicken that is cooked with some more earthy and nutty accoutrements, like cherries and almonds.

A light lamb or veal stew like a navarin of lamb, or if you’d really like to immerse yourself in the Southwest, a Garbure, perfect for transitional months

Duck breasts preferably prepared in the traditional Southwest style - i.e. pan-fried in their own fat

Truffle omelettes - not found often in my experience, but they are a goldmine of pleasure when you come across them. The earthiness of the truffle is perfect for slightly older Saint-Emilions.

Do you have any favourite Saint-Emilion pairings I haven't included here? Do share if you do!

For other Bordeaux pairings see What food to match with red Bordeaux

Nathalie Gardiner is a sommelier and is currently studying for a Wine and Management Diploma at the Cordon Bleu Institute in Paris.

The best food pairings for Pinotage

Like any other red South Africa's Pinotage comes in different styles - some lighter and fruitier than others. When you're matching it with food you take a cue from the sort of ingredients and dishes that go with its two ancestors - Pinot Noir and Cinsault.

Pinotage never has the elegance of a fine burgundy of course but it will go with the same sort of dishes as a more robust, rustic Pinot Noir: dishes like smoked duck and pulled pork for example. The Cinsault heritage gives it a compatibility with Mediterranean ingredients like peppers and aubergines, rustic French bistro dishes and baked pasta dishes like lasagne. It’s also not a bad wine to serve with a pizza, particularly one with a meaty topping.

It can also take a fair amount of spice. I’ve successfully paired it with a hot curry (Indian rather than Thai) and it more than holds its own with spicy barbecue sauces and with chilli con carne. (In general I think it benefits from being served a couple of degrees cooler than the ambient temperature - that is to say, cool rather than chilled).

You could happily drink the lighter styles which are becoming increasingly popular with charcuterie, especially coarse country patés and more robust styles with wintry stews like the one-pot South African potjies (especially with game). Its slight portiness also makes it a good match for hard cheeses like cheddar and even a blue, especially if served with fresh figs.

Its forte however is with a classic South African braai where it will take almost anything in its stride from marinated lamb to Cape Malay or Cajun-spiced ‘blackened’ fish. (Like Zinfandel it loves chilli and smoke) It’s also really good with venison burgers and sausages or - come the winter - a hearty game pie.

Veg-wise think in terms of aubergines, grilled portabello mushrooms and dark leafy greens.

Photo © johnnyslav at Adobe Stock

The best wine (and other) pairings with oysters

If you’re an oyster fan you’ll probably be aware of the classic matches - Champagne, Chablis and Guinness among them. But there are some good alternatives you may not have thought of.

Which one you choose will obviously depend on which drink you like best - there’s no point in serving Guinness if you hate the stuff - and how the oysters are served. Cooked oysters are generally rather more forgiving than raw ones.

It also makes quite a difference how you season them. Personally I’m in favour of no seasoning at all, letting the wine do the job of a squeeze of lemon but conversely adding lemon can make richer chardonnays and champagnes work better if those are the wines you’d rather drink.

Chablis
There are actually fossilised oyster shells in the soil of the Chablis region so it’s maybe not too fanciful to say that’s why it hits just exactly the right note. I’d pick a recent vintage though rather than a mature one, a premier cru if you’re treating yourself to natives (below), whose season starts on Septmber 1st.

Champagne (and dry sparkling wine)
Here it’s the bubbles that provide the magic, the perfect textural contrast to the smooth velvety texture of the oysters. Ultra dry champagnes like Laurent Perrier Ultra Brut and Drappier Brut Nature that don’t have any dosage (sugar and wine solution) added to them before bottling work best though lighter styles of regular non-vintage Champagne such as Taittinger will do a perfectly good job. Sparkling wine is also the best match by far for deep-fried oysters.

See also this Match of the Week: Oysters and Tasmanian fizz

Muscadet and other crisp, dry whites
The cut price option, clean-as-a-whistle Muscadet acts just like a squeeze of lemon - so don’t add lemon too. The best wines come from the Sèvre-et-Maine region and are labelled ‘sur lie’ (the wine is aged on the lees, the residue of the yeast used to ferment the wine which gives it more flavour).

