The best food to pair with Chardonnay

If you’re looking for food pairings for chardonnay, you’re in luck! Whatever the style it’s a fantastic food wine. Which makes it all the more remarkable that many people still say they don’t like chardonnay. 

I always think saying you’re bored with chardonnay is a bit like saying you’re bored with chicken. There are so many different styles including some of the world’s greatest white wines.

The key to pairing chardonnay is appreciating that it’s not just one wine - it depends where it’s made, whether or not it’s oaked and how mature it is when you drink it. I’m sharing my favourite food pairings for every style of Chardonnay - whether you’re sipping a steely Chablis, a rich Californian chardonnay, or something in between. We’ll dive into the best dishes to bring out the vibrant fruit, balance the acidity, and complement those creamy textures. 

Top food pairings for four different styles of chardonnay

Young, unoaked, cool climate chardonnay


Such as: The classic and most austere example of this is Chablis but other young white burgundies would fall into this category.

Good matches:

*They’re perfect with light and delicate food such as raw and lightly cooked shellfish like crab and prawns and steamed or grilled fish. 

*If you want to serve chardonnay with appetizers think fish pâtés, fish, chicken or vegetable terrines.

*This style also goes well with pasta or risotto with spring vegetables and creamy vegetable soups.

*Finer, more intense examples such as Puligny-Montrachet can take on raw fish such as sashimi or delicately spiced fish or salads.

*Chablis is particularly good with oysters.

For more suggestions see this post on pairing food and Chablis

Fruitier, unoaked or lightly oaked chardonnays


Such as: Chardonnays from slightly warmer areas to the above but made in a more contemporary style - smooth, sometimes buttery with melon and peach flavours. Examples would be inexpensive chardonnays from the south of France, Chile, New Zealand and South Africa.

Good matches:

*Slightly richer dishes than those listed above but ones where a degree of freshness in the wine is still welcome.

*Fish pie and fish cakes (especially salmon fish cakes)

*other simple salmon preparations (simply poached or with a buttery sauce)

*chicken, pork or pasta in a creamy sauce (including in vol-au-vents!)

*chicken, ham or cheese-based salads such as caesar salad or chicken salads that include peach, mango or macadamia nuts

*mild curries with buttery sauces (such as chicken makhani)

Buttery, oaked Chardonnay


Such as: barrel-fermented, barrel aged or ‘reserve’ chardonnays, particularly top end Australian, New Zealand and Calfornian Chardonnay and top white burgundy, served within 1-3 years of purchase

Good matches:

*Similar dishes to the above but can take an extra degree of richness. Dishes like eggs benedict for example or even a steak béarnaise.

*Fine rich fish such as turbot, grilled veal chops with mushrooms

*Late summer vegetables such as red peppers, corn, butternut squash and pumpkin (pumpkin ravioli and a rich Chardonnay is very good)

*Cheddar cheese, if you’re looking for a chardonnay cheese pairing. 

*You can even drink a rich chardonnay with seared foie gras (and indeed many prefer it to Sauternes at the start of a meal)

Mature barrel-fermented Chardonnays


Such as: Wines that are about 3-8 years old. With age Chardonnay acquires a creamy, sometimes nutty taste and creamy texture that calls for a return to finer, more delicate dishes

Good matches:

*Umami-rich (savoury) dishes such as grilled, seared or roast shellfish like lobster and scallops

*simply roast chicken such as the poulet de Bresse above

*guinea fowl

*dishes that include wild mushrooms and slow roast tomatoes

*white truffles

*Hazelnut-crusted chicken or fish

*Sea bass with fennel purée

See also

The Best Food Pairings with White Burgundy

What chardonnay doesn’t pair well with

*Chinese food (better with German riesling)

*Light fresh cheeses such as goat or sheep cheeses (better with sauvignon blanc or an aged red, respectively

*Seared salmon or tuna (better with a light red like pinot noir)

*Tomato-based dishes (better with dry Italian whites or Italian reds)

*Thai flavours (better with Alsace pinot gris or New World sauvignon blanc)

Top image © Philip Wise at shutterstock.com

Pairing food and Chablis

Chablis, with its crisp acidity and flinty minerality, is a dream wine for food. From fresh Petit Chablis to complex Grand Cru, each style offers unique food pairing opportunities. Whether you’re a fan of oysters, creamy sauces, or even roast chicken, there’s a Chablis pairing waiting to be discovered.

In this guide, I’ll dive into the nuances of Chablis food pairing, exploring how factors like the age of the wine, the vintage, and oak influence come into play. I’ll cover everything from everyday Chablis to more indulgent bottles, providing you with the best pairings for each. I’ll break down specific pairings for various types of Chablis, including those that complement the wine’s vibrant citrus notes, its richer, more honeyed flavours, and everything in between. Whether you’re looking to impress guests or simply enjoy a better glass at home, this guide has you covered.

