What to drink with your favourite Christmas snacks (updated)

You may think it’s utterly pointless to waste time wondering what would be the best match for Christmas snacks. For most people the answer would be prosecco.

But suppose you were going to sit down and enjoy a packet of your favourite snack with a bevvy of your choice what would it be?

In general it’s more useful to focus on the snack flavouring than the snack shape.

Salty snacks pretty well all go with a refreshing lager, cheesy ones, you may be surprised to hear, with a chardonnay, meaty snacks - I’m personally channelling homemade sausage rolls rather than roast beef Monster Munch or Bacon Frazzles - with a hearty red and fishy snacks - who grazes on fishy snacks other than maybe smoked salmon canapés? - with a crisp white such as sauvignon blanc.

Crisps

Remarkably good with champagne (fried egg-flavoured crisps even more so). As indeed are chips

Hula Hoops/Pringles/French Fries and other salty snacks

Can’t beat a cold lager IMHO though with Doritos I’d be tempted to down a margarita

Cheeselets, Cheesy Wotsits, Mini Cheddars, Cheese Footballs

Oddly a good full-flavoured but fresh-tasting chardonnay ticks the box with cheese-flavoured snacks.

Sausages on sticks

Often coated in a sticky honey and mustard glaze which can make lighter wines taste a bit thin. A plumptious shiraz would do the job although with sausage rolls I’d favour a Côtes du Rhône. And with cocktail sausages? A German or Czech lager (also the obvious match for pretzels)

Cheese and pineapple on sticks

Babycham

Monster Munch

Tend to be more robustly seasoned and meatier than other snacks so think macho reds such as Malbec or a big IPA

Twiglets

All about the Marmite - go for milk stout or porter

Salted peanuts

Salty, yes, but more about the peanuts. What about a pina colada?

Salted almonds

More in the Spanish mould so definitely a fino or amontillado sherry

Vol au vents

Those light-as-air pastry cases deserve a glass of champagne or, at the very least, a French crémant

Smoked salmon canapés

Champagne would be most people’s go-to though I personally prefer a glass of sauvignon blanc - or a subtle Speyside malt

10 different drinks to pair with smoked salmon

Prawn crackers, mini poppadums and other spicy snacks

Gin and tonic really hits the spot.

Popcorn

Depends whether it’s sweet or savoury. With sweet popcorn I strongly recommend a well chilled glass or pale cream sherry or - yes - a glass of prosecco. With salted popcorn make it Cava.

See also how to make a Classic Cheese Ball

For further inspiration there’s a new book out called The Crisp Sommelier which would make a fun stocking filler.

Christmas pairings with port, sherry and madeira

You may well have given a fair amount of thought by now to what you’ll be drinking with your turkey or goose and have set treasured bottles of Bordeaux or Burgundy aside for the main Christmas meal. But what about all the other occasions over the festive period which these days tends to stretch a good 10 days into the early New Year?

If your house is anything like mine you will have wildly overcatered and your fridge, storecupboard and cellar will be overflowing with ingredients and bottles that might be required for unexpected guests.

You will also, I guess, have many occasions when a snack rather than a meal is required or when you simply can’t face making a pudding on top of all the other cooking you’re doing.

This is when your battery of fortified wines comes into its own, turning a scratch meal into a treat, creating an unusual and tempting cheeseboard or, along with a selection of festive cakes, biscuits, dried fruits or chocolates, keeping the sweet-toothed happy at the end of a meal.

Here is a selection of ideas for seasonal food and fortified wine pairings, some classic, others a little more off-beat.

Fino and Manzanilla sherry

In danger of being overlooked amidst all the bottles of port and sweeter sherries, a fresh fino or manzanilla is exactly what you need as a refreshing Christmas pick-me-up. You can obviously drink it with olives (especially green ones), nuts (I’d suggest Spanish Marcona almonds which are particularly delicious) and tapas such as chorizo, serrano ham and Manchego cheese but this style of sherry is also particularly good with strongly flavoured seafood such as garlic prawns and smoked fish (surprisingly it’s one of the best wine matches I’ve found with smoked salmon).

