The best food to pair with Chardonnay

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 something in between. We’ll dive into the best dishes to bring out the vibrant fruit, balance the acidity, and complement those creamy textures. 

Top food pairings for four different styles of chardonnay

Young, unoaked, cool climate chardonnay


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 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


Such as: Wines that are about 3-8 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

See also

The Best Food Pairings with White Burgundy

What chardonnay doesn’t pair well with

*Chinese food (better with German riesling)

*Light fresh cheeses such as goat or sheep cheeses (better with sauvignon blanc or an aged red, respectively

*Seared salmon or tuna (better with a light red like pinot noir)

*Tomato-based dishes (better with dry Italian whites or Italian reds)

*Thai flavours (better with Alsace pinot gris or New World sauvignon blanc)

Top image © Philip Wise at shutterstock.com

The best food pairings for Tokaji Aszu

Tokaj or Tokaji Aszu from Hungary is one of the most historic and delicious dessert wines which now has it’s own dedicated day on December 10th but if you’re looking for the ideal food pairing you can take it much further than the dessert course.

Like Sauternes the grapes are botrytised, in other words affected by a fungus that allows them to shrivel to a delicious sweetness (a process called noble rot). Look out for wines that have 5 or 6 puttonyos a historical measurement of sweetness that related to the number of hods or containers of botrytised berries that were added to the grape must.

It’s richer than Sauternes - less a question of honey and lemon and more tropical fruits and orange marmalade which makes it go particularly well with caramelised and dried fruits. (And, you’ll be pleased to hear, chocolate!)

What desserts go with Tokaji

Roast pineapple

As in this signature dessert of tipsy cake with spiced roast pineapple at Heston Blumenthal’s restaurant Dinner (which has recently re-opened in London)

Caramelised apple dishes such as tarte tatin and this wonderful sounding dish from a Hungarian restaurant called Barta Pince in Mád which accompanies a dessert called Őszi alma (’Autumn Apple’). It contains creme brulée, apple jelly, granola, marinated apples, coffee ganache and apple chips

Dark chocolate, especially with orange like this chocolate marmalade slump cake.

Christmas pudding

Not the easiest dish to match with a dessert wine but Tokaji aszu works really well particularly with lighter, fruitier styles of pud. You could drink it with panforte too.

What savoury dishes go with Tokaji?

Foie gras

The most popular pairing in Hungary where foie gras is as popular as it is in France. And it's true Tokaji goes incredibly well with it, particularly when it’s served hot. You can download a list of suggested servings from their website aszuday.com. And if you don’t eat foie gras it’s also very good with a goose or duck liver parfait.

Sichuan or Thai dishes that combine heat and sweetness such as this dish of smoked caramelised salmon from a wine dinner cooked by two Bordeaux-based Chinese chefs we reported on a while back. Or for a longer list check out he Tokaj website

Blue cheese, especially Stilton. An accidental discovery at London cheesemonger Paxton & Whitfield which I’ve repeated on many an occasion as a lighter (and equally delicious) alternative to port

Photo ©visionsi at fotolia.com

The best food pairings for Sauternes

Sauternes is a famously luscious sweet wine from the Bordeaux region of France but what kind of food should you pair with it? This post deep dives into what you should eat with Sauternes, both sweet and savoury.

The French would immediately say either foie gras or Roquefort - two savoury pairings for Sauternes and Barsac that may or may not appeal to you (not me, in the former case, because I don’t - or try not to - eat foie gras).

There’s also a history in the region of pairing Sauternes with poultry. “Poultry of all kinds marries well with sweet wines; one of the most famous dishes of the region is roast chicken liberally basted with Sauternes, and then served with a bottle of the same wine” writes Jill Norman in an archive post on Sweet Bordeaux and Savoury Food you might find interesting.

Sauternes producers often match their wines with Chinese and other Asian dishes such as lacquered pork to broaden its appeal but while these pairings can undoubtedly work it generally takes a skilled chef working with a specific wine to make it risk-free.

What about pairing Sauternes with desserts though? Oddly the French don’t seem too keen on the idea though to me it makes perfect sense especially with fresh fruit.

So here are my top pairings which are by and large quite simple. The same sort of pairings would work with other sweet wines from the region such as Cadillac and, Loupiac though the latter don’t have the same intensity (more of a problem with savoury dishes than with sweet ones).

