What wines pair best with soup? (updated)

One of the few food and drink combinations I don’t feel that happy about is wine and soup. Not all soups, obviously, but many of them. 

It has as much to do with the type of food soup is (wholesome and comforting) as its texture and temperature. If you’re having a bowl of soup on its own or as the main component of a light meal it seems superfluous to drink wine with it. Soup, unless it is virtually thick enough to stand a spoon in, doesn’t really need another liquid to accompany it. Especially if that liquid is chilled.

On the other hand if you’re in a restaurant and everyone else is ordering starters or your soup kicks off a three course dinner party at home you’re probably going to want a glass of wine. So which kind?

When can wine work with soup? 

Many soups are quite delicate in flavour so the wine you choose with these needs to act as supporting cast rather than the star.

Sometimes however, with very rich, creamy soups such as a creamy chicken soup or a chowder, wine can provide a welcome note of freshness and contrast - almost like a squeeze of lemon or an extra layer of flavour. The classic pairing of consommé and sherry (or Madeira) comes into that category. The sherry adds a touch of sweetness and nuttiness to balance the meaty savouriness of the soup.

The wines that I think generally pair best with soup are crisp dry whites with some intensity and persistence. Chablis and other inexpensive white burgundies, Alsace Pinot Blanc, Pinot Grigio and other neutral Italian whites such as Soave, Spanish Albarino and crisp, minerally Sauvignon Blancs like Pouilly Fumé or Sancerre.

In short the sort of wines you drink as an aperitif and can carry on through the soup, sipping as much - or as little - as you like.

Here are some more specific suggestions for wine with soup

Photo by jenvit keiwalinsarid at pexels.com

Thin soups

Classic French consommé: dry amontillado sherry or dry Madeira. Tomato consommé (Loire Sauvignon such as Sancerre).

Asian broths flavoured with fish sauce, coriander and lime (Grüner Veltliner, dry German Kabinett Riesling)

Creamy vegetable soups
Smooth creamy vegetable soups such as leek and potato. soup generally go well with dry Italian whites such as Soave or with Pinot Blanc from Alsace. Fennel and cauliflower soups, which are particularly wine friendly, match well with good (but not over-oaked) white burgundy or other subtly oaked creamy Chardonnays, white Bordeaux, southern French blends of Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier or Chenin Blanc (The creamier a soup is the more full-bodied a wine it can take)

Carrot (and coriander) soup
Again a relatively neutral smooth dry white like a Soave or a chenin blanc. Medium dry cider is good with carrot soup too and I enjoyed this pairing of the carrot, lemon and tahini soup below with Roussanne.

Carrot and tahini soup

Mushroom soup
If it’s creamy drink lightly oaked Chardonnay. If it’s darker and more mushroomy a Pinot Noir would work better

Chicken soup
Again a lightly oaked Chardonnay is the easiest match, if it’s creamy. If it’s a Thai style soup made with coconut milk try pairing it with an Australian Riesling or Verdelho. With Jewish chicken soup don’t drink anything alcoholic - it’s supposed to be healthy and restorative!

Fish soups

 With a classic Provençal fish soup the flavours of garlic, tomato and saffron are as important as the fish and lead in the direction of a very dry crisp white like a Picpoul de Pinet or a full flavoured Provence rosé like a Bandol rosé 

Lobster bisque by SYED IBAD RM at shutterstock.com

Rich crab or lobster bisques match well with lush, opulent whites such as good white burgundy or a good quality but not overpowering Chardonnay. Creamy chowders fare better with a lighter, less expensive Chardonnay

For more about fish soups and stews see this post

‘Green’ soups such as watercress or spinach sometimes have a touch of bitterness about them that needs careful handling. Neutral dry Italian whites such as Soave, Bianco di Custoza and Lugana tend to match best. With an asparagus soup like this one you could try a Loire sauvignon blanc like a Sancerre or Pouilly Fumé or a Touraine Sauvignon. They’d also work with a fresh pea soup.

