Pairings | Blanc de blancs champagne
The best wine pairings for ravioli and other filled pasta
Just as pasta pairings are all about the sauce, stuffed pasta such as ravioli are all about the filling so you need to take account of what that’s based on and any accompanying sauce.
Seafood is obviously going to need a different style of wine from a meaty filling like ox cheek.
That said Italian wines are generally pretty flexible - and well priced so they’re always a safe bet to fall back on.
Seafood-based ravioli
Ravioli are often filled with delicate seafood like lobster and crab in fine dining restaurants - and paired with white burgundy or other cool climate chardonnay like this match of langoustine ravioli with a top Chilean chardonnay
Oaked white Bordeaux would be a good choice too as it was with this prawn raviolo
Another good option would be blanc de blancs champagne or champagne-style sparkling wine
Meat-based ravioli
There’s quite a range of fillings here from mild savoury-tasting ham and cheese to robust wintry ox cheek. With the sort of ready-made cheese and ham tortelloni you find at the supermarket I’d drink a glass of Italian white wine like a Soave or a Gavi. If it was a more sophisticated restaurant dish like this veal ravioli you could go for a serious red like a barolo
Again, the kind of beef ravioli with red wine you find in the supermarket isn’t that intense. I’d probably go for a medium-bodied Italian red with that - Chianti would work or even a merlot or malbec. But if it’s a rich ox cheek filling think something more robust - a barbera, a modern Tuscan red, a nero d’avola or a zinfandel.
And if it’s the good old fashioned tinned ravioli with tomato sauce? A cheap and cheerful Sicilian red or a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo!
Veg-based ravioli
Butternut squash and pumpkin are really popular as a filling for ravioli, often served with brown butter and sage. There’s a sweetness and richness in both which calls for a rich white like a chardonnay, old vine chenin blanc or, as I discovered a while back, an oak-aged Douro white. I also really like a good Soave especially with a bit of bottle age.
Spinach and ricotta is another popular filling with which I’d pair a white wine but a lighter, crisper style than for pumpkin. Italian gavi or verdicchio for example or, outside Italy, an albarino would work well.
And with mushroom ravioli - as with everything else mushroomy - pinot noir goes really well. Or a creamy chardonnay
Photo by IriGri at shutterstock.com
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
Image © Oran Tantapakul at fotolia.com
4 good wines to pair with fish pie
Whether it's topped with mashed potato or pastry fish pie is a relatively straightforward dish to pair with wine but some styles work better than others.
In general smooth dry white wines work best. I would emphasise dry though - I personally don’t want peach, pineapple or tropical fruit flavours with my fish - not with this traditional dish, at least.
Here are some examples:
* Unoaked or lightly oaked Chardonnay - Chablis being the classic example. A very sound, crowd-pleasing pairing. With a richer, more luxurious pie containing salmon, scallops or added cream or with a pie with a pastry lid you could go for a slightly richer style of white burgundy or other cool climate Chardonnay but don’t overdo the oak
* Chenin Blanc - works much in the same way as Chardonnay. Again a more minerally style works better than a fruity one in my opinion
* Blanc de Blancs champagne or sparkling Chardonnay - same reasoning - with a few bubbles. I’d suggest a non-vintage wine rather than a vintage one. Keep it fresh.
* Soave, Gavi and other smooth dry Italian whites - but not Pinot Grigio which is a bit lightweight for a creamy sauce and mash
Photo ©freeskyline at shutterstock.com
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