Food and fruit juice matching

If you’re on the wagon this month, mealtimes can suddenly seem a bit drab and colourless. But if you’re missing the taste of your favourite wine try substituting a fruit juice that has similar flavours.

Obviously they tend to be sweeter than wine which may or may not be to your taste. They also, tend to be thicker in consistency, particularly if they’re home made, which can overwhelm a delicate dish. But you can deal with that either by adding a little still or sparkling mineral water, a dash of lemon, lime or grapefruit juice or by serving your juice in a jugful of ice.

If you want a lighter style of juice choose or make one that’s blended with apple, pear, grape or melon juice which will give you a softer, more rounded flavour.

Here’s what to try instead of your favourite sips:

Lighter styles of Chardonnay/Chenin Blanc: apple or pear juice, white cranberry juice

Richer styles of Chardonnay: peach, mango, passionfruit or tropical fruit juice

Semillon: pineapple juice, tropical fruit juice

Sauvignon Blanc: elderflower cordial, traditional lemonade

Riesling: white grape juice, lime cordial, sparkling apple juice

Rosé and light reds such as Beaujolais: cranberry juice, red grape juice, strawberry cordial, watermelon juice

Pinot Noir: pomegranate, raspberry or raspberry and cranberry juice

Merlot, Carmenère and Shiraz: forest fruits, plum juice

Cabernet Sauvignon: blackcurrant juice/cordial, blackberry, elderberry

Champagne/sparkling wine - elderflower spritzer, sparkling apple juice

The best pairings for apple desserts

Apple tarts are one of the most flattering desserts to match with sweet wines but what do you drink with other apple-based desserts?

Crumbles are another hugely popular pud but are they as easy a proposition (especially if they’re served with custard).

Are there some sweet wines that are better with apple-based desserts than others - and what about sweet ciders?

Read on to find out

Light apple-flavoured mousses, parfaits and sorbets 
Try an off-dry Prosecco, Moscato d’Asti or a German spätlese Riesling

Traditional apple pies and crumbles
Generally served hot or warm which can complicate the pairing. A Gewürztraminer is the best pairing I’ve found, especially if the dessert includes a little cinnamon. An orangey Moscatel such as inexpensive Moscatel de Valencia can also work well or you could try a sweet cider as in this former Match of the Week.

French-style apple tarts
A classic partner for fine dessert wines such as Sauternes or similar sweet wines from Bordeaux and south-west France - in fact almost any late-harvest Sauvignon Blanc or Semillon. Chenin-based dessert wines from the Loire such as Coteaux du Layon and Vouvray or Montlouis moelleux are also delicious as is a late harvest Riesling 

Tarte Tatin
Tarte Tatin is richer and more caramelly - a Muscat - or even liqueur Muscat from Australia would work better

Baked apples
Best with a vintage or festive ale or a barley wine.

See Sybil Kapoor’s lovely recipe for apple and blackberry meringue

Which food to pair with South African chenin blanc

You might think it odd to pick out South African Chenin rather than Chenin Blanc in general but I do think the wines are distinctive, particularly when it comes to the crisper styles which are much zestier than they tend to be in the Loire

It struck me while I was there that food matching with Chenin is quite easy to explain. Treat young, fresh unoaked styles like Sauvignon Blanc - in other words think about seafood and salads and richer, fuller styles in the same way as white burgundy or Viognier.

Here are some suggestions - some of which will, of course, apply to other Chenin Blancs.

Fresh crisp young zesty Chenin Blanc

All kinds of fresh seafood including crab, prawns and, most particularly, oysters

Seafood tartares like tuna tartare or salmon and avocado tartare

In fact, avocado generally

Smoked salmon or trout

Fish and chips

Salt and pepper squid

Fish patés

Sushi

Spring vegetables like asparagus and peas (see this pairing with asparagus mousse at Rust-en-Vrede)

Salads, especially chicken, cheese or ham salads or ones containing apples or pears. Chenin Blanc can handle an element of fruit

Light seafood pasta dishes and risottos

Goats cheese

Medium bodied smooth or old vine Chenin Blanc (made more in the style of an unoaked Chardonnay or a Pinot Blanc) will work with many of the dishes above but also:

Scallops (wonderful with Chenin)

Simply cooked fish dishes

Fishcakes

Cooked egg dishes like quiches, frittatas and omelettes

Onion tart

Mild cheeses like Caerphilly and white-rinded cheeses like Brie so long as they're not too ripe.

Richer, fuller styles more similar to an oaked chardonnay or Viognier:

Almost anything with a creamy sauce - a good fish pie, for example or chicken with a cream and mushroom sauce.

Richer fish dishes such as salmon en croute

Scallops (again)

Lobster

Roast chicken

Roast pork belly, especially with apple sauce

Roast root vegetables such as carrots, parsnips and sweet potatoes

Roast butternut squash

Medium-dry chenins with a touch of sweetness

Can handle spicy food particularly those containing some kind of fruit such as Cape Malay or other mild, fruity curries

Southeast Asian-inspired salads

Gravadlax - Chenin is one of the few wines that can handle that devilishly difficult sweet mustard sauce

Sweet chenin

Always wonderful with apple or pear tarts

Peach and apricot-flavoured desserts like a peach and blueberry cobbler

And try with cheese served with a fruit compote like this white cheddar and spiced apricot compote

Photo © M.Studio - Fotolia.com

Do you have any favourite pairings for Chenin I've missed out?

The best wine pairings with Roquefort cheese

Roquefort cheese is unusual in having such a frequently recommended wine match (Sauternes) that you may wonder if it’s worth drinking anything else but depending how you serve it there are a number of other options.

It’s actually used as often as part of a recipe as it is on its own, particularly in salads which may well mean you don’t want to start your meal with a sweet wine.

It’s also unusually salty which can have the effect of making red wines taste thin and mean.

On its own

Sauternes is king but you could also try similar sweet wines from Bordeaux or the surrounding regions such as Barsac, Saussignac, Loupiac or Monbazillac. Late harvest sauvignon blancs from elsewhere would also work. It’s also fantastic with peaty Islay whiskies like Lagavulin as you can see in this match of the week

As part of a cheeseboard

Here there are other cheeses to counterbalance its sharpness but I’d still go for something sweet rather than a dry red. A Banyuls*, Maury or Rivesaltes if you’re want to stick to French wine; an oloroso sherry or a late bottled vintage or vintage port if you want to stray further afield.

If you do want to drink red, Bordeaux is traditional though full-bodied reds from the Languedoc would be the local choice (Roquefort is made up in the plateau de Larzac). Blends of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot such as Meritage blends and mature Cabernet would also work.

In a salad

The most usual combination is with bitter leaves, pears and walnuts** and maybe a dressing made out of nut oil. I’d be inclined to keep your wine quite dry and even a touch oxidised if the dressing is nutty too: Savignin from the Jura would be great, or try an aged Muscadet or even a crisp fino sherry. If the dressing is lighter try an Alsace riesling.

With a steak or a burger

Cabernet is great with beef and blue cheese.

*I also discovered a Languedoc red called Palais Royal from Domaine de L’Arjolle which worked really well as you can see from this post

** You might also want to try this recipe for hot pears with Roquefort and Walnuts from TV chef Michel Roux Jr which he pairs with a Bonnezeaux, old oloroso sherry or a tawny port.

Photo by Polina Tankilevitch