Top wine pairings with asparagus

Whenever anyone talks about foods that are difficult to match with wine, asparagus always comes up but I reckon the problem is overstated.

Just like any other ingredient it depends how you cook and serve it and how many other ingredients there are on the plate. Few people serve asparagus totally unadorned.

The most popular pairing is with Sauvignon Blanc which can have a marked asparagus flavour itself so you need another ingredient on the plate such as salmon, chicken or goats cheese to revive those flavours in the wine.

Wines that can be tricky are wines with a touch of sweetness as asparagus can accentuate that. Oaked whites are generally not too successful (except with rich buttery sauces - see below) nor are wines with pronounced tannins.

Here are my suggestions with different asparagus preparations:

• With a vinaigrette - Needs a wine that can cope with the vinaigrette and won’t compete with the asparagus. I prefer an earthy, dry, unoaked Italian white such as Verdicchio or dry Orvieto to a Sauvignon Blanc here. Or a light, dry rosé without too much upfront berry fruit

• With melted butter or mayo - Where the asparagus is offset by the richness of butter or mayo but there isn’t anything else on the plate: an unoaked or lightly oaked Chardonnay such as Chablis

• With hollandaise or soft-boiled or poached eggs - Here the sauce or accompaniments begin to take over so go for a mature oaked Chardonnay (one in which the wood is well integrated but which is still fresh-tasting), traditional white Rioja or Champagne

• With goats cheese or prawns and salad - here’s where to drink Sauvignon Blanc, especially minerally Sauvignons from the Loire like Sancerre. The goats’ cheese accentuates rather than knocking out the asparagus flavours in the wine. English whites like Bacchus are also good.

• With grilled salmon - Semillon-Sauvignon blends, especially from Bordeaux or Western Australia generally work well

• With crab - a very dry Riesling, from e.g. Austria won’t overwhelm the crab

• With sautéed or fried chicken - Here asparagus is likely to be the vegetable so go for a wine that will match the chicken such as a light or moderately oaked Chardonnay

• Asparagus risotto - You’re matching the creamy risotto not just the asparagus. A crisp, fresh Italian white such as Pinot Grigio from the Alto Adige is the ideal option in my view or other dry Pinot Grigios

• Asparagus quiche - Alsace Pinot Blanc or Italian Pinot Bianco is a generally reliable choice with quiches. Alternatively go for a light, unoaked Chardonnay

• Chargrilled asparagus with mushrooms/roast asparagus with pancetta - Here’s where you can go for a light Loire red such as Bourgeuil or Saumur-Champigny, inexpensive red burgundy or other light, unoaked Pinot Noir

• In a stir fry - the sauce is likely to be the determining factor here. Assuming it’s something reasonably light to preserve the flavour of the asparagus I’d go for an off-dry Riesling from e.g. Germany

• White asparagus - Popular in central and southern Europe. My favourite pairing is young Grüner Veltliner, though others will go for dry Riesling or even dry Muscat (though the latter is not to everyone’s taste). Dry Spanish rosado is also good.

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8 great wine (and other) matches for roast chicken

Both red and white wine go with roast chicken so the key thing to focus on when picking a wine pairing is what flavourings you put with it and the sides you serve. These elements can vary widely depending on where you are in the world, but there’s no doubt that roast chicken has global appeal: 

Here in the UK chicken is arguably everyone’s favourite “Sunday roast”, typically served with gravy and loads of vegetables (much like in the U.S.). In France, poulet rôti is a classic weekend meal, often bought off a rotisseries and typically served with a green salad and potatoes which have soaked up the chicken fat.

This guide offers my top eight wine and other drink pairings for different ways of serving roast chicken. For tips on other chicken dishes you might find this post useful.

How to choose the best wine for roast chicken

In general, if you’re cooking it simply with its own roasting juices I’d incline towards a white or light red. Roast it British-style with gravy and loads of vegetables and I’d go for a more substantial red such as a Côtes-du Rhône - though not a full-bodied one like a Grenache or a Shiraz unless you’re dealing with some sweetness and spice in the seasoning - as with this honey-roast chicken recipe. Here are more drink pairings that work: 

White burgundy or other good quality oaked chardonnay

A blissful match with a simply roast chicken without much done to it - or accompanied by mushrooms or truffles as Lucy Bridgers reports here. Also a good choice if you’re seasoning it with tarragon or serving it with a creamy sauce.

Viognier

This rich white is a good choice when you have a slightly spicy stuffing or one with fruit like apricots in it.

Red burgundy or other good quality pinot noir

Again, a good choice for a simply roast chicken served with its own juices or rubbed with Chinese five spice.

