The best wine pairings with monkfish

Monkfish (or lotte, as the French call it) is a meaty fish that is often roasted so pairs equally well with red wine as with white. In fact a lightly chilled red wine would generally be my preferred match, particularly if it’s wrapped in pancetta or bacon

Wines to drink with roast monkfish

Pinot noir
I’d choose a pinot with some fresh acidity rather than too much sweet fruit so a pinot from Burgundy, Germany (where it’s known as spätburgunder), Sonoma, Oregon or the Marlborough region of New Zealand rather than Central Otago or Chile

Mencia
A fashionable red from the north of Spain that tastes a bit like a cross between pinot noir and Loire cabernet franc (which you could also drink)

A full-bodied oaked white wine such as a Douro white (there’s a good story about this one!) or an oaked white rioja.

Albarino
Again from Spain this fresh-tasting white is always a safe bet with seafood, and would be a good choice if the monkfish is served with a lemony sauce

Monkfish with Provençal flavours like tomatoes and saffron

Try a strong southern French rosé such as Bandol or a good Languedoc rosé

Monkfish in red wine sauce

I’d choose a more full-bodied red like a merlot

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Wine with Turkey: Six Crowd-Pleasing Pairings

You may already have your own favourite wine pairing for turkey but if you’re looking for inspiration here are some wines that I think go with turkey best.

Red or white wine with turkey? It depends.

The challenge with pairing wine with turkey is what else you serve with it - a full-flavoured, fruity, sometimes spicy stuffing, tart cranberry sauce and an array of vegetables (sprouts and carrots at a minimum) that means you probably have about a dozen different flavours on your plate. That doesn’t mean you can’t pick a white or rosé but it does suggest something full and fruity that can cope with the onslaught.

The other consideration should be who you have round the table as both Thanksgiving and Christmas tend to be multi-generational gatherings involving older members of the family who may well be set in their ways! So it’s worth sticking to tried and tested crowd-pleasers:

Six wines that pair really well with turkey

Chateauneuf-du-Pape

Not an inexpensive option, admittedly but the impressively embossed label has a real feel-good factor and the generous alcohol of the wine will hold its own with the stuffing and sides. Don’t try to do it on the cheap though. A decent Chateauneuf costs at least £15 (on special offer) and generally well over £20.

Other southern Rhône reds

More affordable options would be appellations such as Lirac (just next door to Chateauneuf), Gigondas and Côtes du Rhône ‘village’ wines such as Vacqueyras, Séguret and Cairanne. The 2015 and ‘16 vintages were particularly good ones. A magnum would make that choice even more impressive

Other GSM (grenache/syrah/mourvèdre) blends

‘Cos that’s the base of the Chateauneuf/southern Rhône reds. You’ll also find that style of wine in the Languedoc but also in Australia and South Africa. Often with the letters GSM on the bottle.

Merlot

Time we rehabilitated Merlot which is a really delicious, crowd-pleasing wine. Look for a smooth velvety style rather than a heavily oaked one. Chile has some well-priced examples.

Sparkling Shiraz

This is what the Aussies tend to have with Christmas lunch which is of course celebrated in high summer. If you don’t have the nerve to serve it with the meal itself crack open a bottle on Boxing Day. (Straight unfizzy Shiraz is also pretty good with a hot or cold bird)

Oaked chardonnay

If you really want white wine with turkey, I suggest an oaked chardonnay. A surprise, maybe, but at a Christmas tasting I did a couple of years ago for Decanter magazine a white burgundy - a Chassagne-Montrachet - came out tops. (Limoux chardonnay is a good low cost alternative.) You need to keep the gravy relatively light, obviously, but it’s surprising how well it works. Well worth having a bottle on the table for those who prefer white wine to red.

You could obviously serve other classic wines such as red Bordeaux, Burgundy or Rioja but I personally feel they’re better with other festive meats:

Bordeaux or other cabernet blends - better with roast beef

Burgundy or other good pinot noir - better with roast duck or goose

Rioja - better with roast lamb

What I wouldn’t do is pull out some aged and venerable bottle that you’ve been keeping for a special occasion. There’s always a danger that it will disappoint and that the cranberry sauce will just slaughter it.

When it comes to cold turkey think in terms of a slightly lighter red like a pinot noir or (my own favourite) a chilled cru Beaujolais or good Beaujolais Villages. See also my post on what to drink with the turkey leftovers.

Of course, you don’t need to have wine at all. Check out these five great beer pairings for roast turkey.

So what do you drink with your turkey? I’d love to hear about your favourite wine matches in the comments or on Twitter.

Wine and lamb: my 5 favourite pairings

It’s tough to say what the best wine matches for lamb are - it’s served so many different ways and there are so many wines (mainly red) that work but here are my five favourites.

Bear in mind lamb is a slightly fattier, gamier meat than beef and carries spicing well - you’ll find lamb dishes all over north Africa, the eastern Mediterranean and India. But it can also be quite delicate and sweet - when served rare for example.

