Six of the best food pairings for Australian Shiraz (updated)

What most people probably think of in terms of Australian red wine is a Barossa or McLaren Vale shiraz - big, lush, sweet and ripe, the ideal pairing for grilled or barbecued beef.

Hunter Valley shiraz typically has a more savoury character that suits venison while Western Australian shiraz is made in a more elegant style, almost like a red Bordeaux, making it a good pairing for lamb.

Australian shiraz is typically much sweeter and riper than European-style syrah or syrah blends so I wouldn’t personally pair it with French food - or Italian dishes come to that. Think big flavours - and spice.

Here are six of my best pairings

* grilled or roast beef especially served rare or with a pepper sauce. Steak, in other words.

* barbecue, especially for younger less expensive shiraz and sparkling shiraz. Ribs, spicy sausages and smoked brisket in particular. Probably the best way to cook veggies if you’re looking for a vegetarian pairing

* big beefy stews such as ox cheek especially ones cooked in wine or with a touch of smoky spice like a chilli

* roast or grilled lamb, especially with more restrained Western Australia shiraz

* carpaccio of beef or venison this might surprise you but given the right accompaniments it can work as you can see from this former match of the week of carpaccio of venison with a Mollydooker The Boxer Shiraz.

* Strong hard cheeses especially cheddar. With its sweetness it can also handle a mellow blue

You might also like to know that a side of red cabbage makes a dish shiraz-friendly as you can see from this post.

And that you can even pair shiraz or a shiraz blend with fish if accompanied by a red wine sauce. See this match of the week of roast monkfish with girolles and Kalimna Cabernet-Shiraz 

And try this dish of slow-baked plums with shiraz and star anise.

These pairings would also apply to other shiraz that is made in the Australian style such as some of those from South Africa.

See also The best food pairings for syrah

You may also enjoy:

The best food matches for semillon and semillon-sauvignon blends

Which foods pair best with whisky?

I’ve been a bit of a sceptic in the past about pairing food with whisky. Not that there aren’t some great combinations but I find it hard to sustain for more than one dish.

Whisky distillers are constantly trying to persuade me to the contrary, inviting me to events pairing whisky with Indian or Italian food but it all seems slightly forced. Even for a whisky lover there are other drinks that work better.

However there are exceptions and here are some suggestions, divided up by whisky style, with some additional input from whisky writer Dave Broom. You may be suprised at some of the suggestions. Whisky with sushi? Whisky with smoked duck? Whisky with dark chocolate and ginger biscuits? Bring it on!

Light fragrant whiskies with a touch of sweetness 

Sushi (though whisky expert Dave Broom tells me that other styles can work well too)

Smoked salmon (especially wild salmon and other delicate smokes)

Dressed crab

Cullen skink (smoked haddock soup)

Cock-a-leekie (clear chicken and leek soup)

Parsnip soup

Kedgeree

Bread and butter pudding

Cranachan (whipped cream and whisky with toasted oatmeal and raspberries)

Soft, creamy cheeses

Medium bodied whiskies with some peat influence 

Smoked mackerel

Smoked mussels

Smoked oysters

Smoked duck

Smoked venison

Duck or chicken liver paté

Seared scallops and bacon

Black cod (Nobu-style) - also good with the Japanese whisky Hanyu King of Diamonds apparently

Haggis

Roast or braised pheasant

Pheasant or guineafowl with a creamy wild mushroom sauce

Full-bodied rich whiskies aged in sherry casks 

Seared or grilled steak

Char siu pork

Roast venison especially with caramelised/roast root vegetables

Rich fruit cakes e.g. Christmas cake

Christmas pudding

Mince pies

Pecan pie

Sticky toffee pudding

Gingerbread

Dark chocolate and ginger biscuits

Dark chocolate brownies

Mature cheddar

Washed-rind cheeses

Strong, peaty whiskies e.g. Lagavulin, Laphroaig

I’m cautious about these because of their powerful flavours but Dave urges you to be bold! He advocates scallops and bacon and dark chocolate (not on the same plate, obviously) with a peaty whisky, for example

Anchovy-based spreads or dips

Hot-smoked salmon

Bottarga

Haggis

Tea-smoked chicken

Mature farmhouse cheddar

Strong blue cheeses, especially Roquefort

See also these suggestions for peaty whiskies I came up with following a visit to Islay.