One other thing to bear in mind: the best pairing will also depend on how old a wine is - an old Sauternes needs more respectful treatment - perhaps even no food at all - than a young one. Maybe cooked rather than fresh fruit for example (see the roast pineapple suggestion below)

What to eat with Sauternes

Dessert pairings for Sauternes

Ripe peaches and nectarines

Strawberries and cream

Simple French fruit tarts - especially apple and apricot tart

Roast pineapple - maybe the perfect match for Chateau d’Yquem on one of the rare occasions I’ve drunk it. I suspect a pineapple upside down cake would be rather delicious too.

Creamy desserts such as crème brûlée and panna cotta (especially with passionfruit, mango or early season forced rhubarb - see this post on Sauternes and Rhubarb).

Mille-feuille, custard tarts and other simple patisserie

Savoury pairings for Sauternes

Foie gras - if you must - but I always think it’s hard to start a meal with a sweet wine. As a high class snack though, maybe. It will also work with similar dishes like a duck or chicken liver parfait

Sauternes and cheese pairing
Not just salty blue cheeses like Roquefort and Beenleigh Blue but, more surprisingly, washed rind cheeses like Epoisses, provided they’re not too mature and gooey.

Creamy blue cheese spreads or terrines work too as does a creamy savoury cheescake

Glazed or lacquered pork or quail

Shellfish dishes with a sweet edge such as scallops and grilled lobster (better with older vintages)

Hot/sweet Thai dishes with younger Sauternes

Savoury dishes that include tropical fruit such as duck and mango

Sweet-flavoured vegetables such as confit’d fennel, roast carrots and sweet potato can assist a Sauternes pairing with ingredients such as chicken or pork

What temperature should you serve Sauternes?

The ideal serving temperature for Sauternes and similar sweet Bordeaux whites is about 10-12°C (50-54°F), at the upper end of that scale for an older wine, bearing in mind a half bottle will chill more quickly than a full-size one.

You may also be interested in this post from the archives

Sweet or savoury - what is the perfect match for Sauternes?

Photo © Pascal Moulin at fotolia.com

Which foods pair best with tawny port?

We rarely think of tawny port as a flexible pairing for food. We serve it with stilton, obviously and with hard cheeses like cheddar, with nuts and dried fruits and over Christmas with fruit cake and mince pies but that’s usually as far as it goes.

True, its sweetness suggests desserts and cakes rather than savoury dishes but like other strong dessert wines it can do sterling service at the start of a meal, particularly if it’s - as is increasingly fashionable - lightly chilled. And even with sweet things you should ensure - as is the case with other dessert wines - that your dessert is not far sweeter than your port.

On the spot
A Portuguese favourite with tawny port are the rich eggy pastries that you find in the pastelerias (patisseries) and creamy desserts such as crème caramel. Figs and (elvas) plums are also considered good matches. (According to Christian Seely of Quinta do Noval tawny is superb with fig tart) My own star match, improbable as it might sound, is bread pudding, a brilliant combination I came across on a visit to Lisbon a few years ago.

Sheep's cheeses also work well especially what is by common consent one of Portugal’s finest, the rich creamy Queijo Serra - highly prized by cheese connoisseurs

Why not try:
10 year old tawnies with:

• sherry-style with salted roast almonds

• chicken or duck liver parfait or other meaty pâtés and terrines

• presunto (Portuguese air dried ham) or Spanish jamon iberico

• pecan, almond or walnut tart or cakes

• apple, pear or banana tatin

• a compote of dried fruits

• crème brûlée

• cheesecake (without red fruits)

• ginger-flavoured cakes and puddings

See also my post on caramel-flavoured desserts and tawny port

20 year old tawnies with:

• foie gras - a rich, nutty alternative to Sauternes, it will pick up on a sweet accompaniment such as balsamic vinegar or prunes

• roast lobster (according to Calem)

• feathered game such as pheasant and partridge

• hard sheep's milk cheeses such as Ossau Iraty and Manchego, mature Gouda, parmesan

• dark, bitter chocolate and chocolate truffles (Valrhona’s Caraibe and Choua are recommended by the Chocolate Society)

• biscotti

• panforte di Siena

• roasted chestnuts (a great suggestion from Jose Carneiro of Wiese & Krohn)

In the kitchen
Tawny port is a useful ingredient for any cook to have to hand, especially for deglazing pans. It works particularly well with chicken livers, lambs liver and kidneys and will also add richness to slow-braised meat sauces.You can also use it as a base for a sabayon or zabaglione

A version of this article was first published in Decanter magazine

Image ©anna_shepulova at Adobe Stock.