Wine and Appetizer Pairings: a quick guide

The best wine to pair with appetizers and hors d’oeuvres largely depends on whether they precede a meal, as is traditional, or - as is more common these days - actually make up the meal itself, says regular contributor Monica Shaw. After all, we all seem to enjoy grazing these days.

The challenge is that people often serve multiple appetizers at once, each with contrasting flavours and a wide variety: cold, hot, rich, fresh, spicy, and often quite salty. The wines you choose should be as palate-cleansing as they are quaffable. Chances are, you’re entertaining, so you’ll want to pick wines that all your guests will enjoy.

In this post I’m sharing tips on crowd-pleasing wines that tend to pair well with all manner of appetizers, from dips and chicken wings to cheese boards and nachos. I’ll also cover some of the most popular appetizers and the wines that go best with them. 

The wine styles to look for with appetizers:

Sparkling wine

A good choice if the appetizers are performing their traditional role as pre-meal nibbles - particularly good with anything crisp, crunchy or deep-fried. Prosecco will be most people’s favourite these days though there are many other good sparkling wines including cava, crémant and, of course champagne.

White wine

Think fresh, unoaked whites rather than a rich white like chardonnay which is better with a meal. Sauvignon blanc is generally popular but a crisp Italian white like pinot grigio or Gavi generally go down well too especially with Italian antipasti. And although many people think they don’t like riesling in practice they generally do, especially with spicy snacks. If you enjoy it, go for it!

Red wines

More challenging as although many people like full-bodied reds like cabernet sauvignon and shiraz they can be a bit heavy at the start of the evening. Think more in terms of medium-bodied reds like pinot noir and merlot and lighter styles of zinfandel.

Rosé

A great option and not just for summer. Dy rosés from Provence and elsewhere in Southern France are hugely versatile and can stand up to big flavours. A good choice for charcuterie, cheese and tapas.

Sherry

Not for everyone but if you’re into tapas you can’t beat a chilled fino or manzanilla sherry. I’d offer the choice of one or two other wines - either white, rosé or red - too though

Wine pairings for popular appetizers

If you are only serving one appetizer here’s the type of wine to look for:

Artichoke and spinach dip
Artichokes are tricky and can make wine seem sweeter than it is so make sure your wine is bone dry. Italian whites such as pinot grigio work well or try a chilled fino sherry.

Buffalo Chicken Wings 
Prosecco, rosé, or an off-dry riesling.

French Onion Dip
Not only oniony but creamy too. A citrussy sauvignon works well or try a fresh, young chenin blanc

Deviled Eggs 
Go for a drier style of prosecco or a Gavi de Gavi.

Pigs in blankets
Bread encased hot-dogs, a Super Bowl Party classic which may steer you towards a beer. Wine-wise I’d be inclined to go for a light, fruity pinot noir.

Fried pickles
Pickles need something light, crisp, and fruity to handle the acidity. A sharply flavoured white like a picpoul or pinot grigio should do the trick. Or a dry riesling.

Cheese ball
A soft juicy red like a merlot or a sauvignon blanc both work well

Bruschetta and crostini
The classic bruschetta is topped with fresh tomatoes with which you could drink a dry Italian white like pinot grigio or a red like Chianti. Richer toppings like chicken livers are better with a red like a Chianti or Barbera.

Nachos
Again natural beer food but given the melty cheese I’d go for a medium-bodied fruity red rather than a white if you fancy a glass of vino. Merlot or zinfandel would both hit the spot.

Antipasti
With Italian style antipasti I’d generally choose a dry Italian white like a pinot grigio or verdicchio but dry Provençal-style rosé also works really well. As do light Italian reds like Valpolicella, Teroldego and Refosco particularly if your antipasti predominantly consists of cold meats.

Smoked salmon
Champagne (or other champagne-like sparkling wine) is the classic pairing but there are many other options including sauvignon blanc as you can see from this post.

Garlic Cheesy Tear and Share Bread
What’s not to like about this indulgent snack? Garlic goes really well with sauvignon blanc so you can happily serve that or a juicy red like zinfandel for that matter. And personally I wouldn’t be averse to a glass of sparkling wine.

You might also find these posts useful:

• What wine to pair with canapés and other party food
• The best food pairings for rosé
• What sort of food to pair with prosecco?
• Best food pairings with sauvignon blanc
• Wine and Cheese Pairing for Beginners
• 6 of the best Spanish Wines to pair with Tapas

Regular contributor Monica Shaw is the author of eatsleepwild.com and writersresidence.com.

The best food pairings for Pinotage

Like any other red South Africa's Pinotage comes in different styles - some lighter and fruitier than others. When you're matching it with food you take a cue from the sort of ingredients and dishes that go with its two ancestors - Pinot Noir and Cinsault.

Pinotage never has the elegance of a fine burgundy of course but it will go with the same sort of dishes as a more robust, rustic Pinot Noir: dishes like smoked duck and pulled pork for example. The Cinsault heritage gives it a compatibility with Mediterranean ingredients like peppers and aubergines, rustic French bistro dishes and baked pasta dishes like lasagne. It’s also not a bad wine to serve with a pizza, particularly one with a meaty topping.