The Best Food to Match with Chablis

Despite the emphasis that winemakers place on the different crus or terroirs of Chablis, three factors seem to me to influence a food match more than any other for most of the Chablis you’ll taste - the age of the wine, the vintage, and the degree of oak influence, if any.

There are exceptions to this - Chablis styles that are particularly fruity or ones that have more vegetal notes - but in general, I think you’ll find most wines fall into one of the following five groups.

Inexpensive Young Petit Chablis and Chablis, and Very Young Premier Cru Chablis

• Gougères and other crisp, cheesy nibbles
• All kinds of raw shellfish, especially oysters
• Simply cooked shellfish dishes such as spaghetti alla vongole or moules marinières
• Fish and chips, goujons or other deep-fried fish
• Snails - or prawns - with garlic butter
• Charcuterie, especially jellied terrines like jambon persillé
• Seafood (e.g. crab or prawn) salads
• Vegetable terrines
• Andouillette (local Chablis sausage made with tripe and served with chips!)
• Lapin à la moutarde or other dishes with strong mustard-based sauces

2-3 Year Old Unoaked Premier Cru Chablis

(i.e. still lively and fresh-tasting but more intense)

• Smooth vegetable-based soups
• Simply grilled fish with butter and parsley
• Poached fish with creamy sauces
• Cold poached salmon with mayonnaise
• Oeufs en meurette Chablis-style (i.e. with a white wine rather than a red wine sauce)
• Simple fish stews such as pochouse (a creamy stew based on river fish with vegetables such as carrots, leeks, and potatoes) or waterzooi
• Fish pie
• Grilled Mediterranean fish such as rouget or sea bass with olive oil or tapenade
• Seafood or spring vegetable risotto
• Sushi and sashimi
• Goats cheeses
• Chaource (light, moussey Burgundian cow’s cheese)

Chablis or Premier Cru Chablis Made in a Richer Style

(e.g. vieilles vignes Chablis, Chablis with more pronounced oak character, more mature Chablis or wines from a warmer vintage such as 2018)

• Rich seafood such as seared scallops or baked crab
• Fine fish such as Dover sole, turbot, and halibut
• Salmon with a beurre blanc or other butter-based sauce or salmon in pastry
• Jambon à la Chablisienne (ham in a Chablis-based sauce with tomato and cream)
• Simply grilled veal or pork chops, especially with mushrooms
• Roast chicken, guinea fowl or pheasant (provided the latter is not too gamey in flavour)
• Washed-rind cheeses such as Epoisses and Soumaintrain

Grand Cru Chablis and the Best Premier Cru Chablis

Similar dishes to the above but using more luxurious or intensely flavoured ingredients:

• Grilled or steamed lobster
• Poulet de Bresse, especially with truffles
• Roast veal fillet, veal kidneys, sweetbreads, very rare fillet steak
• An underrated match for foie gras (the acidity can make a more refreshing match and a more congenial start to a meal than a sweet wine)
• Washed-rind cheeses, provided they’re not too mature (so not quite running over the cheeseboard . . . )

Very Old Chablis

(i.e. Chablis that has acquired a deep golden colour and rich, honeyed notes)

There’s an argument for serving such a rarity on its own but it can also be matched with very simply prepared dishes with pronounced umami flavours, such as roast chicken with a crispy skin, ceps, and Vieux Comté or old Gouda cheese.

Of course, there will inevitably be some cross-over between the categories I’ve identified. For example, almost all Chablis will go with chicken in a white wine sauce but with an inexpensive wine, you might add a touch of curry to the sauce whereas with a grand cru Chablis wine you might be more inclined to serve a poulet de Bresse and morels. So it’s also a question of whether the style of the dish matches the price and the age of the wine.

* NB: none of these styles should be over-chilled. Serve them a degree or so warmer than you would normally serve a crisp, dry white wine.

Photo © Jean-Jacques Cordier at fotolia.com

10 different drinks to pair with smoked salmon

Smoked salmon is most commonly associated with champagne but in fact it goes with many other wines as well as with beer, whisky and vodka.

I tend to go for lighter, crisper whites and beers with lighter smokes and sherry and spirits with stronger ones.

Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé and other Loire Sauvignons
The ultra-dry minerally Sauvignons of the Loire with their delicate gooseberry fruit are perfect for simply served smoked salmon. Other top new world Sauvignons will work too so long as they’re not too ‘herbaceous’ as the green bean/asparagussy notes of some Sauvignons are sometimes described.

