Six of the best wines with a nut roast

You might be surprised that a nut roast isn’t that different from a conventional roast when it comes to finding a wine pairing.

The savoury flavours are designed to act as a satisfying substitute for meat and so work best with similarly full-bodied red wines.

Especially at Christmas you’re likely to be having them with the same kind of vegetables to the turkey - and possibly even the same gravy (so long as it’s not turkey stock-based, obviously).

There is one wild card though I probably wouldn’t serve with a turkey but would be terrific with a nut roast ....

Go on - be bold. I dare you!

Robust rhone or Languedoc red

Based on local grapes like grenache, mourvedre, cinsault and syrah the robust flavours of southern French reds work really well with the intensely savoury flavours of a nut roast. Other GSM (grenache/syrah/mourvèdre) blends should work too as would a northern Rhône syrah such as Crozes Hermitage

Cabernet sauvignon

Lots of nut roasts contain cheese and so pair well with cabernet, especially a cab with a couple of years’ bottle age

Pinot noir

If your nut roast contains mushrooms you’ll probably find a pinot goes well with it but I’d make it a medium to full-bodied one as opposed to a light youthful red burgundy

Chardonnay

Also a good match for a mushroom-rich nut roast, especially with a wild mushroom gravy. Though if there are chestnuts and a red wine gravy involved as in this recipe I’d again go for a red like a merlot or malbec.

Oaked white rioja

I’m sure the Spanish wouldn’t dream of it (I doubt they eat nut roasts anyway) but why not? One of the world’s most underrated whites

Amontillado sherry

Now this is a wild card and I wouldn’t serve it to a tableful of guests but if there’s just a couple of you and you’re sherry fans a medium dry amontillado sherry would be great.

Whatever wine you choose if you’re a veggie, or serving a nut roast to one, you need to check whether the wine is suitable for vegetarians - in other words that it’s not fined with any animal-derived products.

Photo © Monica Shaw

8 great wine matches for brussels sprouts

The idea of doing a post on wine matches with brussels sprouts might strike you as a tad over the top - after all who eats sprouts on their own? (Answer: me. Whenever I get the chance.)

I’m not the only one it seems. When I've posted these sprout pictures on Instagram they've got an amazing number of ‘likes’. There’s some serious sproutlurve out there.

For those who are resolutely anti-sprout a reminder that they are no longer the soggy, sulphurous veg of your youth but can be served all manner of delicious ways. And it’s a myth that none of them work with wine. Here are 8 and the wines (and other drinks) that match with them.

Sprouts with bacon or pancetta and chestnuts

Probably the favourite sprout dish of the festive season. I’d be inclined to serve them with the same sort of red as the turkey - in other words a gutsy Rhône or Languedoc red. If they’re roasted or pan-fried they can handle a bit of tannin

Sprouts with chorizo

Has to be Spanish really. I’m rooting for Rioja reserva.

Stir-fried sprouts

Any sprout dish with Asian-style seasonings such as fish sauce, sesame and soy would be good with a Gruner Veltliner. Or a dry-ish riesling. Or, better still, a sake.

Sprouts with cheese

Roast sprouts and baked Camembert is a surprisingly good combination and one which goes well with a simple white burgundy like a Maçon Villages. Or a medium-dry cider. You should also try sprouts with Tallegio (once sampled - and never forgotten - on a pizza in New York). I’d drink a Gavi with that.

Sprout gratin

Involves cream so think Chablis or chardonnay again

Shaved sprouts with pecorino (or parmesan)

Enjoyed at my favourite Bristol wine bar Bar Buvette. With a dry Vouvray which was perfect.

Sprout slaw

Depends a bit on the seasoning and what you serve it with. With the Christmas leftovers, for example, I’d quite fancy a Beaujolais or other chilled gamay. With Ottolenghi’s brussel sprout and ginger slaw I’d go for a Clare Valley riesling

Sprouts with citrus

Ottolenghi again. Needs a white with some tropical fruit character such as a lush sauvignon-semillon blend or a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc

If you're a leafy green vegetable fan you can also check out my drink pairings for kale and cauliflower

The best wine and beer pairings for steak pie

As with many other pairings the best match for steak pie depends how you cook it and whether the sauce includes beer, stock or wine

If it’s beer as in a steak and ale pie the obvious answer is beer - a robust bitter or brown ale I suggest although you could use a strong Belgian ale like Orval or Chimay and if you prefer wine I've drunk old Bandol with steak pie with great success.

Porter and stout are also good pairings for a pie with a dark meaty gravy, especially if the same beer has been used in the sauce. As in this match with steak and stilton pie.

If you use red wine to make the pie that generally makes wine the better pairing. Again no reason why you shouldn’t drink a similar wine to the one you’ve used in the pie - a Corbières, Faugères or other Languedoc red would fit the bill perfectly.

If mushrooms are a feature as in a steak and mushroom pie you could consider a robust style of pinot noir such as those from Central Otago.

If you use stock in the pie which will result in a lighter, less intense gravy you could go either way - a lighter bitter or a medium bodied red like a red Bordeaux or a rioja crianza would all hit the spot.

Some traditional steak pies also include ox kidney which again makes for a richer dish. Again I'd have a marginal preference for a strong beer here though a robust red like a Malbec would also work.

Image © MariaKovaleva at shutterstock.com

Four favourite wine matches for coq au vin

Coq au vin (chicken in wine) is of course cooked in wine - usually red wine - so does that mean you should pair it with the wine you've used to cook it in?

So far as I can make out the original recipe comes from Burgundy though I’m sure other regions would contest this - and yes, it does make sense to drink the same or a similar wine to the one you use to pour over the chook. I'd recommend a light to medium-bodied red with good acidity.

Red burgundy
The classic match - sometimes the dish is called coq au Chambertin which really would be rather grand. No need to spend that much obviously. Use a minor red burgundy to make the dish and the best one you can afford to drink with it

Other Burgundian-style pinot noirs
Same logic. I would choose one with a bit of acidity though rather than a very fruit-driven one. German spätburgunder, New Zealand or Oregon pinot noir, for example

Serious Beaujolais
Like a Morgon or Moulin-à-Vent as you can see from this post.

A southern Rhône or Languedoc red
This will give a more rustic result but is a) perfectly satisfying and b) quite a bit cheaper than good red burgundy. Own label Côte du Rhône for example is particularly good value to cook with.

If the dish is made with white wine - such as coq au riesling in Alsace - it obviously makes sense to drink white wine rather than red.

If you want to try your hand at an authentic coq au vin here's a recipe from The Balthazar Cookbook.

For other wine pairings with chicken see What wine goes best with chicken - red or white?

Image HLphoto @fotolia.com