Here are the five I most commonly reach for:

PINOT NOIR

The wine to go with more delicate lamb dishes such as rack of lamb served with spring vegetables, lamb noisettes or a spring lamb stew (See this report from the International Pinot Noir Convention a couple of years ago to see how ‘new world’ pinots performed against classic red burgundy)

RIOJA

Go to the Rioja region of Spain and you’ll invariably be offered a mountain of lamb cutlets cooked over smouldering vine cuttings - one of the most delicious examples of vineyard cuisine you’ll find anywhere. And a red Rioja reserva is the ideal partner.

CHIANTI

If you’re serving your lamb Italian-style with garlic and rosemary reach for a bottle of Chianti Classico. Its fresh acidity offsets lamb’s slight fattiness perfectly - one of those matches which makes both the wine and food sing.

RED BORDEAUX AND SIMILAR BORDEAUX BLENDS

Another part of the world where lamb is a favourite, particularly in the Médoc. Again likely to be served simply with garlic. A red Bordeaux or similar blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot will offset it beautifully. (Also good with classic British dishes such as Lancashire hotpot and shepherd’s pie!)

SOUTHERN FRENCH REDS AND OTHER GRENACHE/SYRAH/MOURVEDRE BLENDS

Wines from the Rhône and Languedoc-Roussillon are good for more robust lamb dishes such as braised lamb shanks, Moroccan tagines or other spicy stews and casseroles - even milder lamb curries.

For a longer list of options read Top Wine Pairings for Lamb

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Which foods pair best with Merlot?

Merlot has one of the widest ranges of styles of any red wine from the light, quaffable merlots of the Veneto to the grandest of Bordeaux. Obviously one type of food doesn’t go with them all but merlot is your flexible friend when it comes to wine pairing, smoother, rounder and less tannic than cabernet sauvignon with which, of course, it is often blended. Read this post to learn more about about Merlot what foods pair best with this versatile wine.

Why is Merlot Such a Food-Friendly Wine?  

Unlike cabernet you can pair merlot with a range of Italian dishes, especially tomato-based ones and it responds very well to the ‘umami’ (i.e. deeply savoury) tastes you get in foods such as roast chicken, mushrooms and parmesan.

Because a great many merlots are medium-bodied they tend to go well with richly sauced dishes such as steak (or even fish) in a red wine sauce or with casseroles, where a more powerfully tannic wine would be overwhelming. (It’s also a good wine to use when you’re cooking, making a rich base for red wine sauces)

Sides that pair well with merlot are caramelised roast veggies especially those with a touch of sweetness, such roast squash, red peppers and beets and - as mentioned above - fried or grilled mushrooms.

Fruity merlots also pick up on red fruit-based accompaniments such as cranberry sauce and salads that contain red berry fruits

Because of its inherent sweetness it also works well with foods that have a touch of hot spice, not so much Indian spicing as hot and smoked pepper: dishes such as blackened fish or jambalaya. I also find it works with the anise flavour of five spice and fennel.

The best food pairings for different styles of merlot

Light, quaffable merlots

Tend to work with dishes with which you might otherwise drink a gamay or a sangiovese:

• Pizza and other toasted cheese dishes such as panini and quesadillas
• Pasta dishes with tomato-based sauces, especially with pancetta/bacon or mushrooms
• Grilled chicken, especially with Mediterranean grilled veg such as peppers, courgettes/zucchini and aubergines/eggplant
• Charcuterie (e.g. pâtés, terrines and salamis)
• Milder cheeses like medium-matured cheddar

Medium-bodied fruity merlot

• Italian-style sausages with fennel
• Spaghetti and meatballs
• Baked pasta dishes such as lasagne and similar veggie bakes
• Macaroni cheese
• Meatloaf
• Burgers - especially cheeseburgers
• Spicy rice dishes such as jambalaya
• Bean dishes with smoked ham or chorizo
• Hard and semi-hard cheeses especially merlot Bellavitano cheese
• Seared - even blackened - salmon
• Chinese style crispy duck pancakes
• Braised short ribs

Classic, elegant merlots e.g. Saint-Emilion and other merlot-based Bordeaux

• Grilled chops - veal, pork or lamb - especially with herbs such as thyme and rosemary
• Steak, especially in a red wine sauce
• Beef Wellington
• Roast beef or lamb with a simple jus or a mushroom sauce
• Roast chicken, turkey and guineafowl
• Simply roast duck - and Chinese crispy duck pancakes again
• Roast turkey (a ripe merlot makes a good Thanksgiving or Christmas bottle)

With older vintages keep the sauces and accompaniments simple. Anything with mushrooms or truffles will be a good match

Full-bodied rich merlots or merlot-dominated blends

Basically you can pair these with the same sort of dishes with which you’d drink a cabernet sauvignon - especially chargrilled steak, roast beef and roast lamb - preferably served rare

See also The best food pairings with Saint-Emilion 

Top image © Nadin Sh: