4 good wines to pair with red mullet

Red mullet or rouget can be a bit of a challenge to pair with wine as it is often accompanied by a rich sauce made from the liver or with punchy accompaniments such as tapenade, olives or saffron

As this guide remarks it tastes remarkably of shellfish (grilled or roast rather than raw) so take account of that in your wine choice. Above all it’s a Mediterranean fish so think in terms of the wine producing countries around the Med.

Her’s what I’d go for:

Strong dry rosé

The fashionable pale pink Provençal rosés will do but I’d go for something a bit stronger and darker from the Rhône or Languedoc. Bandol rosé would be perfect - or a Tavel.

White Côtes-du-Rhône and other white Rhône blends

White Rhône blends have a savouriness that works really well with mullet. Particularly if they are dominated by Marsanne as you can see from this post

Medium bodied (but not too fruity) southern French, Spanish or Italian reds

Something simple like a Costières de Nîmes. Victoria Moore suggests an Etna red in her Wine Dine Dictionary which I think would work really well

Chilled fino sherry

My go to for many tricky matches and a winner here, especially if it's accompanied by tapenade or olives.

I also have a hunch - as yet unverified - that orange or lighter skin contact wines would work, having similar tannins to a red. Worth a try anyway.

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The best food pairings for Sauternes

Sauternes is a famously luscious sweet wine from the Bordeaux region of France but what kind of food should you pair with it? This post deep dives into what you should eat with Sauternes, both sweet and savoury.

The French would immediately say either foie gras or Roquefort - two savoury pairings for Sauternes and Barsac that may or may not appeal to you (not me, in the former case, because I don’t - or try not to - eat foie gras).

There’s also a history in the region of pairing Sauternes with poultry. “Poultry of all kinds marries well with sweet wines; one of the most famous dishes of the region is roast chicken liberally basted with Sauternes, and then served with a bottle of the same wine” writes Jill Norman in an archive post on Sweet Bordeaux and Savoury Food you might find interesting.

Sauternes producers often match their wines with Chinese and other Asian dishes such as lacquered pork to broaden its appeal but while these pairings can undoubtedly work it generally takes a skilled chef working with a specific wine to make it risk-free.

What about pairing Sauternes with desserts though? Oddly the French don’t seem too keen on the idea though to me it makes perfect sense especially with fresh fruit.

So here are my top pairings which are by and large quite simple. The same sort of pairings would work with other sweet wines from the region such as Cadillac and, Loupiac though the latter don’t have the same intensity (more of a problem with savoury dishes than with sweet ones).

One other thing to bear in mind: the best pairing will also depend on how old a wine is - an old Sauternes needs more respectful treatment - perhaps even no food at all - than a young one. Maybe cooked rather than fresh fruit for example (see the roast pineapple suggestion below)

What to eat with Sauternes

Dessert pairings for Sauternes

Ripe peaches and nectarines

Strawberries and cream

Simple French fruit tarts - especially apple and apricot tart

Roast pineapple - maybe the perfect match for Chateau d’Yquem on one of the rare occasions I’ve drunk it. I suspect a pineapple upside down cake would be rather delicious too.

Creamy desserts such as crème brûlée and panna cotta (especially with passionfruit, mango or early season forced rhubarb - see this post on Sauternes and Rhubarb).

Mille-feuille, custard tarts and other simple patisserie

Savoury pairings for Sauternes

Foie gras - if you must - but I always think it’s hard to start a meal with a sweet wine. As a high class snack though, maybe. It will also work with similar dishes like a duck or chicken liver parfait

Sauternes and cheese pairing
Not just salty blue cheeses like Roquefort and Beenleigh Blue but, more surprisingly, washed rind cheeses like Epoisses, provided they’re not too mature and gooey.

Creamy blue cheese spreads or terrines work too as does a creamy savoury cheescake

Glazed or lacquered pork or quail

Shellfish dishes with a sweet edge such as scallops and grilled lobster (better with older vintages)

Hot/sweet Thai dishes with younger Sauternes

Savoury dishes that include tropical fruit such as duck and mango

Sweet-flavoured vegetables such as confit’d fennel, roast carrots and sweet potato can assist a Sauternes pairing with ingredients such as chicken or pork

What temperature should you serve Sauternes?

The ideal serving temperature for Sauternes and similar sweet Bordeaux whites is about 10-12°C (50-54°F), at the upper end of that scale for an older wine, bearing in mind a half bottle will chill more quickly than a full-size one.

You may also be interested in this post from the archives

Sweet or savoury - what is the perfect match for Sauternes?

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The best wine pairings for seabass

Seabass is one of the most popular fish on restaurant menus these days - usually treated quite simply and rarely sauced. But what wine should you pair with it?

Crisp unoaked whites

Because it has a delicate flavour I would generally choose a crisp, unoaked white of some quality from a recent vintage so the wine’s clean minerality is still on show. A good Loire sauvignon blanc such as Sancerre or Pouilly Fumé would be a good choice as would a premier cru Chablis, a Spanish albarino or an Italian vermentino or Greco di Tufo especially if the recipe is accompanied by a salsa verde.

Other good quality sauvignon blancs work well too as in this pairing of a seabass ‘crudo’ with a Fontodi Meriggio at the River Cafe but I think the pairing owed as much to the gorgeous olive oil as the fish.

Dry aromatic whites

When seabass is cooked Chinese-style with soy and spring onions turn to a more aromatic white such as a grüner veltliner or a dry riesling from the Pfalz, Alsace or Austria.

Pale, crisp dry rosés

Pale Côtes de Provence rosés are also delicious with seabass but again ensure they’re from a recent vintage, 2016 at the time of writing

Sake

More robust preparations such as this Chilean seabass with white miso would be better with a good quality chilled sake.

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8 great food pairings for stout and porter

Although there are obviously differences between the two types of beer, dark stouts and porters tend to pair with similar types of food. Here are my top matches ...

Oysters and Guinness is one of the beer world’s classic pairings only bettered in my experience by an oyster rarebit. A creamy chowder with oysters and scallops is also great with a lighter stout

Dark beefy or venison stews like my recipe for braised beef with port and porter. Ox cheeks, ox tail all love stouts and porters

Steak pies such as this steak and stilton pie I enjoyed with a London porter or a hot game pie

Boiled bacon and cabbage - a classic St Patrick’s Day pairing with a smooth dark creamy Irish stout. Mmmm.

American-style barbecue especially BBQd ribs or smoked brisket - one for an American-style porter - even a smoked one if you want to layer on some extra smokey flavour.

Stilton and similar mellow blue cheeses - porter works in the same way as port: a strong dark contrast. Brilliant.

Dark chocolate cakes and desserts - If you don’t have a very sweet tooth and enjoy black coffee with your chocolate you’ll enjoy a porter too. A stronger, sweeter imperial stout is arguably better still. Especially with brownies.

Vanilla ice cream - Imperial stout and ice cream makes a great float. Here’s Garrett Oliver’s Imperial Stout Float from the Brooklyn Brewery

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Food pairings for witbiers

Food pairings for hefeweizen and other German-style wheat beers

5 great matches for IPA

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