Chablis
Especially young, unoaked Chablis which has the freshness and clean, crisp acidity to counteract the slight oiliness of smoked salmon. Richer Chardonnays go well with hot smoked salmon.

Dry Riesling
Dry being a relative description when it comes to Riesling. Young German Kabinett Rieslings with their vivid green apple flavours work especially well, but young Alsace and Australian Rieslings are also good. Avoid medium dry and sweeter Rieslings though.

Gewurztraminer
I’m not a big fan of Gewurz and smoked salmon myself but many people swear by it. Again, Alsace would be the obvious source.

Manzanilla and very dry fino sherry e.g. Tio Pepe
If you like dry sherry this is one of the best matches. The tangy salty taste of dry sherry is perfect with smoked fish. Serve it freshly opened and well chilled.

German or Czech Pilsner
Another excellent match, the freshness and slight bitterness of a pils is just what you need with smoked salmon. (Think smorgasbord . . . )

Weissbier/Witbier/Wheat beer
‘White’ beers go with most kinds of seafood, smoked fish not excepted. The slightly spicy coriander flavours are great with smoked salmon.

Malt whisky
Maybe not the ideal party tipple but an outstanding match for an impromptu smoked salmon snack. Choose a lighter, more fragrant malt with delicately smoked salmon (Springbank is my all-time favourite), a peatier ‘island’ malt if you’re dealing with a stronger smoke.

Aquavit
In particular the glorious Aalborg Jubilaeums Akvavit from Denmark, flavoured with dill and coriander, the best match bar none for gravadlax

Vodka
Good, well chilled Polish vodka works a treat.

You may also find this post 20 Christmas wine pairings to learn by heart useful.

Pairing wine and artichokes (updated)

Artichokes are frequently described as a “wine-killer,” but is that reputation deserved? While it’s true that artichokes can make dry white wines taste unexpectedly sweet, the problem is somewhat exaggerated.

As with other ingredients the key to finding a good pairing is looking at how artichokes are prepared and served.

The hardest way is the classic serving of boiled artichokes with a vinaigrette which defeats most wines other than very dry white wines and rosés. (Fino and manzanilla sherry are much better)

But these days artichokes are prepared in many other ways - served raw or grilled, as a pizza topping or with other ingredients such as lamb or Mediterranean vegetables. Which means you can go for wines you might not expect.

Take, for example, the innovative approach of Simi Winery in California. They found that chargrilling artichokes and serving them with garlic mayonnaise made for a perfect match with their Sauvignon Blanc. This technique, along with serving artichokes raw or paired with rare meats, can help mitigate the sweetening effect that artichokes often have on wine. it would also go with this artichoke and preserved lemon dip.

In Venice and across northern Italy, artichokes are often incorporated into creamy risottos, which pair beautifully with wines like Soave or Bianco di Custoza and, further south, with Trebbiano as I discovered from this pairing at a spectacular artichoke dinner at Bocca di Lupo in London. 

Similarly a palate coating ingredient such as olive oil, butter or an egg or butter-based sauce such as hollandaise will make an artichoke-based pairing easier. You basically play to the sauce rather than the artichoke.

If you’re dressing them with an oil-based dressing adding a little finely grated lemon peel seems to help as does wine-friendly grated parmesan or parmesan shavings or even sheep cheese as in this salad of raw artichoke and Berkswell cheese which went with a crisp citrussy white.  I’d serve a similar wine with an artichoke-topped pizza.

Strong dry rosés such as Tavel are also a good match for braised artichokes as are some orange wines as you can see from this pairing with braised cuttlefish and artichokes.

Can you ever pair red wine with artichokes? 

If artichokes and white wine are a tricky pairing, red wine is surely even more so?

Not always! About 12 or so years ago my late husband who was cooking served up that most difficult of dishes - artichokes vinaigrette (boiled artichokes with vinaigrette) and cracked open a bottle of red wine.

I thought he was mad but astonishingly the pairing worked.

The wine was a full-bodied (14%) Bordeaux blend called Quela* from a producer called Klinec in Brda, Slovenia. It was a biodynamic wine, made with indigenous yeasts from organic grapes (Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc) and aged for two years in cherry casks with the minimum of added sulphur (25mg). It had a really bright fruit character (bitter cherry and wild bramble) and must have been totally dry as neither the artichoke or the vinaigrette had any impact on it at all. It just stayed intense and vivid.

Would it work with other wines, other Bordeaux blends? Maybe not younger ones - this bottle was from the 2007 vintage - but if you were serving artichokes with lamb which is common, absolutely!

Maybe natural wines - and Cabernet Franc in particular - are the answer - provided they’re to your taste, of course. 

By the way, for what it’s worth, it was a leaf day!

Anyone else had success with red wine and artichokes?