The best wine pairings for steak tartare

Should you drink the same sort of full-bodied red wine with steak tartare - raw chopped beef - as you would with a grilled steak?

It is, of course, raw rather than rare which means doesn’t have the grilled surface for big tannic reds to latch on to - and it’s often served as a starter which may lead you to a lighter wine.

On the other hand it’s generally well seasoned with ingredients such as capers, mustard and Tabasco so you do need a wine that can cope with a bit of spice.

Personally I like a light juicy red wine with my steak tartare but there are other good options...

4 good wine matches for steak tartare

Beaujolais
I’m a big fan of Beaujolais with steak tartare as you can see from this earlier post. It has exactly the right casual bistro vibe. Go for a ‘cru’ Beaujolais like a Morgon. 2015 and 16 were both good vintages in the region.

Other juicy light red wines
Such as a young syrah or a mencia from Bierzo or Ribeira Sacra in Northern Spain. I’ve even enjoyed a young Coteaux du Languedoc with a steak tartare: ‘natural’ reds tend to work really well.

A good dry rosé
I originally suggested Bandol but actually other good quality Provence rosés work really well too as you can see from this ‘Match of the Week’ post.

Steak tartare and Provence rosé

Champagne
Especially rosé champagne. Crémant (other French sparkling wine) or cava if the budget’s a bit tight.

And a good non-wine option . . .

A vodka shot (or two). Not frozen though.

For other steak pairings check out

The best wine pairings for steak

photo ©jamurka at fotolia.com

What wine to pair with canapés and other party food

You might think wine pairing is a strange subject for a post on canapés as they are by their very nature varied and no-one - even a 3 Michelin-starred restaurant - pairs a different wine with each one.

But there are different styles of canapés these days - hot and cold which suit different styles of wine.

When I say canapés I basically mean finger food. Small bites you pick up off a tray or platter as opposed to more substantial party food or the appetizers you might offer at a sit-down meal.

The main thing to bear in mind is to go for a crowd-pleasing wine that will appeal to the maximum number of your guests. One that is not too high in alcohol or heavily oaked. Party rooms tend to be hot so you want your wines to be refreshing

What wine to pair with cold canapés

Mini canapés with smoked salmon by Mateusz Gzik at shutterstock.com

It’s hard to go wrong with sparkling wine with classic canapés such as smoked salmon, crostini or  mini quiches. For some that’s likely to be prosecco but many people these days prefer a drier sparkling wine such as a crémant or a Cava. If you’re going to splash out on champagne make it a non-vintage one that is designed to be drunk as an aperitif rather than a vintage. A blanc de blancs style (generally 100% chardonnay) works particularly well as does a sparkling rosé. 

You could also serve a crisp white wine like a Picpoul de Pinet or a pinot grigio or - particularly though not exclusively in the summer - a Provençal or other southern French rosé.

What wine goes well with hot canapés

Fried food such as croquetas or arancini also go well with fizz

With more substantial meaty snacks like hot sausages, sausage rolls or bao buns you might want to lay on a smooth, medium-bodied red like a merlot though frankly it’s unlikely you’re going to switch in the middle of a party

Alcohol-free drinks with canapés

There are alcohol-free sparkling wines but with one or two exceptions I’m not a fan. But you can find very drinkable sparkling kombuchas like LA Kombucha and Saicho sparkling tea which make a better alternative.

Wines to go with other party food

Wine pairings for a cold buffet

Party buffet by Pia Kamp at unsplash.com

Buffets tend to include everything and anything. Quiches, frittatas, salads, dips, cold meats and cheeses .... They're more like a meal than a series of snacks so tend to work better with still wines than bubbles. Smooth dry relatively neutral white wines like Italian whites, chenin blanc and inexpensive white burgundy tend to work well as does dry rosé and light reds such gamay and pinot noir. This South African white and red I recently recommended from Majestic would work really well.

Wines that go with hot party food

Hot party food is not that different from regular meals just made in larger quantities. It could be a casserole, a chilli or a curry (You’ll find pairings to all of those if you click on the links.

If you’re hosting a brunch though you might want to go back to fizz: crémant or cava again I suggest though prosecco works better if you’re making cocktails like bucks fizz (sparkling wine and orange juice) Check out this post on pairing wine and eggs 

Bearing in mind this general advice you might want to theme your drinks if your food is a certain style. So, for example, if you were having a pizza party you might lay on Italian beers like Peroni or Moretti, whites and Sicilian reds, if you're serving dim sum or other Asian-style snacks you might want to serve a dry riesling or if with tapas you could pour a fino or manzanilla sherry as one of the drinks. (I would offer a choice as dry sherry is not for everyone. Cava or a dry white wine like Rueda or an unoaked white rioja would be a good alternative)

See this post on six of the best Spanish wines to pair with tapas

Sweet canapés and party desserts

Often a drinks party will end up with some sweet canapés. To be honest most people will carry on with whatever’s in their glass but in an ideal world you might offer a slightly sweeter sparkling wine like prosecco extra dry (which oddly means a sweeter style than brut. If you're offering a selection of puddings you could choose a light dessert wine like a Monbazillac but it's a tall order to pair a plate that includes a pavlova and chocolate cake. Again prosecco should take you through.

