Pairings | Camembert
The best food pairings for rosé
Rosé was once considered a summer wine but increasingly more people are drinking it year round with almost every type of food and on any and every occasion. But what food goes with rosé?
As with white or red wine, the best pairings depends on the style of rosé you’re drinking and whether they’re dry, sweet or sparkling.
In this guide, I’ll take you through food pairings for eight distinct styles of rosé:
- Crisp Dry Rosés e.g. Provençal rosé
- Fruity Rosés, e.g. Pinot noir rosé
- Medium Dry Rosés, e.g. White zinfandel and White grenache
- Fuller-Bodied Dry Rosés, e.g. Spanish rosados from Rioja and Navarra
- Elegant, Fruity Rosés, e.g. Merlot-based Bordeaux rosé, high-end Provençal rosés like Bandol and Palette
- Full-Bodied Fruity Rosés, e.g. Syrah, Malbec, Cabernet rosés from Argentina, Australia and Chile
- Inexpensive sparkling Rosé e.g. prosecco, cava and crémant
- Rosé Champagne and champagne-style sparkling wines
For each style, I’ll share my top food pairings that bring out the best in both the wine and the dish. Whether you’re planning a casual brunch, a seafood feast, or even a spicy barbecue, there’s a rosé and a match for every occasion.
The best food pairings for 8 different styles of rosé
1) Crisp dry rosés - e.g. Most Provençal rosés fall into this category as does Italian Bardolino Chiaretto
The nearest equivalent to this style of rosé are crisp dry white wines such as Pinot Grigio and they go with similar food. Food pairings for most Provencal rosé and similar dry rosés include light salads, light pasta and rice dishes, raw or lightly cooked shellfish like oysters, grilled fish and goats’ cheeses. See also The Best Food Pairings for Provence Rose
Greek rosés are often made in this style too. See this pairing with prawns with ouzo, orzo and courgette. You can find the recipe from Marianna Leivaditaki’s book Aegean here. Photo by Elena Heatherwick
2) Fruity rosés e.g. pinot noir rosés and off-dry Loire and traditional Portuguese rosés with a touch of sweetness such as Rosé d’Anjou and Mateus Rosé
Pinot noir rosés are sweeter than Provence rosé but still dry. They a good match with salads and mildly spiced chicken or fish dishes. English rosés which are often made from pinot noir pair surprisingly well with a Thai green curry as in this pairing
Pairings for off-dry Loire and Portuguese rosés depend on your tolerance for sweetness. If you like a sweeter rosé drink them with similar food to the Provence rosés above. If you don’t try them with Indian food like tandoori chicken or a mild chicken curry.
3) Medium dry rosés - e.g. white Zinfandel or white grenache
The category that used to be called blush. Again, if this is the style you like you’ll want to drink it with all the foods mentioned in 1) above. But those who prefer this style of rosé may also find it useful with spicy food and as a dessert wine (it’s spot on with unsweetened strawberries and not oversweet strawberry tarts)
See this match of the week of strawberries and white zinfandel.
4) Fuller-bodied dry rosés e.g. Southern French (Rhône and Languedoc) and Spanish rosés from Rioja and Navarra
A hugely versatile style that will stand up to big flavours such as anchovy, olives, garlic, saffron and pimenton. So they would be the ideal style to drink with tapenade or a salade Niçoise, a paella or grilled chicken, fish or lamb with herbs. A good wine for barbecues if you don’t like your rosés as strong and sweet as 6) below. Also enjoyable with rustic pâtés and terrines, other charcuterie, ham and sheep cheese.
These rosés are also a good wine pairing for brie, camembert and other white-rinded cheeses so long as you don’t let them get too ripe and runny. Fresh figs make a good accompaniment.
5) Elegant, fruity rosés - e.g. Merlot-based Bordeaux rosé, More expensive Provençal rosés such as Bandol and Palette
These are classy rosés, designed to be drunk with food. Drink them with quality seafood such as lobster and langoustines, seared salmon and tuna, a duck salad or with delicately cooked rare lamb.
6) Full-bodied fruity rosés - e.g. Syrah, malbec and cabernet rosé from Argentina, Australia and Chile
Nearer a full-bodied red than a rosé - big, bold and bursting with fruit. Often quite high in alcohol but it tends not to show because they’re not tannic and served chilled which makes them ideal for a barbecue and for drinking with spicy food such as curries. Also good with ripe peaches. Very much the modern rosé for contemporary food.
See this rosé pairing for spaghetti with courgettes, basil and smoked almonds. Although the wine is from Bordeaux it’s made in a more full-bodied style.
7) Sparkling rosé e.g. Cava, Australian, South African and New Zealand sparkling rosé
Sparkling rosé covers a range of styles from dry to medium dry. Lighter, drier ones make ideal party drinking (Cava rosado is good wine pairing with tapas). Sweeter styles of sparkling rosé like rosé prosecco would be a good wine pairing at a tea party with macarons, cakes and fruit tarts.