You could also pour a glass with a few crostini or toast spread with those excellent inexpensve fish patés which you can now buy in any supermarket or even drink it with an antipasti plate of mixed salamis and grilled vegetables. A must for every Christmas fridge.

Pale cream sherries and white port

Particularly delicious with fresh fruit-based starter salads such melon and ham or pear and blue cheese or with fresh fruit desserts such as a fruit salad (served well chilled like a dessert wine). An attractive and unusual pairing for milder blue cheeses such as blue Brie, Gorgonzola dolce or with panettone.

Dry amontillado sherry/palo cortado/dry (e.g. verdelho) madeira

A fuller, richer style of sherry or madeira that also goes particularly well with nuts especially almonds, brazil nuts and hazelnuts (try it with the middle eastern spiced nut and seed dip, dukkah) It is also a less conventional, but successful partner for hard cheeses such as cheddar, Manchego and other sheeps cheeses.

It’s great strength though is with the fabulous Spanish jamon iberico and with hot tapas such as mushrooms in sherry and ‘albondigas’ (little meatballs) that make a good snack meal during the holiday period. Serve cool rather than at room temperature or fridge-cold.

Dry oloroso sherry/full-flavoured dry madeira

Producers at sherry dinners often partner this style of sherry with main course game dishes such as partridge or pheasant. It’s always an impressive match but one I think we’re all less linclined to indulge in over Christmas when there are so many good bottles of red wine around.

Leftovers though are another matter. This style of sherry and madeira is the perfect ingredient to jazz up a few tasty morsels of cold pheasant, duck or, best of all, goose or a sandwich made with any of those meats. It’s also the perfect accompaniment for a cold game pie or a rough country paté or terrine. I also tend to reach for this style of sherry with smoked meats such as duck, and venison and with cured meats such as bresaola and it makes a good match with strong hard cheeses such as mature Gouda, Mimolette, Parmigiano Reggiano and Asiago.

While you’ve got the bottle open, a dash - heretical though it may sound to suggest it - also does wonders for a gravy or a rich beefy stew.

Sweet oloroso sherry/bual madeira, malaga, sweet moscatel

Sweet oloroso sherries, madeiras and moscatels can taste like Christmas pudding themselves so you may feel it’s overkill serving them wtith a Christmas cake or pudding. I’m not so sure about that. Christmas is a time for overindulgence so on the basis that you can’t have too much of a good thing I’d suggest adding a generous dollop of mascarpone or ice cream to your pud which will show off the puddingy flavours of your wine to perfection. T

They’ll also go with other Christmas bakery such as Stollen, panforte and similar products such as the delicious Australian Norcia Nutcake (in fact almost anything with dried fruits such as figs, dates or prunes). I once had an old Bual with a prune sabayon and it was a wonderful match.

You could also, if you fancied a break from mince pies, lay out a selection of Spanish nougat (turron), biscuits such as Polvorones and Ines Rosales (sweet olive oil-based biscuits) and dried fruits such as figs, dates and large moscatel raisins and serve them with sweet sherry instead of a dessert as a kind of sweet tapas.

And for another break with tradition why not try sweet sherry or madeira rather than port with your cheeseboard, especially with richly flavoured cheeses such as Mimolette and blue cheeses such as Gorgonzola or Cabrales.

PX sherry and Malmsey madeira

Almost too rich to serve with anything else sweet with the possible exception of vanilla ice cream or - a signature dish at London’s much loved restaurant Moro - Malaga raisin ice cream with Pedro Ximenez. The temperature helps cut the sweetness. The sherry adds a real luxury note to the ice cream.

Late bottled vintage and other younger ruby ports/vin doux naturels such as Banyuls and Maury/late harvest Zinfandel

Dark chocolate is the pairing par excellence for these dark, rich brambly wines, especially chocolate desserts that incorporate cherries or other red fruits. Young ports really will cope where other dessert wines falter. Try them lightly chilled with a buche de Noel (French style chocolate ‘log’ or roulade)

They’re also particularly good with blue cheese, most famously stilton (though I do think at Christmas vintage port has the edge as I’ve suggested below). Why not serve an all-blue cheeseboard for a change including a mild blue for those who can’t cope with stronger flavours?

