The best food pairings for rioja

Rioja - and by that I mean red rioja - is one of the UK’s best-loved wines and one of the easiest ones to match with food too.

As you’d expect it pairs particularly well with Spanish food especially lamb and pork and recipes that contain red peppers, pimenton, garlic and saffron.

The main thing to bear in mind is the style of the wine - whether it’s a young (joven) rioja which can handle quite robust, even spicy dishes, or an older (reserva or gran reserva) one which would benefit from more simply prepared food.

Riojas that are made in a more modern style can also handle more spice than more traditional ones. Modern Indian food with rioja is a surprising hit.

These dishes will generally work with most riojas:

* Almost any kind of lamb dish from roast lamb to tender lamb cutlets grilled over vine clippings (a local favourite in the region) to slow braised lamb shanks or even a rogan josh. Shepherds pie, Lancashire hotpot, merguez, moussaka . . . It’s hard to think of a lamb dish that doesn’t work with rioja.

* Many pork dishes especially cooked Spanish style with beans. Chorizo and morcilla (black pudding) are both good pairings for younger riojas as are jamon (ham) and albondigas (meatballs) making red rioja a good match for more robust tapas.

* Dishes with red peppers and/or pimenton or paprika

* Almost any kind of mild or medium-hot dish with chillies like chilli con carne and other chiles. (Rioja suits south-west American food and American barbecue)

* Dishes with saffron such as paella or Moroccan tagines - including, surprisingly, chicken with preserved lemon and olives and Mediterranean-style fish stews

* Older gran reserva riojas are especially good with roast game birds such as pheasant and partridge. Indian-style game dishes work well with younger riojas

* Cheese, especially hard sheeps’ cheeses such as Manchego, although a mellow rioja reserva is a generally reliable choice with a cheeseboard - unlike many reds.

See also The best matches for white Rioja

4 tips to bear in mind when pairing Easter lamb

The good news if you’re planning an Easter feast around lamb is that practically any medium to full-bodied red wine you enjoy will be delicious with it. But there are a few variables to take into account that might enhance the pairing

When Easter is

This year it’s mid April but it can be at the end of March. Given the unpredictability of the weather these days that might not make a huge difference but in theory you could still be in late winter mode if it’s in March or early April and feeling more springlike 2-3 weeks later. In wine terms an early Easter might make you fancy heartier wines such as a cabernet sauvignon or malbec while a later one might incline you to a pinot noir or Loire cabernet franc like a Saumur-Champigny.

Where you are

The above assumes you’re in the northern hemisphere where Easter takes place in the spring. In the southern hemisphere of course it’ll be autumn and your likely accompaniments might be root veg and squash (cue more robust reds such as shiraz/syrah or grenache) rather than peas and asparagus (gamay and pinot)

How old the lamb is

Although lamb is always associated with Easter it may not actually be the new season’s lamb unless it’s milk-fed which again calls for more delicate wines (a good burgundy, say) than an older, perhaps more gamey, animal (a Gigondas or other robust southern Rhône or Languedoc red)

The way you’re cooking it

Rare lamb calls for younger, fresher, brighter wines than slow cooked lamb which will show off older vintages to greater advantage

And think where the recipe you're using comes from. If you’re cooking it Italian-style with beans and salsa verde it makes more sense to serve an Italian red like a Chianti rather than the claret you might pull out for a classic French or traditional British-style roast. And if you’re cooking it over coals think a red with ripe, sweet fruit. Yup, it could be that malbec again ….

Image © Vicuschka at fotolia.com

15 Easter wine pairings to learn by heart

If you're wondering what wines you should buy for Easter weekend here's quick guide to what I think are the best Easter wine pairings.

As with my previous ‘learn by heart’ posts it's a simple way to remember great food and wine matches at a busy time of year. There are of course other possibilities to which the links will guide you.

Colomba Pasquale and extra dry prosecco

Colomba Pasquale is the traditional Italian Easter cake and ‘extra dry’ prosecco perversely a slightly sweeter style that is perfect with sweeter things.

Lamb and rioja

You can drink so many red wines with lamb (Chianti and Cabernet being two other favourites) but rioja is such a crowd-pleaser. I’d go for a reserva myself.

Roast chicken (or turkey) and pinot noir

Hey, it’s spring (or supposed to be) so lighten up with a brighter, fruitier red. Pinot is perfect

Easter ham and Beaujolais

Baked or roast ham or gammon could also take a pinot but I’m rooting for a good Beaujolais like a Morgon

Duck and pinot

And yes, here’s pinot noir again! But you can’t find a better pairing with duck. Especially with peas.

Roast kid and Chianti

Kid would be a traditional Mediterranean choice for the Easter feast so I’d be inclined to go for an Italian, Greek or Portuguese red. Chianti is the easy-to-memorise option.

Salmon and chardonnay

Depends how you cook it but salmon pretty well always works with chardonnay. Especially en croute or in a creamy sauce. (If it’s smoked salmon try sauvignon blanc.)

Fish pie and Chablis

Maybe you’re planning a fish pie for Good Friday? Again chardonnay is a reliable match - I’d go for a Chablis.

Asparagus and Sancerre

There are major arguments over which wine suits asparagus best but Sancerre (or Pouilly Fumé) does it for me. Especially if goats cheese is involved. Other optionshere

Scrambled eggs and champagne (or cheaper fizz)

What else are you going to drink for Easter brunch? Seriously - eggs and bubbles is the way to go. (It works with eggs benedict too)

Torta pasquale (Italian spinach and ricotta pie) and Soave

Or any other smooth dry Italian white come to that. Like Gavi. Here's a lovely recipe from Gennaro Contaldo or, following the recommendation below, from Rachel Roddy. A great option for vegetarians.

Simnel cake and orange pekoe tea

Perfect combination!

Hot cross buns and marsala

I owe this one to the Italian wine buyer at M & S Jeneve Williams. (They have a really well-priced half bottle of marsala you should try which is no doubt why they came up with the suggestion!). Nice recipe here too.

Easter eggs and Brachetto d’Aqui

If you’re scoffing the remains of the kids’ Easter eggs this sweet, gently sparkling Italian red is hard to beat. But also hard to find, unfortunately. If you’re stumped try a rosato frizzante (pink prosecco by another name though they’re not allowed to call it that)

Lemon tart and late harvest riesling

Lemon tart can be tricky with wine - the more intensely lemony the tougher it is. The trick if you want to serve a dessert wine with it? Add cream either to the tart or a good splodge over the top. Late harvest riesling has the acidity to cope

You may also find these posts useful:

What sort of food to pair with prosecco

20 food and wine pairings to learn by heart

The best wine matches with salt cod (traditional Good Friday fare in Mediterranean countries such as Spain and Portugal.)

Photo by Elena Veselova at shutterstock.com

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: