Pairings | White wine

The best wine pairings for prawns or shrimp

Posted by Fiona Beckett on August 2 2025 at 10:56

A freezer staple in my house, prawns or shrimp are quick and easy to cook but what wine should you pair with them?

Like other ingredients it depends how you cook them.

The simple plate or tankard of cooked prawns in the shell is a different proposition from a spicy Thai prawn curry but in general prawns or shrimp have a delicate flavour that you want to respect. Your wine should act like a squeeze of lemon which generally points to a white or a crisp rosé.

Great wine pairings for prawns

Prawns or shrimp on the shell

A seasonal treat so the simpler the wine the better. I love those French seaside whites like Muscadet or Picpoul de Pinet with freshly cooked prawns. Italian whites like Pinot Grigio and Greco di Tufo also work well as do Vinho Verde, Albarino or a crisp Sancerre. Unoaked fresh whites in other words. Nothing wrong with a glass of prosecco though, obviously.

Prawn or shrimp salad

Similar wines to the above should also work unless the salad has a richer ingredient like mango or a spicy or zesty dressing in which case I’d be looking for a white with more personality like a sauvignon blanc or semillon or a blend of the two.

Prawn or shrimp cocktail

Again it’s more about the sauce than the prawns, especially if it’s the classic marie-rose sauce. I haven’t found a better pairing than an off-dry riesling though a fruity rosé works well too (and has the virtue of being pink if you’re colour-theming your pairings ;-)

Garlicky prawns or shrimp

Garlic LOVES sauvignon blanc so that’s a good starting point. Other citrussy whites like Rueda, unoaked white Rioja, Godello, southern Italian whites like Fiano and Falanghina and English Bacchus will all work. Goodness, almost anything barring a big oaky chardonnay will do. Try manzanilla or fino sherry too.

Prawn or shrimp curry

How hot is the curry? If it’s a korma or dry tandoori try a fruity rosé, if it’s a Thai green curry, a pinot gris or a medium dry riesling may be the better pairing.

Spanish prawn or shrimp rice dishes like paella

The Spanish themselves may disapprove of combining meat and fish in a paella but many contain chorizo, along wtih seasonings like saffron, garlic and pimenton which can make them quite spicy. Dry Spanish rosados such as those from Rioja and Navarra work well but you could even try a young (joven) red Rioja.

Prawn or shrimp linguine - or other pasta

If your sauce is tomato-based like this one I’d lean towards a dry Italian white or light rosé like a Provence rosé or Bardolino. If it’s creamy like this tagliolini with prawns and treviso try a white with a litlle bit more weight and roundness like a Soave, Gavi, Chenin Blanc or Chablis

The best pairings for albarino (and alvarinho)

Posted by Fiona Beckett on August 1 2025 at 07:35

If I had to sum up the best food pairing for albarino in one word it would be seafood. Which makes sense considering where it comes from on the coast of Galicia in the Rias Baixas region of northern Spain.

It has that distinctive salty tang you get from another of the country’s iconic wines, manzanilla sherry which makes it a great match for all kinds of raw and lightly cooked shellfish but as I discovered from a tasting with Mar de Frades there are more complex oaked versions which can handle richer fuller flavours.

The same suggestions apply to its Portuguese counterpart alvarinho which is made just over the border in the Vinho Verde region

Best pairings for young fresh albarinos

Oysters

Fresh white crab

Fresh prawns or shrimp

Mixed shellfish platters

Steamed mussets or clams

Simply grilled fish such as seabass, squid or sardines

Light creamy cheeses like this dish of burrata and beetroot as well as goats cheese

Seafood pastas and risotti like this smoked haddock and leek risotto

Ceviche (marinated raw fish)

Sushi and sashimi

Best pairings for more mature complex albarinos

Caribenero prawns with garlic

Fish stews (for other ideas see The best wines to pair with fish soups and stews)

Seared scallops

Arroz negro (black rice with seafood)

The best food to pair with Chardonnay

Posted by Fiona Beckett on July 23 2025 at 09:34

If you’re looking for food pairings for chardonnay, you’re in luck! Whatever the style it’s a fantastic food wine. Which makes it all the more remarkable that many people still say they don’t like chardonnay.

I always think saying you’re bored with chardonnay is a bit like saying you’re bored with chicken. There are so many different styles including some of the world’s greatest white wines.

The key to pairing chardonnay is appreciating that it’s not just one wine - it depends where it’s made, whether or not it’s oaked and how mature it is when you drink it.

I’m sharing my favourite food pairings for every style of Chardonnay - whether you’re sipping a steely Chablis, a rich Californian chardonnay, or a bottle you’ve had sitting in your wine rack for a while.

Top food pairings for four different styles of chardonnay

Young, unoaked, cool climate chardonnay

Crab legs by Larisa Blinova at shutterstock.com
Such as: The classic and most austere example of this is Chablis but other young white burgundies would fall into this category.

Good matches:

*They’re perfect with light and delicate food such as raw and lightly cooked shellfish like crab and prawns and steamed or grilled fish.

*If you want to serve chardonnay with appetizers think fish pâtés, fish, chicken or vegetable terrines.

*This style also goes well with pasta or risotto with spring vegetables and creamy vegetable soups.

*Finer, more intense examples such as Puligny-Montrachet can take on raw fish such as sashimi or delicately spiced fish or salads.

*Chablis is particularly good with oysters.

For more suggestions see this post on pairing food and Chablis

Fruitier, unoaked or lightly oaked chardonnays

Such as: Chardonnays from slightly warmer areas to the above but made in a more contemporary style - smooth, sometimes buttery with melon and peach flavours. Examples would be inexpensive chardonnays from the south of France, Chile, New Zealand and South Africa.

