Best food pairings with sauvignon blanc

Sauvignon blanc is many people’s favourite wine but what type of food pairs with it best?

As with other grape varieties its style varies markedly from one part of the world to the other - from the crisp minerally whites of the Loire to the exuberant gooseberry and passionfruit flavours of sauvignons from New Zealand’s Marlborough region.

Although many are interchangeable so far as food pairings are concerned others suit specific types of dishes and ingredients

Sauvignon blanc food pairing guide

Minerally sauvignon blancs

For instance: Sancerre, Pouilly Fumé and sauvignon blanc from Tasmania

This is the style I’d pair with simple, barely seasoned ingredients such as raw and lightly cooked shellfish like oysters and shell-on prawns, fresh crab and simply grilled fish such as sea bass.

They also go well with dishes that contain raw or barely cooked tomato such as gazpacho, tomato consommé or tomato vinaigrettes and young goats’ cheeses - or salads that contain goats cheese and have an affinity with fresh herbs especially dill

And this style of sauvignon is a good wine match with Japanese dishes such as sushi and sashimi, seafood-based steamed and fried dim sum and smoked salmon, particularly if the smoke is delicate.

Citrussy sauvignon blancs

For instance: unoaked white Bordeaux, sauvignon blanc from the Adelaide Hills and Chilean sauvignon blanc.

I like this more citrussy style with grilled fish , especially oily fish such as sardines and mackerel, big garlicky prawns and chargrilled squid. They also pair well with fried fish like goujons, whitebait and fish and chips and with simply grilled chicken or lamb (without a powerful marinade)

In terms of ethnic cuisines they work well with Greek and Mexican food and other fresh-tasting dishes with avocados, tomatoes, green onions, olives and sharp cheeses like feta (though be careful not to neutralise their character with over-lemony dressings)

They also pair well with cheeses flavoured with garlic and herbs such as Le Roulé and Boursin. And this, in my view, is the best type of sauvignon blanc to drink with globe artichokes.

Aromatic/grassy/’herbaceous’ sauvignon blancs and sauvignon blends

For instance New Zealand sauvignon blanc and wines from cooler regions elsewhere such as South Africa’s Elgin region

I tend to reach for these with salads especially if they contain seafood and/or ‘grassy’ ingredients such as asparagus, pea-shoots, green peppers and herbs.

You can drink them with similar dishes to minerally sauvignon blancs but where the flavours are more pronounced e.g. seafood with south-east Asian flavours such as lime, chilli and coriander or Thai fish cakes. Try them with pea soups and dishes accompanied by pea purées too.

See also The best food matches with New Zealand sauvignon blanc

Oaked sauvignons and sauvignon/semillon blends

For instance: oaked white Bordeaux and fumé blanc styles

You can drink these where you might reach for a chardonnay or straight semillon - with white meats such as chicken or veal especially if accompanied by a creamy sauce or with spring vegetables such as asparagus and peas. Pasta dishes with spring vegetables and buttery or creamy sauces work well too.

They also suit simply grilled or pan-fried salmon, scallops and lightly smoked fish such as smoked eel and trout.

Top image © HLPhoto at fotolia.com

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.

What to pair with Camembert

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.

Best matches with oysters

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

other possibilities.

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

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Top wine pairings with scallops

Scallops are some of the most delicious seafood around and some of the most flattering to a serious white wine.

They’re also incredibly quick and easy to cook which makes them a great choice for a romantic dinner for two, especially with a wine lover!

When it comes to pairing wine and scallops there’s one grape variety that will almost always see you right but in this brief guide I’ve given some other options depending on the other ingredients in the dish.

Grilled or seared scallops

Searing scallops enhances their sweetness and makes them a sure-fire match with chardonnay.

Almost any kind especially white burgundy - it’s a great way to show off an older vintage. Old vine chenin blanc is also a good match.

Champagne, especially a blanc de blancs, is not too shabby either.

The best food pairings with white burgundy

Scallops with pea purée or pea shoots

Bring peas - or asparagus into the equation and I’d probably go for a sauvignon or sauvignon-semillon blend such as you find in Bordeaux or Western Australia. Albarino is also a good match

Coquilles Saint Jacques or other scallop dishes with a creamy sauce

Back to chardonnay again for this classic dish. Especially Chablis

Scallops served with Asian-style dressing

Give scallops an Asian twist as in this recipe and I’d reach for a dry or off-dry riesling

Scallop and crab or lobster risotto

Risotto immediately makes a scallop dish richer especially if it also includes crab or lobster. You have a choice: you can go for a matching richness (yup, chardonnay again) or a smooth Italian white like a Gavi or Soave or for a contrast in terms of a wine that will bring a zing of freshness to the dish as I did here.

Scallops with pancetta or chorizo

Sometimes scallops are given more robust treatment and partnered with bacon, pancetta, chorizo or even black pudding. In that case you can drink a light red like a pinot noir or a Beaujolais. Lightly chilled, I suggest.

For other insights see this account of Rye Bay Scallop Week

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What to drink with an omelette (or frittata)

There aren’t many wine pairings that form the subject of a book title but Elizabeth David’s Omelette and a Glass of Wine immortalised the combination.

Unlike other egg dishes wine actually does go pretty well with omelettes but should it be red or white?

*David herself expressed a preference for an Alsace ‘Traminer’ or a glass of Sancerre or Pouilly-Fumé. I’m not sure I’d fancy the former (a bit too lush and aromatic) but the latter would certainly go with a light omelette fines herbes, an asparagus omelette or one with seafood or goats cheese - as would other crisp dry whites like Chablis and Italian dry whites like Soave and Gavi di Gavi.

*With other kinds of cheese omelettes I’d go for an Alsace Pinot Blanc or a lighter style of Chardonnay like a Mâcon-Villages.

*Sparkling wines like Cava - and, of course, Champagne - are always a popular choice with eggs. Blanc de blancs or other all-Chardonnay fizz seems to work best.

*Reds come into play if you have a more robust filling such as mushrooms or bacon - or even chorizo as you might in a frittata. A young Rhône red or Rioja - nothing too fancy - would do the trick.

*Belgian-style witbier or a bière blanche is a great match with lighter omelettes too.

See also Which Wines Pair Best with Eggs

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