Which wine to pair with a Moroccan tagine? (updated)

Exotic and aromatic, Moroccan tagines somehow manage to suit all types of weather and not being particularly spicy are relatively simple to pair with wine. 

There are of course different types of tagine which call for different styles of wine. Lamb tagines with quince or prunes generally suit a full-bodied red wine while chicken tagines with olives are better suited to crisp dry white wines or ‘gris de gris’ a pale style of rosé which is popular in Morocco. 

But as with all wine pairings sometimes you can be surprised. The rise of orange wines has been a bit of a game changer - a style I increasingly turn to with lamb-based tagines. 

Lamb tagines

Lamb tagines usually incorporate some kind of fruit, most commonly dried fruits like figs or prunes, which add a touch of sweetness that balances the spice.

I generally like lamb tagine with mellow aged reds like Rioja reservas or similar oak-aged Spanish reds, inexpensive southern Italian reds such as Nero d’Avola, Negroamaro and Aglianico, Lebanese reds or of course reds from Morocco itself which tend to include southern French grape varieties such as grenache, syrah and cinsault. 

You could also try a Côtes du Rhône or, perhaps more surprisingly, a brighter, fruitier red with good acidity like the Marcel Lapierre Morgon I reported on here, especially if lighter fruits such as apricots are involved. 

Now that orange wines are more widely available they’re a useful option too - especially darker coloured ones with more extended skin contact.

Check out these pairings

Lamb tagine with prunes and Chateauneuf-du-Pape

Lamb tagine with dates, prunes, and apricots and Morgon

Chicken or vegetable tagines with preserved lemon
You’d think white wine would be the natural go to for a dish like this but I’d be cautious. The lemon flavour in the tagine may well strip out any citrussy flavours in the wine so I’d go for a simple crisp white rather than a Sauvignon Blanc which is a bit too similar in taste.

Better still would be a strong dry southern French rosé such as the Costières de Nimes I mention here or, you might be surprised to learn, an aged Rioja or similar Spanish red as recommended above. You might think red is a weird choice with this type of dish but it works really well provided the wine is not too alcoholic or ripe. So not a 14.5% Chilean or Californian blockbuster! 

See also..

Chicken and vegetable tagine with southern French rosé

Chicken, lemon and olive tagline with Rioja Reserva

Duck tagine and Moscatel 

Vegetable tagines

Vegetable tagines typically include Mediterranean vegetables such as aubergine (eggplant), courgettes (zucchini) and peppers - the seasoning being quite gentle and subtle. Again a dry rosé is a good option but I also like earthy white wine blends from the southern Rhône and the Languedoc based on grapes like white grenache, marsanne, rousanne and viognier.  

Image ©Food Shop at shutterstock.com

What wine to pair with gazpacho

If there’s one dish more difficult to pair with wine than already tricky tomatoes it’s gazpacho, the chilled Spanish summer soup that includes raw onion and peppers as well. So what wine should you pair with it?

White rather than red I suggest and make it young, crisp and fresh without any oak influence.

Bear in mind that if you’re in the mood for gazpacho you’re in the mood for a refreshing drink

6 of the best wine pairings for gazpacho

Rueda or sauvignon blanc

Good Rueda (and I wouldn’t buy the cheapest one you can lay your hands on) is a great match with the same bright citrussy flavours as a sauvignon blanc which of course would work too. I suggest one of the more restrained styles such as Reuilly from the Loire rather than a full-on New Zealand sauvignon blanc

Albarino

Galicia’s elegant versatile white is always a good option

Picpoul de Pinet

As is Picpoul from the south of France (good value too)

Dry Italian whites

Always spring into life with food - anything from a good pinot grigio from the Alto Adige to a Falanghina, Pecorino or Greco di Tufo from the south

Manzanilla sherry

You might be surprised to find sherry so far down the list given it’s a go to match with soup but that’s because it’s unpredictable, depending on the sherry and the recipe. When it works it’s brilliant but it just might misfire. My favourite style would be well chilled manzanilla from a freshly opened bottle though with white gazpacho (ajo blanco) I would go for a fino - or even a dry moscatel.

Provence rosé - which is more like a dry white wine - is also a pretty good option if it’s not too fruity which generally would be the case.

And read about this surprise pairing with smoked vodka!

See also

The best wine matches for tomatoes

Matching wine and soup

Photo © Ramon Grosso @fotolia.com

What food to pair with Malbec

Malbec has become so popular it may have become one of your favourite red wines but what are the best kind of dishes to pair with it?

Given most of the bottles we see come from Argentina, steak might seem the obvious answer but there are lots of other dishes it would work with too. In the Cahors region of south-west France for example it might well be paired with a cassoulet.

Generally it’s a full-bodied, generous wine which goes well with meat-based dishes but suits grilled and roasted vegetables too. It can also handle a bit of spice - try it with a chilli con carne or a kebab

Food pairings with malbec

Young, fruity malbecs

*Smoky cured beef

*Beef empanadas

*Charcuterie, especially flavourful terrines

*Chilli con carne

*Spaghetti and meatballs

*Spaghetti bolognese (made British/American-style rather than a classic Italian ragu)

*Pasta with blue cheese sauce and broccoli (as you can see from this Match of the Week)

*Fajitas

*Beef burritos

*Burgers (OK, that’s steak, I know!)

