Pairings | Gavi
The best wine and beer pairings for savoury pies
We Brits don’t need much encouragement to eat pies—they’re a staple of comfort food culture. But when it comes to enjoying a drink with your pie, the question arises: which is the better match—wine or beer? The answer, as always, depends on the type of pie you’re talking about and the flavours it brings to the table.
Steak pies with gravy
Almost always better with a strong ale or porter in my opinion.
Steak pies with red wine sauce
Should work with any full-bodied red. I normally tend to favour Languedoc or Rhône-style reds but a new world red like a malbec or an Australian shiraz would work well too
Chicken pies with a creamy filling
I’d go for an unoaked or subtly oaked Chardonnay, old vine Chenin Blanc or any other smooth dry white. Cider and perry also work well with chicken pies.
Pies with a tomatoey filling
Whatever the other ingredients I generally find cooked tomato works better with wine than with beer - I’d suggest an Italian Sangiovese or a Tempranillo-based red like Rioja, especially if there’s chorizo in it.
Cheese and spinach pies
I generally prefer crisp whites such as Sauvignon Blanc or even a more neutral white such as a Picpoul de Pinet with a light vegetarian pie like this but a light red like a Beaujolais would be delicious too.
Fish pies
Pair with the same sort of wines as creamy chicken pies.
Cold pies
With a classic pork pie I’d always go for an English bitter. A cold game pie however is a great match for a good red burgundy or Pinot Noir.
Photo © Richard M Lee at Shutterstock
The 5 best wine (and best cocktail) pairings for garlic cheesy bread
I wouldn’t have thought of proferring wine pairings for garlic cheesy bread had I not stumbled across the fact that it was the most re-pinned image on Pinterest.
I would have assumed you would eat it with other dishes that would have more impact on the wine you were drinking but it seems for garlic cheesy bread fanatics nothing must get in the way of their favourite food.
But you still need something to drink and here’s what I suggest
Sparkling wine
Assuming you’re tearing it apart in front of the TV a glass of bubbly should go down rather well. Doesn’t have to be champagne (although why not?) - a glass of prosecco would do nicely. Or even - gulp! - a moscato if that rocks your boat. (Bit sweet for me.)
Sauvignon Blanc
If GCB is everyone’s favourite snack why not drink everyone’s favourite white with it? Citrus flavours are always great with garlic.
Pinot Grigio, Gavi or other dry Italian whites
A good choice because the flavour is not too assertive - it won’t get in the way of that garlicky, cheesy bliss-out.
Riesling
Bit of a left-field choice this but a crisp fruity young riesling would really hit the spot. Especially if riesling proves to be the new Sauvignon Blanc
Merlot
White wine is better with GCB than red, I reckon but if red’s what you enjoy, red is what you should drink. I toyed with pinot noir but I frankly think Merlot would be better with all that garlic.
A margarita
I like the idea of a cocktail with GCB and what could be better than a margarita? A classic one I’d suggest not one of those fancy ones with strawberry or passionfruit. Though please don’t let me stop you ...
Image ©Brent Hofacker at shutterstock.com
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