The best wine pairings for pheasant

Even if not well-hung, as it rarely is these days, pheasant has a stronger flavour than other feathered game such as partridge or duck. And older, tougher birds are often braised or pot-roasted which calls for a more robust wine match still.

Here are my suggestions:

For simply roast pheasant served with its pan juices or a light gravy

A good way to show off mature classic reds such as Burgundy, Bordeaux, northern Rhone reds such as Saint Joseph and Côte Rôtie, Barolo, Barbaresco, gran reserva Rioja, Chianti riservas and Chateau Musar (which I was glad to see also recommended in a splendid book called Wine for Game & Fish “The Sporting Wife’s Wine Companion”. Other good quality mature pinot noirs,

For pot roast or braised pheasant

Such as this recipe from Simon Hopkinson. More robust rustic reds from southern France such Saint Chinian or a Côtes du Rhône Villages like a Vacqueyras, Bandol. Rioja reservas and similar Spanish reds (especially with a dish like this pot-roast pheasant with chorizo and butter beans from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Any GSM (grenache, syrah, mourvèdre) blend or straight syrah or shiraz with a bit of bottle age.

For pheasant cooked with apples

Dry German or Alsace riesling, dry Pinot Gris or, if you’re cooking it the Normandy way with cream, why not sparkling cider?

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The best food pairings for Grenache

Although grenache is a grape variety that is not often celebrated, it’s one that deserves a closer look. As usual it’s hard to pin down a definitive style but it’s fair to say grenache is usually full-bodied, soft and low in acidity. Some grenaches are pretty powerful - usually due to natural bedfellows like syrah and mourvèdre being blended in - others, like Côtes du Rhône, are easy-drinking.

Its natural homeland is the Southern Mediterranean, especially France and Spain where it is called garnacha but there are some fine examples from Australia, California and Washington State. It’s a great wine for autumn and winter drinking.

But what truly makes Grenache shine is its ability to pair beautifully with a wide variety of foods. Whether it’s robust braises and stews or classic British pub dishes, Grenache has no difficulty standing up to big flavours. In this post, we’ll explore the best food pairings for Grenache, with tips and insights that will help you make the most of this versatile wine. 

Top Food Pairings for Grenache

Braises and stews

My favourite type of food for grenache is braises and stews: long slow cooked roasts of pork or lamb that may even be a little bit fatty (shoulder of lamb and lamb shanks, for example). It suits daubes and stews with dark, winey sauces too

I like grenache too with classic French bistro dishes such as rabbit and hearty Spanish or Portuguese country cooking. It can take a bit of spice - I think there’s a particular affinity with paprika and pimenton. I enjoy a grenache with a goulash - and it would certainly go with milder curries like a rogan josh though I wouldn’t serve it with lighter Indian dishes. Grenache-based wines tend to go well with the slight sweetness of Moroccan tagines too.

British pub classics

A simple grenache or grenache blend like a Côtes du Rhône is a versatile match for many British pub classics like sausage and mash, shepherds pie and steak and kidney pie. Its absence of tough tannins also it a more accommodating match for cheese than many more structured reds, especially British regional cheeses such as Cheddar and Red Leicester. Grenache also pairs well with cooked dishes like macaroni cheese and with veggie bakes and lentil or bean-based dishes. Lighter, fruitier styles such as cheap Garnachas from Spain make good barbecue drinking - Grenache seems to like a bit of smoke.

Even the Christmas turkey!

A serious Grenache dominated red such as Châteauneuf-du-Pâpe is good with richer and gamier birds - I think it makes a great match for the Christmas turkey but you could also pair it successfully with guineafowl, pheasant or pigeon, especially if accompanied by caramelised roast root vegetables like carrots, beets and parsnips.

Priorat can take even more robust dishes such as venison and oxtail as you can see from this post though other grapes may have a more dominant influence.

There are of course also Grenache - or Garnacha - whites (characteristically earthy/Rhôneish) and strong, dry rosés - good partners for charcuterie and Spanish classics like paella and pork and beans and porty southern vin doux naturels like Maury, Banyuls and Rasteau which, like port, pair particularly well with chocolate, grilled figs and blue cheese (not all together, obviously!)

What not to pair with red grenache?

Well, it’s usually pretty high in alcohol so it wouldn’t be my ideal choice for steamed or raw dishes such as seabass or salads - even ones including meat - or subtle cuisines such as Cantonese or Japanese. It’s not great with citrus either which, for me, rules out Thai. And I think there are better matches for Italian food (most Italian ones) although Grenache is oddly good with dishes that contain cooked tomato and aubergine. But it’s a great seasonal wine - a warming, welcoming bottle to serve for the coming days of autumn and winter. Grenache should have its place in every cellar.

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The best wine matches for Comté

After a recent visit to the Jura I've rethought my ideas about which wines make the best wine pairings for Comté cheese.