*Medium hot lamb curries like rogan josh

*Kebabs

*Roast or grilled aubergine

*Dishes with beetroot such as a salad of smoked eel, beetroot and horseradish.

Heavyweight malbecs (more expensive, full-bodied malbecs of 14%+)

*Steak, obviously and . . .

*Roast beef or venison

*Barbecued lamb, beef or pork - it particularly suits smokey, chilli-based rubs

*Lamb tagines with prunes

*Beef teppanyaki

*Steak and hot game pies

*Aubergine bakes

*Farmhouse cheddar

*Dark chocolate (a controversial one, this but some people argue that a ripe lush Malbec works well with a chocolate dessert. Not totally convinced myself.)

More rustic styles of malbec such as Cahors and Cot

*7 hour braised leg of lamb

*Lamb shanks

*Braised beef stews or shortribs especially with smoked bacon (Malbec’s also a good wine to add to a stew)

*Pot roast pheasant

*Duck confit

*Cassoulet and other pork and bean dishes

*Flavoursome sausages with garlic e.g. Toulouse sausages

*Cheeseboards (barring lighter cheeses like goats cheese and stinkier ones like Epoisses. As Evan Goldstein points out in his excellent book Daring Pairings, Malbec works surprisingly well with more mellow blues like Barkham Blue or Stilton - though not, I think, with Roquefort)

See also 10 Argentinian wine pairings that don’t involve steak

 

What wine to pair with curry - my top 5 picks

If you’re wondering what wine goes with curry, you’re not alone. There are probably more opinions about the matter than there are types of curry. The word ‘curry’, of course, can encompass a whole range of dishes from a mild, creamy korma to a spicy vindaloo so you need to focus on what kind you’re dealing with. In this guide to wine with curry you’ll learn:

My 5 top wines with curry that don’t just hold their own, but shine alongside your favourite curries.

Top wine pairings for popular Indian and Thai curries.

The best red wine for curry.

Wine pairings for 5 popular chicken curries.

3 things to bear in mind when you’re pairing wine and curry

*How hot the curry is. Clearly it’s easier to match wine with a mild curry than a searingly hot one.

*How many other dishes you’re serving and how hot they are. It’s easier, in other words, to think about a wine that will go with the whole meal rather than one element of it

*and what type of curry you’re talking about - Thai and Malay curries, for example are different from Indian curries with their warmer spices. And home-made curries tend to be hotter and pokier than shop-bought ones or ones made from a bought curry sauce.

Pairing wine with curry is all about offsetting the heat

What you need with curry - and this is why cold lager and lassi work so well - is a refreshing contrast to the heat of the food. A touch of sweetness helps, particularly with hotter curries as does a fresh, palate-cleansing acidity.

What doesn’t work so well  - in my opinion at least - is tannin and high alcohol which can emphasise and unbalance the spice in a curry. So although ripe fruity reds can work - especially with meaty curries like rogan josh - you don’t really want a 15% oaky monster.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that some Indian restaurants don’t have brilliant wine lists so it’s a question of what will pair best rather than what’s ideal. Here are 5 good all-rounders that I think do the job.

5 wines that almost always work with a curry

A fruity rosé

Fruity rosés have consistently come out best in the tastings I’ve done for the What Food, What Wine? competition in the past. Think Spain, Portugal or South America rather than Provence. See for example this Andhra Curry-leaf chicken that would pair well with a dry-ish Portuguese or Chilean rosé.

Off-dry riesling

Off-dry riesling generally work with chicken, fish and vegetable curries, if not with very meaty ones or ones with a powerful tomato sauce. German, Austrian, Australian and New Zealand rieslings would all do the trick.

Pinot gris

This speciality of Alsace - also found in New Zealand and Oregon - has a particular affinity with Thai green curries but pairs well with mild to medium-hot Indian curries too

Other aromatic whites

Such as fragrant Hungarian whites, dry Muscat, Sylvaner/Silvaner and Torrontes from Argentina

Chardonnay

Yes, chardonnay! Particularly fruity styles or blends with grapes such as semillon, chenin and colombard. Good with mild, creamy or buttery curries, especially with chicken. (Viognier is good with this sort of curry too.)

Incidentally you may find Gewurztraminer an odd omission from my top 5 as it’s often paired with curry but it can easily overpower milder curries. Great with a spicy duck curry though

Does red wine go with curry?

Not always but it can. I’ll probably go for a juicy, fruity but not too oaky Shiraz or a Chilean Carmenère (similar to a Merlot which would also work well). Pinotage is surprisingly good match with hotter curries and rioja crianza or reserva for rogan josh.

Wine pairings for five popular chicken curries

Chicken is one of the most popular types of curry but think about the sauce and level of heat when you’re choosing your wine

Chicken korma
A mild creamy curry that goes particularly well with viognier. Chardonnay is good too.

Chicken katsu curry
Try an aromatic white wine like an off-dry riesling or a feteasca regala from Romania, a great pairing I discovered recently  

Chicken tikka masala
A strong fruity Portuguese rosé works particularly well with this curry

Chicken Jalfrezi
Slightly hotter with a spicy tomato sauce. You could try a light red wine like a grenache with this one

Thai chicken curry
Goes well with Australian riesling, New Zealand sauvignon blanc, pinot gris or a fruity rosé. (That applies to a Thai prawn curry too as you can see from this post)

See also Six drinks you might not have thought of pairing with Indian food

Top image © I Wei Huang at shutterstock.com