‘Sweet’ vegetable soups such as butternut squash and pumpkin pair well with rich Chardonnays or Viognier

Tomato soups
If they’re made from fresh tomatoes and are quite light in taste and texture go for a crisp white like a Sauvignon Blanc or an Albariño. You could also drink a well-chilled manzanilla sherry. If the soup has a richer, roast or cooked tomato flavour or is mixed with roast peppers you could also drink a medium bodied Italian or southern French red or a young Rioja.

With gazpacho you could try a modern unoaked white Rioja, Rueda or a fino sherry.

What wine to drink with gazpacho

French onion soup by By Natalia Lisovskaya at shutterstock.com

French onion soup has a very particular character, its melted cheese topping making it more like a hot cheese dish than a soup as you can see from this recipe. Traditionally the French would pair it with a basic vin blanc or a really sharp white like an Aligoté or a Chasselas - the sort of wines you’d drink with fondue and I think that’s the best answer.

Borscht and other beetroot soups
Really quite tricky with wine. Pilsner is incomparably better

Chunky, rustic soups with beans or pulses e.g. minestrone, lentil soup and soupy pasta e fagioli - the kind of soup that’s almost a stew. These match well with medium bodied rustic reds like Côtes du Rhône or young Syrah or Sangiovese. Chianti Classico is particularly good with chickpea soup.

This bean-based Mexican sopa azteca I wrote about recently was great with a pale ale. And I’d probably go for beer with black bean soup too. Given the lighter toppings maybe a lager though I think a dark beer would work too. There’s a recipe here if you’d like one.

Chipotle black bean soup

Cold soups

Light, crisp dry whites such as albariño and assyrtiko are again the answer except for fruit soups which can make them taste uncomfortably sharp. (Try sparkling wine or a complementary fruit beer instead).

I loved this cold herb soup with assyrtiko.

Cold herb soup paired with assyrtiko

Top picture © NatalyaBond at shutterstock.com

 

The best wines to pair with fish soups and stews (new)

Fish soup is often more of a main course than a starter so a dish you might well want to pair with wine. And depending how much fish it has in it it may be more like a stew.

There are some famous ones like Provencal fish soup, bouillabaisse, chowder and cioppino which all tend to have some quite feisty flavours but at the end of the day we’re talking about fish which generally means white wine rather than red.

If you want to know what wine goes with a particular fish soup or stew think about the areas that fish soups come from it should give you a steer - the south of France, the east coast of the US, even Brazil.

What would they drink locally? (That could be beer, just as easily as wine ...)

Here are some suggestions

Provencal fish soup

This dark intense fish soup which you also find in the Languedoc is served with croutons and rouille - a spicy, garlicky mayonnaise which makes it quite punchy. Personally I like a Picpoul with it but a crisp dry Provence rosé will work too and actually this is one of those fish soups that is fine with a red. Something like an inexpensive Côtes du Rhône or Costières de Nîmes.

Bouillabaisse

Another southern French fish stew - chunkier than the Provencal fish soup - and not quite as intense. Sometimes it includes fennel or pernod, maybe saffron or a touch of orange which inclines me more towards white Côte du Rhône or similar white blend of grenache,marsanne, roussanne, and viognier.

But given the amount of fish in it classic fish whites such as Picpoul, pinot grigio and albarino should work too or a strong, savoury dry southern French rosé like a Bandol

Bourride

Also from the south of France. Creamier than boullabaisse and quite garlicky. I’d try a rolle aka vermentino. Cassis would be great if you can lay your hands on a bottle, Picpoul would work again if you can’t. And Gavi from neighbouring Italy should work too.

photo by SYED IBAD RM at shutterstock.com

Crab or lobster bisque

Given this is a luxurious soup I’d go for a white burgundy or other creamy chardonnay or chenin blanc

Photo by SYED IBAD RM at shutterstock.com

Chowder

Chowder is characterized by its creaminess as much as its fishiness which suggests a light, not too oaky chardonnay. Chablis would be perfect. You could also try a smooth dry Italian white like a Gavin di Gavi or a Soave

The same type of wines will go with the Scottish dish Cullen Skink which is made with smoked haddock though you could also pair it with a dry cider or light malt whisky.