8) Rosé Champagne - Again there’s a variation in style between lighter and more full-bodied champagnes or sparkling wines. The best food pairings for lighter styles of rosé champagne include canapés and the type of foods mentioned in (1) above. More substantial vintage brut rosé Champagne can take on grilled lobster and grilled or roast rare lamb or game like pigeon, pheasant or grouse.
Photo credits: Top image by Foxys Forest Manufacture at shutterstock.com. Salad nicoise by Tatiana Brainina at shutterstock.com. Brie and figs by Nati at pexels.com, Lobster by Olga Lyubkin at Fotolia.com. Thai green curry by iblinova at Adobe Stock
The best food and wine pairings for Valentine’s Day
If you’re planning a special meal for Valentine’s Day you may be wondering which wine to pair with your menu. I’ve picked some favourite Valentine’s Day foods and suggested some matches that should work well with them.
Asparagus
If served on its own with melted butter or a hollandaise sauce a subtle, creamy white burgundy or chardonnay would be the most seductive choice. If dressed with a vinaigrette or in a salad with seafood I’d go for a crisper white like a Sancerre, Pouilly Fumé or other top quality sauvignon blanc.
Camembert
Camembert baked in its box makes a sexy instant fondue but isn’t the easiest of dishes to pair with wine (even trickier than when it’s served cold). Funnily enough a glass of champagne - or similar style sparkling wine - works surprisingly well or go for a dry white like a Chablis.
Caviar (or, more likely, a caviar imitation)
Dry champagne. (Vodka is arguably better but not as romantic.)
Chocolate (dark)
There are possibilities with wine (sweet reds like Maury or Quady’s seductive Elysium being good choices - see
www.quadywinery.com) but my own preferred option with dark chocolate is a frozen shot of cherry brandy or other fruit-flavoured spirit or liqueur or a small glass of sloe or damson gin. An orange-flavoured liqueur like Grand Marnier also works well.
Chocolate (white)
An ice-cold raspberry-flavoured wine or liqueur like Southbrook Winery’s Framboise from Canada. Especially if the dessert includes raspberries.
Duck
Pinot Noir. Look to New Zealand and Chile for the best value
Ice cream (vanilla)
Tricky with wine. A toffee or chocolate-flavoured liqueur is your best bet. Very sweet PX sherry can be wonderful poured over it.
Ice cream (chocolate)
Try a coffee-flavoured liqueur like Toussaint or Kahlua.
Lobster
Good white burgundy (or other chardonnay) or vintage champagne.
Wine with lobster: 5 of the best pairings
Oysters
Champagne or Chablis. Not Guinness on Valentine’s Night, I suggest.
Passion fruit
Can be quite sharp so you need a very sweet wine to balance it. A sweet riesling or late harvest semillon or sauvignon blanc will work well. If it’s mixed with a creamy base as in a passion fruit brulée you could drink a sweet (demi-sec) Champagne or other dessert wine. Or a passion fruit flavoured beer. (Yes, such drinks exist! Try Floris from Belgium.)
Prawns/shrimp
If you’re serving a classic prawn cocktail I suggest a dry or off-dry riesling which would also work with an Asian-style stir-fry or salad. A sparkling rosé - including champagne - would be a suitably kitsch all-pink choice.
The best pairings for prawns or shrimp
Smoked salmon
Champagne on this occasion. But see
Scallops
Made for top white burgundy or other really good chardonnay. Champagne is also spot on if that’s what you’re drinking.
Top wine pairings with scallops
Steak
The best full-bodied red you can afford. Whatever turns your partner on . . .
My 5 top wine and steak pairing tips
Strawberries
If served plain and unadorned, gently sparkling Moscato d’Asti or Asti is lovely or go for the luscious
Fragola liqueur. If they’re served with cream you could serve a classic sweet wine like Sauternes.
My top pairings with strawberries
Image © 9MOT at shutterstock.com
What to pair with Beaujolais Nouveau (updated)
With southern hemisphere wines from the 2024 vintage already hitting the shelves the annual release of Beaujolais Nouveau has become less significant than it once used to be but it’s still a fun occasion to mark.
So far as food is concerned I suggest you go for the obvious-but-none-the-worse-for-it pairing of charcuterie.
A selection of saucisson, paté, rillettes and perhaps some jambon de Bayonne or mountain ham with some cornichons (gherkins), fresh radishes, butter and a good crusty baguette or two followed by a nice mature but not overripe Camembert or Brie.
I’d also suggest you chill your ‘nouveau’ for 30 minutes in the fridge before you serve it.
