The best wine pairings for anchovies

If you're an anchovy lover you'll probably go ahead and eat them whatever wine you're drinking but being both salty and fishy they certainly go with some better than others.

Whether it's a major factor depends how much of an influence they have on a dish: not much in the case of a pizza, far more in the case of anchovies served in oil or with bread and butter which is obviously all about the anchovies. Or a dish like the warm anchovy dip bagna cauda though oddly you can drink a red such as barbera or dolcetto with that. At least the locals do as you can see from this piece by Marc Millon.

It also depends if there’s meat involved. Anchovies are often used to stud roast lamb or as an accompanying sauce for rare steak as with Nigella’s anchovy elixir. I’d still be inclined though to be led by the meat rather than the anchovies though Italian reds like Chianti do seem to be particularly sympathetic to them.

And if cream is involved as it often is, for example in this celeriac and anchovy gratin, try a Chablis or a similarly mineral white burgundy such as a Saint-Aubin.

It also makes a difference whether the anchovies are salted or cured like Spanish boquerones which tend to work with a fruitier white (e.g. verdejo or sauvignon blanc) than their saltier counterparts. Often they’re part of a spread of tapas which makes sherry a good option too.

Wines to pair with salted anchovies

Manzanilla or fino sherry

If you’re a sherry fan this is a match made in heaven. From a well-chilled, freshly opened bottle.

Txakoli

Northern Spain's quirky spritzy white - if you go to San Sebastian this is what to order as you can see from this post I wrote a couple of years ago.

Other ultra-crisp, dry whites such as assyrtiko, Greco di Tufo and albarino (and Portugal’s alvarinho) work well too - the latter particularly with cured anchovies as you can see here

Dry southern French rosé, particularly from Provence

Anchovies are popular along the Mediterranean coast especially in dips like anchoiade and dry rosé is the perfect accompaniment. It’s also a good match for salade niçoise which is generally topped with an anchovy or three though I personally think caesar salad, particularly chicken caesar salad, is better with a light chardonnay (maybe because of the parmesan).

Dry vermouth

We don’t drink vermouth on its own as much as we should or perhaps I’m just speaking for myself. But with its slight herby bitterness it’s a really good pairing for anchovies. Served neat over ice with a slice of lemon.

Victoria Moore also suggests a dirty martini in her Wine Dine Dictionary which I can imagine working really well.

If you feel in the mood to eat some anchovies after reading this try this roasted red pepper and anchovy salad from José Pizarro.

Six of the best matches for Bacchus and Bacchus-based wine blends

If you've bough a bottle of English wine to celebrate St George's Day or English Wine Week you may be wondering what sort of food suits it best.

Chances are it may be Bacchus, a cross between Müller Thurgau and Silvaner-Riesling that tastes quite similar to a sauvignon blanc. It works well with the sort of food that pairs with sauvignon but is usually a degree or so lighter in alcohol so may not be able to cope with such intense flavours. English whites also have a delicate elderflower character which makes me think of classic summery English food.

Here are six pairings I think work really well.

*fresh goats cheese and goats cheese salads. Just as sauvignon loves goats cheese so do English whites

*spring vegetables such as asparagus, peas and broad beans - such as this dish of asparagus with gnocchi and a wild garlic pesto.

*fresh seafood particularly crab salads or sandwiches and prawns

*other light salads without powerfully flavoured dressings - a seafood or chicken salad for example or even a fresh tomato salad

*poached or grilled salmon without a rich sauce. (Mayonnaise is fine. So is cucumber which is lovely with this style of wine)

*light fish dishes like the celery risotto with Westcombe cheddar and smoked haddock I had at Pump House in Bristol a while back. Simply pan-fried or grilled fish is perfect too.

Photo ©Linda at fotolia.com

The best wine matches with salt cod

Salt cod, a popular Good Friday dish in parts of the Mediterranean, is cooked many different ways which suggest different wine pairings.

Bear in mind that like other salty foods it will have the effect of making wines taste sweeter than they are so drier wines with good acidity work best. In general I’d go for a crisp white like a picpoul or an albarino but there are occasions when a red or rosé will work just as well.

Brandade de morue

This southern French salt cod purée works well with crisp dry whites such as Picpoul de Pinet, slightly earthier whites like a white Côtes du Rhône or a dry southern French rosé

Salt cod croquetas or fish cakes

As you’d expect, very good with chilled fino sherry and albarino but more surprisingly also with savagnin from the Jura

Fried salt cod with garlic-pepper sauce

An ice-cold vinho verde, according to Portuguese-American food writer David Leite who has a particularly good collection of salt cod recipes on his website Leite's Culinaria. It might also work with a grüner veltliner as did this salt cod tartare

Portuguese style baked salt cod with cream (bacalhau com natas)

Also often paired with vinho verde but I’d go for a young Douro white with a lick of oak or - less conventionally - with a white rioja.

A robust dish such as a salt cod stew with tomatoes and peppers (ciambotta) can actually take a full-bodied red, especially if it includes chorizo. See this pairing with a super Tuscan and this match with a Languedoc cabernet/merlot blend.

For more wine pairing ideas with salt cod check out Catavino

Image © uckyo - Fotolia.com

The best food pairings for Vermentino

Vermentino is incredibly versatile - a brilliant wine pairing for anything fishy, herby or citrussy and a great wine for spring and summer drinking.

Most comes from Italy - Sardinia being a particularly good source - but it’s also produced in Liguria, Tuscany, Corsica, Provence and the Languedoc where it's also known as Rolle.

With crisp fresh young vermentinos I’d serve:

* Raw and marinated shellfish such as oysters and carpaccios

* Fritto misto or other fried fish - I had a lovely side of fried lemon and sage (below) at Spring recently

* Simply grilled or baked fish such as seabass especially with fresh olive oil or a salsa verde. Grilled squid. Grilled prawns or shrimp - try this recipe for prawn brochettes from Bruce Poole

* Spaghetti alle vongole, linguini with crab and other pasta dishes with seafood

* Spring and early summer vegetables such as asparagus, peas, broad (fava) beans, fennel and even artichokes

* Raw and lightly cooked vegetables such as marinated courgettes and leeks vinaigrette

* Dishes where herbs are predominant such as pasta or gnocchi with pesto

Late harvested or more mature vermentinos pair well with:

* Richer fish dishes such as lobster or lobster rice (a local Sardinian speciality)

* Light meat dishes such as roast veal, baby lamb and suckling pig.

* Vitello tonnato