It can also take a fair amount of spice. I’ve successfully paired it with a hot curry (Indian rather than Thai) and it more than holds its own with spicy barbecue sauces and with chilli con carne. (In general I think it benefits from being served a couple of degrees cooler than the ambient temperature - that is to say, cool rather than chilled).

You could happily drink the lighter styles which are becoming increasingly popular with charcuterie, especially coarse country patés and more robust styles with wintry stews like the one-pot South African potjies (especially with game). Its slight portiness also makes it a good match for hard cheeses like cheddar and even a blue, especially if served with fresh figs.

Its forte however is with a classic South African braai where it will take almost anything in its stride from marinated lamb to Cape Malay or Cajun-spiced ‘blackened’ fish. (Like Zinfandel it loves chilli and smoke) It’s also really good with venison burgers and sausages or - come the winter - a hearty game pie.

Veg-wise think in terms of aubergines, grilled portabello mushrooms and dark leafy greens.

Photo © johnnyslav at Adobe Stock

What to drink with chicken wings (and your other Superbowl snacks)

Let’s face it a well-honed wine pairing probably isn’t top priority on Superbowl night but there’s no reason why you can’t sip something delicious as you’re nervously nibbling your chicken wings (or your nails).

Chicken wings can of course come many different guises - with a honey marinade, classic barbecue, buffalo wings or with this hot and spicy siracha sauce but the common factor is likely to be that they’re spicy, more than a little sweet (and sticky) and maybe crunchy too.

I know chicken wings aren’t likely to be the only food on offer but it's not like these drinks won’t pair with anything else . . .

* Lager. Gotta be, really hasn’t it and that doesn’t mean the most tasteless, cheapest brew on the market. A good lager from your local microbrewery - like Meantime if you’re in London.

* Pale Ale - I usually recommend an IPA over a pale ale but if you’re looking for a session beer, a lower alcohol pale ale is probably a better choice on this occasion. And there’s enough flavour going on in the food not to need a massive wallop of hops

* Prosecco or - be patriotic! - an all-American sparkling wine. Possibly not one for the boys but fizz totally hits the spot with crunchy, crispy foods.

* Rosé - OK, it’s not summer but that doesn’t mean you can’t drink rosé - it’s great with party food. Maybe even sparkling rosé. Maybe - gulp! - even white zin . . .

* Off-dry riesling especially if the wings have an Asian twist

* A soft fruity red like a Zinfandel which is particularly good with smoky barbecue flavours.I’d keep the alcohol under 14% ABV though. It’s going to be a looooong night ...

For a totally off-the-wall pairing for wings check out this brilliant cocktail match I came across in Portland's Pok Pok.

You might also enjoy The Best Wine (and Cocktail) Pairings for Garlic Cheesy Bread

Image © Brent Hofacker - Fotolia.com

What to pair with artisanal cheddar?

By artisanal cheddar, I mean cheddar that is mature, full-flavoured, and unpasteurised (learn more in this post: So what makes a great cheddar?). It isn't the easiest cheese to match with wine.

One’s instinct is to drink red but it’s a struggle. You don’t want anything too light and graceful or, conversely, too full-bodied and tannic. There can be some wild flavours in a cheese like this which I think are best matched by an equally artisanal wine - and old Syrah/Shiraz, Grenache or Mourvèdre, maybe - or a blend of all three. Or a good Zinfandel. But don’t introduce blues or smelly washed-rind cheeses to the cheeseboard as well.

Vintage port is surprisingly - or not so surprisingly - good as we confirmed at a cheese and wine tasting I conducted for Decanter last year. One associates it more with stilton but it’s equally good with a fine cheddar. But it’s not the type of wine to open with a ploughman’s or other light lunch.

That distinction goes to a traditional British ale which I’m not sure isn’t the best pairing for this kind of cheese, especially if you serve it with an onion pickle or a chutney. Something like Adnams Broadside or Young’s Special. If you find British beers too bitter a sweeter-flavoured American IPA may be more to your taste, being a classic example.

If you’re looking for a terroir-based match a farmhouse cider would be the obvious choice for an authentic Somerset cheddar, especially if you serve it with apples or an apple chutney. Personally I prefer a medium-dry style but that’s up to you.

Apple-based aperitifs or digestifs such as Pommeau and Pomona which is made by the Somerset Cider Brandy Company can also work very well. Obviously they’re more alcoholic than cider but you could serve them instead of port for after dinner drinking.

Other possibilities, less mainstream: a full-bodied oaked Chardonnay pairs surprisingly well with cheddar as does a good rich whisky like The Macallan or Famous Grouse. Sherry can also work well particularly if you serve your cheddar with nuts - I’d choose something like a palo cortado. Other possibilities would be a medium-dry Madeira or a 10 - or 20 - year old tawny port.

See also: The Best Wine Pairings for Cheddar Cheese

Image by SplitShire from Pixabay