If you’re veggie a selection of crudités - fresh crunchy vegetables such as radishes, carrots and fennel - and a young goats cheese would work. really well.
If you’re feeling more adventurous you could try it with a Chinese takeaway avoiding stronger dishes such as crab or ribs in black bean sauce. I think it would go pretty well with sushi.
And if you’re anywhere warm enough to eat outside try it with a duck or chicken salad with some red fruits such as sun-dried cherries or pomegranate seeds.
And given it coincides with Thanksgiving this year, maybe drink it with the Thanksgiving turkey leftovers!
For pairings for Beaujolais Villages and ‘cru’ Beaujolais see Top Food Matches for Beaujolais (and other Gamay)
Image by roksen_andre from Pixabay
Top food matches for Beaujolais (and other gamay)
Beaujolais - by which I mean red Beaujolais - is the most French of wines, the perfect wine pairing for a picnic or bistro meal.
It’s generally thought of as light and fruity, though it can also be quite full-bodied. In this post I’ll cover my favourite food pairings for specific types of Beaujolais (and other gamay). You’ll find it an enormously versatile wine.
Food-wise, it pairs with much the same ingredients and dishes as pinot noir, though gamay (the grape Beaujolais is made from) doesn’t have the best pinots’ complexity or silky, sensuous texture.
Beaujolais is almost always a winner with French charcuterie such as patés, terrines, rillettes, and saucisson sec and with white-rinded cheeses such as Brie and Camembert (provided they’re not overripe) but it’s a highly versatile wine that can easily take you through a meal where people are ordering different things.
Lighter styles of Beaujolais such as Beaujolais Nouveau, inexpensive Beaujolais, Beaujolais Villages, and lighter ‘cru’ (top level village) Beaujolais such as Fleurie or Chiroubles. (These wines can happily be served lightly chilled)
*Cold ham, especially the French jambon persillé (jellied ham and parsley)
*Cold turkey and chicken (Beaujolais is brilliant with Thanksgiving or Christmas Day leftovers)
*Salads, especially with chicken or bacon (think frisée with lardons) with pomegranate seeds, with berries like dried cherries or cranberries, or with goats cheese
*Seared tuna and salmon
*Fish stews like this cod pot au feu
*Sushi, if you like a red with it
*Strawberries (delicious with a young fruity Beaujolais poured over them)
More Full-bodied or More Mature Beaujolais
From riper vintages e.g. 2018, 2020 or weightier crus such as Morgon, Julienas, and Moulin à Vent
*Simply roast chicken, guineafowl, duck, or partridge
*Seared duck breast, especially with fruit like cherries or figs
*Classic French dishes in a creamy sauce like chicken with tarragon or kidneys with mustard sauce or even a retro boeuf stroganoff
*Simply grilled pork, lamb, or veal
*Toulouse or other garlicky sausages and lentils. (See also this quirky match with Toulouse sausage and prawn dumplings!)
*Steak tartare, as you can see from this post
*Bavette or hanger steak - the classic ‘steak frites’
*Confit duck
*Coq au vin or oeufs en meurette (Beaujolais makes a good red wine sauce)
*Fruity tagines like this lamb tagine with dates, prunes, and apricots
*Vegetarian dishes with butternut squash or sweet potato
See also What to Pair with Beaujolais Nouveau
There’s a more extensive list on the Beaujolais website
Photo ©jackmac34 at Pixabay.
What to pair with Camembert: 5 great drink matches
Although it seems similar in style to Brie, Camembert is a trickier cheese to pair with a slightly funky edge that can clash with many wines, particularly reds.
Fortunately, coming from Normandy there is another option and that is cider and other apple based drinks such as Pommeau and Calvados, depending on how well-matured your Camembert is. If you don’t drink and the cheese is mild apple juice is actually a very good pairing.
Here are my top picks:
Cider
The obvious ‘terroir’-based match. The slight bitterness of cider apples suits Camembert perfectly particularly if you’re eating the rind. Sparkling cider is possibly even better . . .
Pommeau
Stronger than cider, this blend of cider and calvados is ideal when your cheese has reached the oozy stage.
Champagne
Maybe that’s a surprise but the bubbles really work with a gooey Camembert, especially if it’s been baked
Chenin Blanc
Has a touch of apple itself and generally the weight and smoothness to partner the cheese provided it’s not got too mature. Loire chenins such as Montlouis and Vouvray are relatively local anyway or try a Chenin Blanc from South Africa
A soft fruity red
If you want to drink red go for one with a good whack of bright berry fruit like a New Zealand Pinot Noir, a Chilean Merlot or a Carmenère. I’d aim for one of 13-13.5% ABV. You don’t want too big and tannic a wine - or one that’s too light, acidic or weedy.
Tip: Camembert is a cheese to eat when it's fully matured. Keep it too long though and it will become bitter
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