Also in this category of bone-dry whites comes Picpoul de Pinet from the south of France, Pinot Grigio from Italy and Albariño from Galicia in northern Spain. Sharp Greek whites like Assyrtiko and Roditis are great too.

Sauvignon Blanc
This is what they would drink round Bordeaux, also an oyster-producing area and it works elsewhere too, particularly when oysters are served, as they often are Down Under, with Asian flavours. Again keep the wine young and unoaked. The added zestiness of Sauvignon also helps with strong seasonings like shallot and red wine vinegar or Tabasco.

Chardonnay
Not great, in my view, with raw oysters but very nice with cooked ones, particularly in a creamy sauce or chowder. Choose a lightly oaked, creamy style such as you find in Burgundy, Limoux in southern France or cool climate regions of the New World.

Guinness and other stouts
It’s mainly a colour and texture thing. Black on white (or rather, cream). Smooth layered on smooth. And the saltiness of the oysters counteracts the bitterness of the beer. If you like stout this match is sublime.

Kasteel Cru
This unusual lager made in Alsace from champagne yeasts works much the same way as Champagne. A good bet for those who prefer to drink beer but don’t like stout.

Perrier rondelle
Iced sparkling water (it doesn’t have to be Perrier) with a slice of lemon. Dry, refreshing and doesn’t detract from the delicate flavour of the oysters

Other wines may well work too depending on the seasoning and/or other ingredients you put with them as in this pairing of oysters and dry German riesling.

 

10 great beer and food matches for summer

We all know a beer goes down well with a ploughmans and that it’s a great drink to wash down a barbecue but here are 10 more unusual pairings which should liven up your summer drinking.

Crab and witbier
My own favourite, I confess. Doesn’t matter if the crab is simply dressed or gussied up Thai-style, it works brilliantly though I prefer the Belgian style to the more banana-y Bavarian one with seafood.

Ham and parsley paté with English bitter
Cold ham and English bitter is a classic but this gives the pairing a bit of a twist (and is a great way to use up some leftover ham into the bargain). You simply cut up about 140g of cooked ham (smoked is nice) and whizz it in a food processor until finely chopped. Add an equal amount of unsalted butter and a couple of tablespoons of water, whizz until smooth then season with 1 - 2 tsp of English or Dijon mustard and fold through some finely chopped parsley and chives.

Kebabs and lager
What else do you drink with a kebab? Make your own straight off the barbecue, stuffed into warm pitta bread with lettuce, onion, houmus and a good squeeze of lemon juice and accompany with a good pils or Kolsch.

Prawn, fennel and leek risotto with wheat beer
A summery seafod and herb (dill) risotto which we found went really well with Colomba, a light, aromatic Corsican wheat beer. Would also pair well with a witbier or bière blanche

Joloffe rice and IPA
Joloffe rice is a spicy West-African rice dish that’s a bit like a paella and makes great outdoor eating. I’ve successfully drunk a light English bitter with it but would usually go for an IPA or an amber ale.

Beer-can chicken and amber lager
Yes, you may cook the chicken on a bog standard can of lager but the finished dish deserves something better! With its spicy dry rub and accompanying BBQ sauce or salsa you’ll find it goes really well with a Viennese-style lager or amber ale.

Chicken Caesar salad with a blonde or golden ale
The creamy, tangy sauce makes this much-loved salad a great match with a golden ale or lager such as Duvel or Schiehallion.

Cheesecake and cherry (or raspberry) beer
A fantastic match so long as you top the cheesecake with similar berries to the ones in the beer. (The great thing about matching beer and food is that you can mirror the flavours in the dish. That doesn’t work with wine where the food tends to strip similar flavours out of the wine)

Bakewell tart and raspberry beer
Similar thinking. You pick the fruit flavour - in this case raspberries - out with the beer. If you live in the states there’s a wonderful one called Raspberry Tart from the New Glarus Brewing Co in Wisconsin but Lindemans Framboise will do nicely

Blueberry and peach beer jellies
A bit of a cheat as the beer is actually in the dish rather than paired with it but fruit beers make absolutely knock-out jellies that are perfect for summer desserts (find the recipe here.) Try two or three different kinds such as blueberry and peach beer, raspberry and cherry beer and mango and passionfruit beer - a real showstopper.