We were guided through a tasting by flavour analyst Claire Perrot who suggested a couple of matches I wouldn’t have thought of - Champagne and Alsace Pinot Noir. And since then I've been back and tried a couple more (see my update below)

Comté is France’s most popular AOP (Appellation d’Origine Protégée) cheese by a significant margin selling about twice as much as its nearest rival Roquefort.

It’s a cooked pressed Gruyère style cheese which in fact used to be referred to as Gruyère de Comté. Individual wheels vary hugely though I found them in general more caramelly, nuttier and slightly less salty than Gruyère but less fruity than Beaufort though there will obviously be differences between winter and summer cheeses - summer cheeses being fuller-flavoured than winter ones.

The French tend to eat Comté fairly young which makes it an unchallenging partner to a wide range of wines including reds. Once it’s older, nuttier and more intense you may want to veer towards whites or some of the other suggestions below:

Local dry Arbois whites
The classic local terroir-based match. Most of the ones I tasted were a blend of Chardonnay and the local Savagnin grape which gives the wines a nutty, slightly earthy, mineral character which chimes in perfectly with the cheese. I suspect old Muscadet, which I've been tasting recently, would work well too.

Vin Jaune
Arbois’ distinctive sherry-style white is a fantastic match for 12-18 month Comtés. And on that basis so is ...

Dry(ish) sherry
Amontillado and palo cortado being the two wines recommended by the Comté website although since I’ve successfully paired dry oloroso with Gruyère I suspect it would work well with Comté too. (Sherry is more sympathetic to Comté than port, I think.)

Champagne
The big surprise. I tasted a biodynamic Champagne from Lassaigne, les Vignes de Montgueux, which was just delicious with a 15 month old winter Comté. Vintage Champagne I suspect would be fantastic with older Comtés still.

Aged or minerally Chardonnays
On the basis that Arbois wines containing Chardonnay work well others should too, particularly mature Chablis and other mature Chardonnays such as this one from Kistler that struck gold with a 56 month Comté. You wouldn’t want the oak influence to be too pronounced though.

Old white Bordeaux - an 18 year old Domaine de Chevalier Pessac-Léognan was stunning with both 2 and 4 year old Comtés at a tasting I did with affineur Bernard Antony a few years ago.

Alsace Pinot Noir
I really liked a 5 year old 2006 Schueller Pinot Noir with a fresh, milky six month old Comté but the local Poulsard grape works well too

Mature - and immature but not overoaked - Languedoc reds . . .
A surprise perhaps but I’ve drunk Languedoc Syrah - young and old - successfully with youngish Comté.

. . . and mature Spanish reds
I've had striking success with a 9 month old Comté and an 8 year old Navarra red from Chivite. Mature Rioja reservas and gran reservas of course, should work too.

So a number of different possibilities which indicates that Comté is a pretty easy-going cheese which earns its place on a cheeseboard. The common factor in the most successful pairings however seems to be age. Mature wines seem to work particularly well. The wines I’d hesitate to pair with it are high alcohol new world reds with a lot of jammy fruit and intensely herbaceous whites like New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc which I don’t think would work as well. I don’t think rosé does Comté many favours either.

September 2015. On my latest visit to Fort des Rousses I discovered two other really good pairings for a full-flavoured 3 year old Comté Juraflore: a 2002 vin de paille and a MacVin du Jura, a curious blend of savagnin juice and must and brandy which tastes like a cross between a dessert wine, a grappa and a whisky!

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The best wine and beer pairings for savoury pies

We Brits don’t need much encouragement to eat pies—they’re a staple of comfort food culture. But when it comes to enjoying a drink with your pie, the question arises: which is the better match—wine or beer? The answer, as always, depends on the type of pie you’re talking about and the flavours it brings to the table.

Steak pies with gravy
Almost always better with a strong ale or porter in my opinion.

Steak pies with red wine sauce
Should work with any full-bodied red. I normally tend to favour Languedoc or Rhône-style reds but a new world red like a malbec or an Australian shiraz would work well too

Chicken pies with a creamy filling
I’d go for an unoaked or subtly oaked Chardonnay, old vine Chenin Blanc or any other smooth dry white. Cider and perry also work well with chicken pies.

Pies with a tomatoey filling
Whatever the other ingredients I generally find cooked tomato works better with wine than with beer - I’d suggest an Italian Sangiovese or a Tempranillo-based red like Rioja, especially if there’s chorizo in it.

Cheese and spinach pies
I generally prefer crisp whites such as Sauvignon Blanc or even a more neutral white such as a Picpoul de Pinet with a light vegetarian pie like this but a light red like a Beaujolais would be delicious too.

Fish pies
Pair with the same sort of wines as creamy chicken pies.

Cold pies
With a classic pork pie I’d always go for an English bitter. A cold game pie however is a great match for a good red burgundy or Pinot Noir.

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