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

Which wines to pair with calamari/squid

Calamari or squid is often served as a starter or appetiser with other dishes so you need to bear that in mind when you’re choosing a wine to pair with it. It also depends on the way you prepare it.

Except when it's cooked with red wine I'd say that almost any crisp citrussy white would work, sauvignon blanc being the obvious option but plenty of French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese whites would work too: Picpoul, albarino, Rueda, vinho verde - squid is really white wine-friendly.

Fried calamari or chipirones

Fried food is great with anything fizzy so a sparkling wine such as cava or a crémant would be perfect. Or if it’s part of a selection of Greek mezze, a crisp citrussy white like Assyrtiko. Chilled manzanilla sherry would also be brilliant especially with Spanish-style chipirones (baby squid).

Salt and pepper squid

A popular dish in Chinese restaurants. It may be more or less spicy but a dry riesling should work really well or, if it includes other Asian flavours as in this dish of this crispy chilli lime squid with edamame bean and coriander salad - maybe a pinot gris.

Chargrilled squid

Often squid is cooked on the grill or over an open fire which makes the dish more robust. A slightly richer white such as a good albarino can handle that. A Provençal rosé - especially a Bandol rosé - would also be great.

Braised squid with red wine

A chef friend of mine used to cook a dish of squid with red wine, orange and fennel which definitely made it a red wine rather than a white wine dish. A juicy Spanish red such as Bobal or a young rioja would work really well

Risotto nero, squid ink linguini and other dishes with squid ink

Squid ink adds a savoury, slightly saline boost to a dish but basically it’s a case of the same type of crisp dry white. Something like a Greco di Tufo or a Rueda as in this pairing from a Spanish holiday a couple of years ago. Albarino should work well too as you can see from this pairing with arroz negro.

And if you want to try cooking squid for yourself try this delicious recipe for Barbequed brochette of prawns, squid and courgette with sauce vierge.

Photo ©rondon at fotolia.com

Which wines pair best with eggs?

Eggs are supposed to be one of the trickiest ingredients to pair with wine but I’ve never entirely got it myself. More to the point do you want to drink wine with eggs at breakfast or even brunch, the time you’re most likely to eat them?

If you do, read on ...

Here I’m talking mainly about dishes where eggs are centre stage rather than the myriad dishes in which they play an essential but supporting role like quiche, meringues and soufflés. For example poached eggs (often with an egg-based sauce like hollandaise), scrambled eggs and omelettes.

Bear in mind that the addition of other ingredients makes a difference - how much depends on whether they overwhelm the essential egginess of the dish. Smoked salmon with scrambled eggs not so much, the peppery sauce of shakshuka a lot.

These are the wines I think pair with eggs best:

Champagne and other sparkling wines

My number one choice both in terms of compatibility and occasion though I’d go for a lighter style rather than a rich toasty one (unless truffles and/or chips are involved as in this sublime dish last year). Chardonnay-based sparkling wines, also known as blanc de blancs are perfect. Personally I think prosecco is a little sweet but up to you. I’d prefer a crémant or cava.

Smooth dry white wines

Think basic white burgundy and other unoaked chardonnays, Alsace pinot blanc, dry chenin blanc and Soave. Those wines would also go with omelettes and frittatas and with that retro (but rather delicious) classic, eggs mornay (eggs with cheese sauce).

What to drink with an omelette or frittata.

With a richer dish such as eggs benedict you could up the oak a bit and go for a more full-bodied chardonnay

The best wine pairings for eggs benedict

Inexpensive claret

Once you introduce meaty elements such as bacon and sausages you might feel more inclined to drink a red. Nothing too fruity, I suggest (think about the combination of raspberries or cherries with eggs. Not so appealing, huh?) but a simple young red Bordeaux works surprisingly well.

Robust southern French or Spanish reds

Good with eggs and chorizo, shakshuka and other dishes where tomatoes, peppers or pimenton are involved.

Red burgundy

Red burgundy works with a very specific dish from the region called oeufs en meurette where the eggs are cooked in a red wine sauce. Not my top choice otherwise.