Good matches:

*Slightly richer dishes than those listed above but ones where a degree of freshness in the wine is still welcome.

*Fish pie and fish cakes (especially salmon fish cakes)

*other simple salmon preparations (simply poached or with a buttery sauce)

*chicken, pork or pasta in a creamy sauce (including in vol-au-vents!)

*chicken, ham or cheese-based salads such as caesar salad or chicken salads that include peach, mango or macadamia nuts

*mild curries with buttery sauces (such as chicken makhani)

Buttery, oaked Chardonnay

Such as: barrel-fermented, barrel aged or ‘reserve’ chardonnays, particularly top end Australian, New Zealand and Calfornian Chardonnay and top white burgundy, served within 1-3 years of purchase

Good matches:

*Similar dishes to the above but can take an extra degree of richness. Dishes like eggs benedict for example or even a steak béarnaise.

*Fine rich fish such as turbot, grilled veal chops with mushrooms

*Late summer vegetables such as red peppers, corn, butternut squash and pumpkin (pumpkin ravioli and a rich Chardonnay is very good)

*Cheddar cheese, if you’re looking for a chardonnay and cheese pairing.

*You can even drink a rich chardonnay with seared foie gras (and indeed many prefer it to Sauternes at the start of a meal)

Mature barrel-fermented Chardonnays

Poulet de Bresse with Jura Chardonnay
Such as: Wines that are about 3-6 years old. With age Chardonnay acquires a creamy, sometimes nutty taste and creamy texture that calls for a return to finer, more delicate dishes

Good matches:

*Umami-rich (savoury) dishes such as grilled, seared or roast shellfish like lobster and scallops

*simply roast chicken such as the poulet de Bresse above

*guinea fowl

*dishes that include wild mushrooms and slow roast tomatoes

*white truffles

*Hazelnut-crusted chicken or fish

*Sea bass with fennel purée

What wine to pair with gazpacho

Posted by Fiona Beckett on June 19 2025 at 12:34

If there’s one dish more difficult to pair with wine than already tricky tomatoes it’s gazpacho, the chilled Spanish summer soup that includes raw onion and peppers as well. So what wine should you pair with it?

White rather than red I suggest and make it young, crisp and fresh without any oak influence.

Bear in mind that if you’re in the mood for gazpacho you’re in the mood for a refreshing drink

6 of the best wine pairings for gazpacho

Rueda or sauvignon blanc

Good Rueda (and I wouldn’t buy the cheapest one you can lay your hands on) is a great match with the same bright citrussy flavours as a sauvignon blanc which of course would work too. I suggest one of the more restrained styles such as Reuilly from the Loire rather than a full-on New Zealand sauvignon blanc

Albarino

Galicia’s elegant versatile white is always a good option

Picpoul de Pinet

As is Picpoul from the south of France (good value too)

Dry Italian whites

Always spring into life with food - anything from a good pinot grigio from the Alto Adige to a Falanghina, Pecorino or Greco di Tufo from the south

Manzanilla sherry

You might be surprised to find sherry so far down the list given it’s a go to match with soup but that’s because it’s unpredictable, depending on the sherry and the recipe. When it works it’s brilliant but it just might misfire. My favourite style would be well chilled manzanilla from a freshly opened bottle though with white gazpacho (ajo blanco) I would go for a fino - or even a dry moscatel.

Provence rosé - which is more like a dry white wine - is also a pretty good option if it’s not too fruity which generally would be the case.

And read about this surprise pairing with smoked vodka!

6 of the best Spanish wines to pair with tapas

Posted by Fiona Beckett on May 24 2025 at 10:36

It shouldn’t come as a massive surprise that Spain can provide any style of wine you might fancy to drink with tapas.

Which, if you’re not familiar with it, it’s the Spanish word for the assortment of nibbles you get in a Spanish-style bar.

Which one to choose depends of course on your own personal taste and on the type of food you’re serving.

Tapas can embrace everything from a few nuts and olives to more elaborate hot dishes such as mushrooms and meatballs but here are the six wines I think work best.

Sherry*

Being a sherry fan I was bound to put it at the top of the list but in my view you can’t beat a good, freshly opened, well-chilled fino with the basic tapas of almonds, olives, manchego (cheese) and jamon. (Especially jamon!) Though with hot tapas like chorizo, mushrooms and meatballs (albondigas) I’d choose an amontillado. Waitrose has got a particularly good range under the Solera label.

Cava

Spain’s sparkling wine has suffered a bit of a hit since consumers switched to prosecco to the extent that it’s now both under-priced and underrated. It’s also a really good match for fried tapas such as chipirones (squid) and croquetas.

Rosado

Rosado is the Spanish name for rosé. Most comes from Rioja and neighbouring Navarra and is generally stronger and deeper in colour than those from Provence, which means it can cope with big flavours like spicy chorizo and allioli. Another good all-rounder.

Rueda

If you like sauvignon blanc you’ll like Rueda - in fact that’s what it’s sometimes contains although it’s more often based on the local verdejo which tastes very similar. Not all are good - they can have a coarse, catty taste about them - but the best are deliciously fresh and zesty. (Beronia does a good one which is stocked by Waitrose)

Rioja

I’m not talking about aged rioja here but young vivacious joven and crianza riojas that haven’t spent much time in barrel. They’re cheaper than the more mature reservas and gran reservas too. A good option for meatier tapas and for winter drinking.

Mencia

Perhaps the only one of these wines you might not be familiar with. It comes from Bierzo and Ribeira Sacra in the north-west of Spain and has a similar fruity character to Beaujolais. A good quaffing red for summer drinking, it would be good with cecina (cured beef), jamon iberico or indeed anything porky. (If you like it you’ll probably enjoy Bobal too)

*If you’d like to know more about sherry pairings download my book 101 Great Ways to Enjoy Sherry