Pairings | Barolo
Which wines and beers pair best with mushrooms?
If you think of the ingredients that show off a great wine mushrooms would have to be near the top of the list.
Possessed of the sexy ingredient umami - the intensely savoury taste identified by the Japanese, they flatter and act as the perfect foil for wines as disparate as vintage Champagne, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Beers too can work well, particularly dark lagers and brown ales, less fashionable styles but ones which have a real affinity with earthy mushroom flavours.
Like any other ingredient it depends how you prepare and cook mushrooms, of course and what other ingredients there are in the dish. Delicate wild mushrooms in a creamy sauce are a different proposition from big flat Portabello mushrooms baked with garlic and parsley.
Here are some suggestions:
- Mushrooms in a creamy sauce - possibly the ultimate preparation so far as wine is concerned whether it’s the base of a tart, a pasta sauce or simply on toast. You can mirror the creamy texture with a like-meets-like pairing of a fine white burgundy or other oak-aged Chardonnay, lift the dish while echoing its umami flavours with vintage Champagne or pick up on the mushrooms’ earthiness with a red burgundy or other Pinot Noir. For a not-so-special occasion a simple unoaked Chardonnay will do the trick.
- Mushroom risotto - Smooth dry Italian whites such as Soave and Gavi work well. If the mushroom content is predominantly porcini try an aged Italian red such as Barolo or vintage rosé Champagne.
- Duxelles - an unfashionable but wonderful way of cooking mushrooms (chopping them very finely then sauteing them in butter with onion until the mixture is completely dry). A perfect match for a great Pinot Noir.
- Mushrooms in tomato sauce - a combination most likely to be found in Italian dishes especially pasta sauces. Sangiovese and Sangiovese blends (e.g. Chianti Classico) tend to be the best match but a Belgian dubbel beer or Viennese-style lager can work well.
- Baked or stuffed Portabello mushrooms - have the meaty quality of a steak so can be paired with almost any robust red such as Zinfandel, Syrah/Shiraz or, if the dish contains cheese, Cabernet Sauvignon.
- Steak and mushroom (or simply mushroom) pie - Depends on the base of the sauce. If it’s wine-based, a full-bodied red, as above (a good Côtes du Rhône Villages or Languedoc red like a Faugères would also work). If the sauce is more like a gravy or has a dark mushroom flavour try a full-flavoured ale such as a dark Belgian Trappist beer, a northern French bière de garde, a brown ale or a strong English ale.
- Mushroom soup - Depends how creamy it is. If it’s quite light I’d go for a Chardonnay (see mushrooms in creamy sauce above) If it’s more intensely mushroomy or includes mustard (there’s a good recipe in my book An Appetite for Ale!) I’d choose a dark beer like Westmalle Dubbel or even a stout or porter.
- Mushroom quiche - Again how mushroomy is the dish? If the predominant flavour is cream, eggs and cheese I’d probably pick a white burgundy or Pinot Blanc. If the mushroom flavour is more powerful I’d revert to Pinot Noir.
- Mushrooms à la grècque or preserved in oil - a classic Italian-style antipasto that will work with almost any crisp, dry Italian or Italian-style white or a dry rosé. You could drink a pilsner or Kolsch with it successfully too.
- Oyster/shitake mushrooms with soy - Unlikely to be served on its own unless it’s part of a vegetable stir-fry so you’re probably going to be looking for a wine that will perform well with a selection of Chinese or Chinese-style dishes. Ripe fruity reds such as new world Pinot Noir, Merlot or even young Rioja can work surprisingly well. For a lighter dish or selection of dishes try a dry (and I mean dry) Riesling from Alsace or Austria.
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The best wine pairings for partridge
I sometimes think partridge is my favourite game bird - less full-on and ‘gamey’ than pheasant, more subtle and delicate than chicken. But what wine should you drink with it?
The options are in fact similar to my recommended wine pairings for pheasant but because it’s a more delicate meat think lighter, finer-textured wines - a gran reserva rather than a reserva rioja, for instance. As you’ll see from the suggestions below 2009 and 2010 were good across the board
Whether you go for pretty youthful fruit or a more complex aged wine depends how you cook it (for me simply roasted is best) your personal taste and your bank balance but these would be my preferred options:
If you have a treasured red burgundy partridge is a good excuse for cracking it open. (2009 or ’10 should be drinking deliciously now). Or a top pinot noir (German spåtburgunder, for example). A ‘natural’ low sulphur pinot - or gamay - would be especially interesting.