See also what wine to pair with appetizers

Top image: party food by Fusionstudio at shutterstock.com

Top wine and beer matches for game

We Brits have always had a reputation for liking our wines old and our game high but times have changed. Today the key factor in matching game tends to be not how ‘gamey’ it is but how it’s cooked and what is served with it.

In many restaurants now game is cooked quickly and served rare so can take a younger, more tannic wine than would have once been the case. Accompanying sauces also tend to be robust, and wine-based, bringing more full-bodied reds into play. Nevertheless the reason for serving wild game such as partridge or venison - as opposed to chicken or beef - is that it does have a distinctive flavour for which you generally pay a premium so you want to pick your wine with some care. Here are the sort of wines you might go for.

* Simply roast birds such as partridge, pheasant, or grouse with simple accompaniments (e.g. roast potatoes, bread sauce and a light gravy rather than a heavy wine-based jus)
These remain the ideal opportunity to bring out a serious bottle of burgundy, a mature red Bordeaux or their New World equivalents (see here) If you like your birds underdone a younger wine may be a more flattering accompaniment. A good Chianti is always a reliable match for more everyday occasions.

The best wine pairings for partridge

Belgian sour red ales such as Rodenbach are also delicious with simply roast game.

* more elaborate game roasts with foie gras and/or truffles or a concentrated ‘jus’
Similar wines to the above but from a more recent vintage. The richer accompanying flavours can handle a more tannic wine.

* pheasant casseroled with apples
Apples tend to lead in the direction of a white (a dry Riesling with a couple of years’ bottle age would be perfect) rather than a red, particularly if the sauce has some added cream. You could equally well serve a French cidre bouché (semi-sparkling cider) or a gueuze (a Belgian lambic beer brewed with wild yeasts) especially if you’re serving braised cabbage as an accompaniment.

The best wine pairings for pheasant

* pot-roast pheasant
With any other flavourings or a red wine sauce a robust red should work well, especially reds that contain Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Tempranillo or Malbec. (So good quality Côtes du Rhône Villages, southern French reds and Rioja all make good choices, and a wine like Côte Rôtie a sublime one). I’d avoid very muscular young reds which are likely to overwhelm the flavour of the meat.

* Venison
Generally you can serve similar wines to those you would serve with beef though as the game flavour is more pronounced you might want to choose accompanying wines with a slightly gamey flavour of their own. Good examples would be Hermitage, Bandol and Ribera del Duero (or other examples of mature Syrah or Mourvèdre) though be careful of flavour overload with very concentrated sauces. Sometimes it can be better to serve a slightly lighter (though still well-structured) wine when your sauce is particularly dense and rich.

The best wine pairings for venison

So far as beer is concerned, venison dishes can be an excellent match for porter, a strong Trappist ale like Chimay or a French bière de garde.

* Cold game/game pie
As with simply roast game this is a great opportunity to drink your favourite red burgundy but cold game is also a treat with a full bodied vintage rosé Champagne such as Ruinart (or, of course, Krug). If your game is in a salad (like a warm pigeon salad or a smoked duck or venison one) you could also try a sour cherry beer such as kriek.

Vegetables with game
Vegetables that will flatter fine wines include mashed potatoes and pureed root vegetables such as celeriac (good combined with potato) and parsnips. Carrots and mushrooms also work well. Take care though with braised cabbage particularly red cabbage cooked with sugar and vinegar which can be a wine killer. (Fruity young reds like Shiraz, Barbera or Zinfandel should survive)

What to pair with Camembert: 5 great drink matches

Although it seems similar in style to Brie, Camembert is a trickier cheese to pair with a slightly funky edge that can clash with many wines, particularly reds.

Fortunately, coming from Normandy there is another option and that is cider and other apple based drinks such as Pommeau and Calvados, depending on how well-matured your Camembert is. If you don’t drink and the cheese is mild apple juice is actually a very good pairing.

Here are my top picks:

Cider

The obvious ‘terroir’-based match. The slight bitterness of cider apples suits Camembert perfectly particularly if you’re eating the rind. Sparkling cider is possibly even better . . .

Pommeau

Stronger than cider, this blend of cider and calvados is ideal when your cheese has reached the oozy stage.

Champagne

Maybe that’s a surprise but the bubbles really work with a gooey Camembert, especially if it’s been baked

Chenin Blanc

Has a touch of apple itself and generally the weight and smoothness to partner the cheese provided it’s not got too mature. Loire chenins such as Montlouis and Vouvray are relatively local anyway or try a Chenin Blanc from South Africa

A soft fruity red

If you want to drink red go for one with a good whack of bright berry fruit like a New Zealand Pinot Noir, a Chilean Merlot or a Carmenère. I’d aim for one of 13-13.5% ABV. You don’t want too big and tannic a wine - or one that’s too light, acidic or weedy.

Tip: Camembert is a cheese to eat when it's fully matured. Keep it too long though and it will become bitter