The best food pairings for Mencia

When I scoured the website for existing pairings with mencia I was amazed how many dishes I’d suggested it with. It really is an incredibly versatile food wine.

For those of you who are not familiar with it it’s a grape variety which is grown in the Bierzo and Ribeira Sacra regions of north-west Spain and produces a vibrantly juicy red that reminds me of Beaujolais with a dash of Loire cabernet franc.

Top food matches for mencia

Cecina

Cecina is a really delicious deeply savoury cured smoked beef from the same region as mencia and goes brilliantly with it as you can see from this match of the week. So does chorizo and rough country hams

Almost any kind of grilled meat especially pork and lamb

Which makes it a good wine for a barbecue. That also applies to spiced meat like kebabs or these seftali

Hearty stews

The Spanish are not renowned for their vegetarian dishes so I’m thinking meat here. Robust dishes of pork and beans for example.

Empanadas

Again from the area they have these delicious tuna and red pepper pies called empanadas. Mencia would be good with the smaller Latin American version too

Sheep cheese

Mencia is a good all-rounder with cheese but especially hard sheep cheeses which are what you tend to find in the area.

Warm salads

I suggested mencia as a pairing with this warm lamb salad with a pea, mint and feta cheese dressing. It would be great with other warm salads too.

Pizza and pasta

Almost any kind of pasta with a meaty sauce. Spaghetti and meatballs for example. It’s the perfect pizza wine too.

Roast turkey

I know there are a lot of other great pairings for roast turkey but a vibrant mencia works surprisingly well with all the sides as I discovered one Christmas.

The best wine pairings for steak tartare

Should you drink the same sort of full-bodied red wine with steak tartare - raw chopped beef - as you would with a grilled steak?

It is, of course, raw rather than rare which means doesn’t have the grilled surface for big tannic reds to latch on to - and it’s often served as a starter which may lead you to a lighter wine.

On the other hand it’s generally well seasoned with ingredients such as capers, mustard and Tabasco so you do need a wine that can cope with a bit of spice.

Personally I like a light juicy red wine with my steak tartare but there are other good options...

4 good wine matches for steak tartare

Beaujolais
I’m a big fan of Beaujolais with steak tartare as you can see from this earlier post. It has exactly the right casual bistro vibe. Go for a ‘cru’ Beaujolais like a Morgon. 2015 and 16 were both good vintages in the region.

Other juicy light red wines
Such as a young syrah or a mencia from Bierzo or Ribeira Sacra in Northern Spain. I’ve even enjoyed a young Coteaux du Languedoc with a steak tartare: ‘natural’ reds tend to work really well.

A good dry rosé
I originally suggested Bandol but actually other good quality Provence rosés work really well too as you can see from this ‘Match of the Week’ post.

Steak tartare and Provence rosé

Champagne
Especially rosé champagne. Crémant (other French sparkling wine) or cava if the budget’s a bit tight.

And a good non-wine option . . .

A vodka shot (or two). Not frozen though.

For other steak pairings check out

The best wine pairings for steak

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10 good wine pairings with paté

By paté I’m thinking of what wines to drink with rough country patés and terrines like a paté de campagne rather than fish patés or vegetarian patés which I’ll tackle separately. The sort that you might take on a picnic or eat in a wine bar.

Given that most patés contain a fair amount of fat you need a wine with some acidity. That could be white but personally I’m always drawn to rosé or a light, juicy red with the sort of bright berry fruit that complements paté perfectly, especially when served cool. Here are my top choices:

Beaujolais
The best wine bar none with charcuterie, paté included. I wouldn’t go for the cheapest examples but they don’t have to be a cru Beaujolais like a Morgon either.

Inexpensive red burgundy
I say red burgundy rather than Pinot Noir because I’m looking for acidity rather than sweetness. Nothing too grand - something like a Chorey-les-Beaune or even basic Bourgogne from a good producer

Loire reds like Saumur, Bourgeuil, Chinon and Anjou (as in this pairing)
Lightly chilled Cabernet Franc is great with paté

Rustic south-west French wines like Marcillac and Fronton - heavens, even a simple young Bordeaux

Valpolicella
No reason why France should have the monopoly on wine pairings. Its bright cherry fruit is lovely with pork

Mencia from the Bierzo region of north-west Spain - one of my new favourite Spanish grape varieties

Young syrah/shiraz - preferably from a natural wine producer like Hervé Souhaut

Southern French rosé - again I pick this as opposed to fruitier rosés because it’s dry. And rosé always seems the perfect picnic wine

Chablis - good with ham so generally good with paté too

Dry - or even sweet - oloroso sherry
Surprisingly good with richer game patés and terrines

And finally - not a wine but a surprisingly good pairing - gin!
Because of the botanicals, especially juniper. Again particularly good with a game paté

Image © © zoryanchik at fotolia.com

Six of the best drink pairings for kale

Although there's not quite the feverish frenzy there was about kale a couple of years ago there's still a lot of kale lurve around.

The reason of course is its well-documented health benefits which might suggest you shouldn’t be drinking alcohol with it at all but there are many dishes containing kale with which it would be pleasant to have a drink.

With its slightly bitter taste kale also has an impact on wine when it's served as a vegetable: it’ll tend to make any wine taste sweeter so you may want to serve it with both reds and whites that have a good level of acidity. That effect can be counteracted though if you serve it with something like chorizo that has a stronger flavour. Then you should match the chorizo rather than the kale

* Apple-flavoured drinks especially apple juice and cider work well with salads that include kale such as this one. Or try a grüner veltliner.

* Fresh carrot and beet-based juices

* Italian white wines such as Gavi are good with creamy pasta dishes with cavolo nero

* Fresh-tasting natural reds such as young syrah and mencia from Spain’s Bierzo region are good with hearty stews and soups that are based on kale. If they include a spicy sausage like chorizo you could serve a fuller bodied red like a Rioja crianza or a red from Portugal’s Alentejo region.

*Tuscan reds like Chianti work well when kale is used as an accompaniment for lamb or game with polenta

* Give kale an oriental spin with soy or sesame and you could drink a sake

And of course kale can be served IN a drink rather than paired WITH one. You’ll find some good ideas on my friend Monica Shaw’s blog Smarter Fitter blog.

If you enjoyed this post you may also find my posts on pairing wine and cauliflower and wine and brussels sprouts useful.