* A mature red bordeaux which could be even a touch older, say a 2005.
* A top barolo (again the 09s and 10s were good from this region but beware, there’s a lot of dull barolo around)
* A gran reserva rioja - 2004, 2005 and 2010 were all good vintages. 2001 even better but it needs to have been stored well.
* A Jura chardonnay (which is less fruity, more savoury than most chardonnays) would be especially good with perdrix au chou (partridge with cabbage)
* Dry oloroso sherry - a spectacular pairing I once had in Jerez (see here) - maybe not for your pals but great as part of a sherry dinner -
* A Flemish red ale like Rodenbach, Duchesse de Bourgogne or the Wild Beer Company’s Modus Operandi would be the perfect beer match
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The photo is of partridge with cabbage as cooked by Stephen Markwick of the sadly now closed Culinaria in Bristol. © Fiona Beckett
The best wine pairings for pheasant
Even if not well-hung, as it rarely is these days, pheasant has a stronger flavour than other feathered game such as partridge or duck. And older, tougher birds are often braised or pot-roasted which calls for a more robust wine match still.
Here are my suggestions:
For simply roast pheasant served with its pan juices or a light gravy
A good way to show off mature classic reds such as Burgundy, Bordeaux, northern Rhone reds such as Saint Joseph and Côte Rôtie, Barolo, Barbaresco, gran reserva Rioja, Chianti riservas and Chateau Musar (which I was glad to see also recommended in a splendid book called Wine for Game & Fish “The Sporting Wife’s Wine Companion”. Other good quality mature pinot noirs,
For pot roast or braised pheasant
Such as this recipe from Simon Hopkinson. More robust rustic reds from southern France such Saint Chinian or a Côtes du Rhône Villages like a Vacqueyras, Bandol. Rioja reservas and similar Spanish reds (especially with a dish like this pot-roast pheasant with chorizo and butter beans from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Any GSM (grenache, syrah, mourvèdre) blend or straight syrah or shiraz with a bit of bottle age.
For pheasant cooked with apples
Dry German or Alsace riesling, dry Pinot Gris or, if you’re cooking it the Normandy way with cream, why not sparkling cider?
Photo © leekris - Fotolia.com
The best food pairings for Barolo and Barbaresco
The food of Piedmont in north-west Italy is as highly regarded as its wines so it makes sense to make the local dishes your first choice if you’re looking for a match for a bottle of Barolo or Barbaresco.
I’ve grouped the two wines together because although there are differences between them their similarities are greater and the same kind of food will work with both.
More significant is the age of the wine - older vintages with their ethereal flavours and silky texture need a little more respect so don’t overwhelm them with rich sauces.
* feathered game such as partridge, pheasant, wild duck and pigeon and other slightly gamey birds such as guineafowl and quail
* roast goose
* carne cruda - raw beef or veal prepared the Piedmontese way - or steak tartare. (Locals might well drink a Barbera or even a white such as Gavi or Favorita but Barolo and Barbaresco would be an equally good choice)
* grilled fillet steak
* braised beef in Barolo (brasato al Barolo) - better with younger wines
* delicately flavoured offal such as calves liver, kidneys and sweetbreads
* truffles. Although locally they tend to drink Barbera or Dolcetto with truffle dishes like fonduta and tajarin (egg noodles with butter and truffles), Barolo and Barbaresco work well with these dishes too - and any beef or veal dish with wild mushrooms or truffles
* risotto with porcini/ceps
* cheese. Not all cheeses - a powerful Castelmagno or Gorgonzola piccante would certainly knock the stuffing out of a delicate Barolo but milder cheeses such as robiolo, grana padano and ‘toma’-style cheeses are delicious. Wine-friendly goats’ and sheeps’ cheeses would also work well.
Note: You could also pair the same type of food with Langhe Nebbiolo which in the case of the best producers is similar to the quality of a Barolo or Barbaresco.
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