Beaujolais-Villages

If you’re serving the chicken at room temperature with a salad or seasoning it with lemon a good Beaujolais Villages or cru Beaujolais like a Brouilly is a good choice for spring or summer drinking. As of course is a rosé.

Côtes-du-Rhône Villages

The generous sweetness of a grenache-based Côtes-du-Rhône Villages is perfect If you’re making a more traditional, meaty gravy or are serving more strongly flavoured vegetables. Look out for specific villages such as Cairanne and Vacqueyras

Cider

Chicken and cider is a marriage made in heaven and that particularly applies to roast chicken. Use cider in the gravy too.

Golden or blonde ales

The beer world’s equivalent of Chardonnay: smooth, slightly sweet and just delicious with chicken. Roast chicken is also one of the staples of the Oktoberfest where they serve it with a light Helles lager but you could also enjoy it with a more full-bodied one like Budweiser Budvar or Brooklyn.

Champagne

It might seem extravagant but if you’re in the mood to splash out, a full bodied champagne like Bollinger or Louis Roederer is terrific with a roast chook - it’s the umami taste of the chicken skin that does it!

See also What wine goes best with chicken - red or white?

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The best wine pairings for cheddar cheese

As with most cheeses the ideal wine pairing for cheddar depends how mature it is.

A mild to medium block cheddar is going to be a lot easier to match (and in most cheeselovers’ eyes a lot less interesting) than an aged cloth-bound cheddar of 18 months or more.

For the purposes of this post though I’m assuming your cheddar is somewhere in between: mature, with a bit of bite but not too sharp.

And although wine is a great pairing there are other drinks which go just as well with cheddar, notably beer and cider - just think of the classic ploughman’s lunch!

Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon

We automatically think of red wine with cheese but it can struggle particularly with a sharp, well-matured cheddar. I’ve had most success with intensely fruity Chilean Cabernet Sauvignons but similarly fruity Cabernets from elsewhere (South Australia, for instance) can work well too. Watch the tannins though. Often a bottle with a two or three years bottle age will work better than a young one.

Late Bottled Vintage or vintage port

A classic pairing for cheese and cheddar is no exception

A strong ale

The basis of the popular ploughman’s but I’d personally go for a brew of over 5% - a strong ale in other words. Adnams Broadside is a good example. Also the best match for a cheddar-based Welsh rarebit!

A medium-dry strong cider . . .

Almost any combination of apple and cheddar is a winner but if your cheddar is medium to full-flavoured go for a medium-dry strongish cider . . .

. . . or apple flavoured liqueur

Especially with stronger cheddars. The Somerset Distillery’s Kingston Black or Somerset Pomona work particularly well.

An oaky chardonnay

Now this might surprise you but a barrel-fermented chardonnay is a surprisingly good pairing with a strong cheddar, bringing out the mellowness in the cheese and the fruitiness of the wine.

Note: serving chutney with your cheddar may make your match less successful. In general I find beer or cider work best.

See also The best wine - and other drinks - to pair with macaroni cheese

Download my cheese e-book!

If you’re a fellow cheese fanatic why not download my e-book, 101 Great Ways to Enjoy Cheese and Wine (and other delicious drinks) which is packed full of pairings, tips on how to serve and store cheese, how to create the perfect cheeseboard and and an at-a-glance guide to the cheeses that go best with your favourite wines. Click here to download.

Six of the best wine (and other) pairings with chicken pie

Chicken pie - or chicken pot pie - is classic comfort food. But what sort of drink goes with it best? Wine, beer or cider?

Variations on chicken pie exist, which are bound to affect your drink pairing. British-style chicken pies are often creamier than American-style chicken pot pies, for example.

Assuming you’re going for the classic creamy filling, here are my favourite pairings

Top drink pairings for chicken pie

* A smooth, creamy (but not too oaky) chardonnay is always good with chicken in a creamy sauce. A Chablis or Macon-Villages would be a classic match

* An old vine chenin blanc with a lick of oak works really well too

* Try other smooth dry white wines such as viognier or other medium to full-bodied Languedoc or Rhône whites

* A medium dry cider is lovely with chicken, especially if the sauce is made with cider too or the pie contains leeks. As is perry (aka pear cider)

* A blonde or golden ale is a great match if you prefer a beer

* If the sauce is made with red wine and/or tomato I’d go for a medium-bodied red such as a merlot or an Alentejo red.

For American-style chicken pot pie, which often includes a heartier mix of vegetables or gravy-like sauces:

* Fuller-bodied whites like California chardonnay or viognier will go well with with the savoury and slightly sweet vegetable elements.

* Richer reds, such as Pinot Noir or a Grenache, work surprisingly well if the filling leans into roasted or caramelized flavours.

* You might want to go for a fuller style of beer like an IPA or amber ale

See also What wine goes best with chicken - red or white?

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