Bear in mind that some whiskies, especially cask-strength ones, may need a splash of water to work with food

Photograph by barmalini at shutterstock.com

The best wine pairings with meatballs (updated)

Meatballs are essentially comfort food so you probably don’t want to drink anything too fancy with them.

That said, wine is generally a great pairing with meatballs, especially a red. 

What will affect the match is both the seasoning of the meatballs and the sauce - if any - they’re served in. Fragrantly spiced middle-eastern meatballs are a different proposition from a plate of spaghetti and meatballs in tomato sauce where the sauce is as much of an influence as the meat. With their creamy sauce Swedish or other Scandi meatballs call for a slightly different wine too.

Here are some of my favourite pairings:

Spaghetti and meatballs

This much loved Italian-American classic needs no more than a simple carafe of rosso - Sicilian I suggest as in this pairing of spaghetti and meatballs with nerello mascalese. I had a similar combination at the Francis Ford Coppola winery a few years ago and they had exactly the right idea. A young gulpable Chianti would also hit the spot as would a Rosso di Montepulciano or Rosso Conero.

Baked meatballs with cheese

A similar type of recipe to the above just slightly richer so it might need a gutsier red - the sort you’d serve with a lasagne. Try a zinfandel, a southern Italian red like a primitivo or nero d’avola or a barbera.

Middle-eastern meatballs

Here you have spice (usually cumin and coriander), garlic, loads of herbs (coriander, mint and parsley) and yoghurt to contend with. I’d pick a medium-bodied red wine from Greece, the Lebanon or even the Languedoc (see this match ) but a dry rosé would also be delicious. Or even a crisp white . . .

Swedish (or other Scandi) meatballs

More savoury than the other three and generally served with a creamy gravy. Take the cue from the lingonberry jam by which they’re often accompanied. A bright fruity red like a pinot noir would work or - and you may be surprised by this - an inexpensive red Bordeaux or Bergerac.

Albondigas

Spanish meatballs, often served as a tapa. I’d generally serve them with a young or crianza rioja but they’re very good with amontillado sherry too.

Spicy e.g. Korean meatballs

Seasonings like gochujang chilli paste may make meatballs like this challenging for wine - a fruity world rosé is probably the best bet but maybe try this offbeat pairing of a mango, ginger and lime-based gin and tonic I featured a while back 

Image ©Mironov Vladimir at shutterstock.com

The best wine pairings for ravioli and other filled pasta

Just as pasta pairings are all about the sauce, stuffed pasta such as ravioli are all about the filling so you need to take account of what that’s based on and any accompanying sauce. 

Seafood is obviously going to need a different style of wine from a meaty filling like ox cheek.

That said Italian wines are generally pretty flexible - and well priced so they’re always a safe bet to fall back on.

Seafood-based ravioli

Ravioli are often filled with delicate seafood like lobster and crab in fine dining restaurants - and paired with white burgundy or other cool climate chardonnay like this match of langoustine ravioli with a top Chilean chardonnay

Oaked white Bordeaux would be a good choice too as it was with this prawn raviolo

Another good option would be blanc de blancs champagne or champagne-style sparkling wine

Meat-based ravioli

There’s quite a range of fillings here from mild savoury-tasting ham and cheese to robust wintry ox cheek. With the sort of ready-made cheese and ham tortelloni you find at the supermarket I’d drink a glass of Italian white wine like a Soave or a Gavi. If it was a more sophisticated restaurant dish like this veal ravioli you could go for a serious red like a barolo

Again, the kind of beef ravioli with red wine you find in the supermarket isn’t that intense. I’d probably go for a medium-bodied Italian red with that - Chianti would work or even a merlot or malbec. But if it’s a rich ox cheek filling think something more robust - a barbera, a modern Tuscan red, a nero d’avola or a zinfandel.

And if it’s the good old fashioned tinned ravioli with tomato sauce? A cheap and cheerful Sicilian red or a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo!

Veg-based ravioli

Butternut squash and pumpkin are really popular as a filling for ravioli, often served with brown butter and sage. There’s a sweetness and richness in both which calls for a rich white like a chardonnay, old vine chenin blanc or, as I discovered a while back, an oak-aged Douro white. I also really like a good Soave especially with a bit of bottle age.

Spinach and ricotta is another popular filling with which I’d pair a white wine but a lighter, crisper style than for pumpkin. Italian gavi or verdicchio for example or, outside Italy, an albarino would work well.

And with mushroom ravioli - as with everything else mushroomy - pinot noir goes really well. Or a creamy chardonnay

Photo by IriGri at shutterstock.com