The best food and wine pairings for Valentine’s Day

If you’re planning a special meal for Valentine’s Day you may be wondering which wine to pair with your menu. I’ve picked some favourite Valentine’s Day foods and suggested some matches that should work well with them.

Asparagus

If served on its own with melted butter or a hollandaise sauce a subtle, creamy white burgundy or chardonnay would be the most seductive choice. If dressed with a vinaigrette or in a salad with seafood I’d go for a crisper white like a Sancerre, Pouilly Fumé or other top quality sauvignon blanc.

Camembert

Camembert baked in its box makes a sexy instant fondue but isn’t the easiest of dishes to pair with wine (even trickier than when it’s served cold). Funnily enough a glass of champagne - or similar style sparkling wine - works surprisingly well or go for a dry white like a Chablis.

What to pair with Camembert

Caviar (or, more likely, a caviar imitation)

Dry champagne. (Vodka is arguably better but not as romantic.)

Chocolate (dark)

There are possibilities with wine (sweet reds like Maury or Quady’s seductive Elysium being good choices - see

www.quadywinery.com) but my own preferred option with dark chocolate is a frozen shot of cherry brandy or other fruit-flavoured spirit or liqueur or a small glass of sloe or damson gin. An orange-flavoured liqueur like Grand Marnier also works well.

Chocolate (white)

An ice-cold raspberry-flavoured wine or liqueur like Southbrook Winery’s Framboise from Canada. Especially if the dessert includes raspberries.

Duck

Pinot Noir. Look to New Zealand and Chile for the best value

Ice cream (vanilla)

Tricky with wine. A toffee or chocolate-flavoured liqueur is your best bet. Very sweet PX sherry can be wonderful poured over it.

Ice cream (chocolate)

Try a coffee-flavoured liqueur like Toussaint or Kahlua.

Lobster

Good white burgundy (or other chardonnay) or vintage champagne.

Wine with lobster: 5 of the best pairings

Oysters

Champagne or Chablis. Not Guinness on Valentine’s Night, I suggest.

Best matches with oysters

Passion fruit

Can be quite sharp so you need a very sweet wine to balance it. A sweet riesling or late harvest semillon or sauvignon blanc will work well. If it’s mixed with a creamy base as in a passion fruit brulée you could drink a sweet (demi-sec) Champagne or other dessert wine. Or a passion fruit flavoured beer. (Yes, such drinks exist! Try Floris from Belgium.)

Prawns/shrimp

If you’re serving a classic prawn cocktail I suggest a dry or off-dry riesling which would also work with an Asian-style stir-fry or salad. A sparkling rosé - including champagne - would be a suitably kitsch all-pink choice.

The best pairings for prawns or shrimp

Smoked salmon

Champagne on this occasion. But see

other possibilities.

Scallops

Made for top white burgundy or other really good chardonnay. Champagne is also spot on if that’s what you’re drinking.

Top wine pairings with scallops

Steak

The best full-bodied red you can afford. Whatever turns your partner on . . .

My 5 top wine and steak pairing tips

Strawberries

If served plain and unadorned, gently sparkling Moscato d’Asti or Asti is lovely or go for the luscious

Fragola liqueur. If they’re served with cream you could serve a classic sweet wine like Sauternes.

My top pairings with strawberries

Image © 9MOT at shutterstock.com

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 pairings for fino and manzanilla sherry

Manzanilla, as you probably know, is a fino sherry made in the port of Sanlucar de Barrameda rather than in the cities of Jerez or Puerto de Santa Maria which gives it its characteristic salty tang.

Like fino it needs to be served chilled and drunk fresh so always buy from a shop or online retailer that has a good turnover of bottles

From a food point of view the two are very similar though I would tend to go more for manzanila with seafood and fino with meat and cheese. What both have in common is that they can handle strong flavours like garlic and chilli and tricky to pair ingredients such as asparagus and artichokes.

Both are obviously very good with Spanish cuisine (especially tapas) but lend themselves well to other dishes such as smoked salmon, fish and chips and sushi. Treat the suggestions below as just that - suggestions - and don’t be afraid to swop them around:

Food matches for manzanilla

All kinds of seafood including:

grilled and fried squid

octopus and octopus salad

mussels, especially with chorizo

anchovies

oysters

raw fish such as sashimi or tartares

fried fish (and chips)

fried soft-shell crab

fish soups

feta cheese (such as this dish of beetroot borani from Morito)

pickled fish such as mackerel en escabeche

grilled fish, especially oily fish like sardines

garlicky prawns or shrimp

smoked salmon

smoked mussels

smoked dried beef

Food pairings for fino

nuts, especially almonds

olives and olive pastes like tapenade

jamon/ham

grilled or preserved artichokes

hard sheeps’ cheeses such as Manchego

chorizo

tortilla

grilled asparagus or leeks with romesco sauce

white asparagus

pimientos de padron

clams cooked with sherry

cider-battered onions (from my good friends Dan and Elly of The Basement supper club

croquetas

tandoori salmon and teriyaki salmon

smoked eel

white gazpacho

sushi, sashimi, tempura and any kind of Japanese food where you would drink sake

Food matches for 'en rama' styles

These are unpasteurised versions of either fino or manzanilla which have a limited shelf-life but a more intense flavour and texture

richer, hot or sauced fish dishes

grilled tuna

black rice with cuttlefish arroz negro

deep-fried sweetbreads

hake with allioli (garlic mayonnaise)

Japanese food generally

 

More food and sherry matches:

• The best food pairings for dry oloroso sherry
• The best food pairings for amontillado and palo cortado sherry
• The best food pairings for sweet oloroso and PX sherry

 

 

Top photograph © delarue - 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