Cioppino and other tomato-based fish stews

Crisp dry white wines like pinot grigio, alberino and alvarinho would all work

Tom yum. Photo by Melandaaini at shutterstock.com

Tom yum (Thai fish soup)

Often served as part of a Thai meal that includes other dishes. Limey rieslings like Clare and Eden Valley riesling from South Australia go well with Thai food.

Prawn laksa

Laksa goes particularly well with dry(ish) riesling like the German riesling in this post. Alsace or New Zealand pinot gris should work too.

The best food pairings for prawns or shrimp

Moqueca

Brazilian fish stew - often served with corn. Brazilians would almost certainly drink a light lager with it. I also like the idea of a Torrontes from Argentina. There’s a recipe for moqueca on the site here.

Waterzooi - Belgian fish soup

Given this comes from Belgium it really has to be beer rather than wine. I’d go for a witbier or other wheat beer myself but you could go for a similar wine to a chowder.

Top photo by javarman at shutterstock.com

10 good wine pairings with paté

By paté I’m thinking of what wines to drink with rough country patés and terrines like a paté de campagne rather than fish patés or vegetarian patés which I’ll tackle separately. The sort that you might take on a picnic or eat in a wine bar.

Given that most patés contain a fair amount of fat you need a wine with some acidity. That could be white but personally I’m always drawn to rosé or a light, juicy red with the sort of bright berry fruit that complements paté perfectly, especially when served cool. Here are my top choices:

Beaujolais
The best wine bar none with charcuterie, paté included. I wouldn’t go for the cheapest examples but they don’t have to be a cru Beaujolais like a Morgon either.

Inexpensive red burgundy
I say red burgundy rather than Pinot Noir because I’m looking for acidity rather than sweetness. Nothing too grand - something like a Chorey-les-Beaune or even basic Bourgogne from a good producer

Loire reds like Saumur, Bourgeuil, Chinon and Anjou (as in this pairing)
Lightly chilled Cabernet Franc is great with paté

Rustic south-west French wines like Marcillac and Fronton - heavens, even a simple young Bordeaux

Valpolicella
No reason why France should have the monopoly on wine pairings. Its bright cherry fruit is lovely with pork

Mencia from the Bierzo region of north-west Spain - one of my new favourite Spanish grape varieties

Young syrah/shiraz - preferably from a natural wine producer like Hervé Souhaut

Southern French rosé - again I pick this as opposed to fruitier rosés because it’s dry. And rosé always seems the perfect picnic wine

Chablis - good with ham so generally good with paté too

Dry - or even sweet - oloroso sherry
Surprisingly good with richer game patés and terrines

And finally - not a wine but a surprisingly good pairing - gin!
Because of the botanicals, especially juniper. Again particularly good with a game paté

Image © © zoryanchik at fotolia.com

6 of the best pairings for pinot grigio

That pinot grigio is many people's favourite white wine should come as no surprise - it’s a refreshing, versatile wine that pairs really well with light, summery food and ever-popular Italian staples such as pasta and risotto.

Six top pairings for pinot grigio

• Antipasti, especially seafood and vegetable-based ones like seafood salad or marinated fish like octopus
• Fried fish or vegetables such as fritto misto - or even fish and chips
• Light pasta sauces including seafood like clams, cream or fresh tomato (it’s not so good with more robust meaty sauces). You can even add a splash of the wine to the recipe as I’ve done in this recipe for tiger prawns with tomato and basil sauce. Pinot grigio is great with a carbonara too.
• Light seafood or vegetable-based risottos such as risotto primavera(with spring vegetables such as peas and asparagus) or with fennel. Risi e bisi too.
• Light seafood salads such as crab or prawn/shrimp salad
• Sushi - it might not be the obvious pairing but it's a good one

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