A snack of a warm mince pie, a couple of fine slices of crumbly Stilton and a small glass of Late Bottled Vintage port goes down particularly well when you can’t face anything more substantial to eat. And don’t forget port makes a great addition to any mulled wine.

Tawny port

Probably my favourite Christmas drink because it’s so versatile. You can drink it chilled as an aperitif like an amontillado sherry, serve it as a substitute for dessert wines (especially with any dried fruit or nut-based dessert or bring it out with the cheese (it has a particular affinity with sheeps cheese and membrillo (Spanish quince paste) and with Cheddar)

The best pairings with depend on the age of the wine. The older the tawny the more likely it is to go with raisiny, figgy flavours - 20 year old tawny is an excellent companion for Christmas cake. Younger, 10 year old ports especially modern styles like Otima, are particularly good with any dessert that has a caramel or toffee note - creme brulée, apple or banana tatins or sticky toffee pudding for example.

They’re excellent with nut-based tarts like walnut or pecan pie, with pumpkin pie (I’m getting hungry, here) or plain, moist, densely-textured cakes like madeira and pound cake. You could also sip a chilled young tawny with panettone as an alternative to Vin Santo. And they’re an indulgent partner for a dried fruit compote.

Vintage port

The bottle you’re most likely to have open at Christmas I would guess. And yes, it probably is the ultimate match for Stilton, in terms of what people expect though it’s an equally good pairing with mature Cheddar. To assist the combination I would suggest you lay on some quality dried fruits such as moscatel raisins or fresh Medjool dates.

Like late bottled vintage port, vintage port is also good with chocolate - a flattering accompaniment to top quality hand-made chocolates and artisanal chocolate bars or (particularly delicious) chocolate covered figs.

This article was first published in the December 2007 issue of Decanter magazine.

Photo © philipbird123 @fotolia.com

Top wine pairings with scallops

Scallops are some of the most delicious seafood around and some of the most flattering to a serious white wine.

They’re also incredibly quick and easy to cook which makes them a great choice for a romantic dinner for two, especially with a wine lover!

When it comes to pairing wine and scallops there’s one grape variety that will almost always see you right but in this brief guide I’ve given some other options depending on the other ingredients in the dish.

Grilled or seared scallops

Searing scallops enhances their sweetness and makes them a sure-fire match with chardonnay.

Almost any kind especially white burgundy - it’s a great way to show off an older vintage. Old vine chenin blanc is also a good match.

Champagne, especially a blanc de blancs, is not too shabby either.

The best food pairings with white burgundy

Scallops with pea purée or pea shoots

Bring peas - or asparagus into the equation and I’d probably go for a sauvignon or sauvignon-semillon blend such as you find in Bordeaux or Western Australia. Albarino is also a good match

Coquilles Saint Jacques or other scallop dishes with a creamy sauce

Back to chardonnay again for this classic dish. Especially Chablis

Scallops served with Asian-style dressing

Give scallops an Asian twist as in this recipe and I’d reach for a dry or off-dry riesling

Scallop and crab or lobster risotto

Risotto immediately makes a scallop dish richer especially if it also includes crab or lobster. You have a choice: you can go for a matching richness (yup, chardonnay again) or a smooth Italian white like a Gavi or Soave or for a contrast in terms of a wine that will bring a zing of freshness to the dish as I did here.

Scallops with pancetta or chorizo

Sometimes scallops are given more robust treatment and partnered with bacon, pancetta, chorizo or even black pudding. In that case you can drink a light red like a pinot noir or a Beaujolais. Lightly chilled, I suggest.

For other insights see this account of Rye Bay Scallop Week

Image © Oran Tantapakul at fotolia.com

8 great drinks to match with mince pies (updated)

Mince pies are so popular we all start eating them well before Christmas so what’s the best drink to pair with them?

If you’re sneaking one as an afternoon snack it’s most likely to be a cup of tea but they do pair particularly well with fortified wines like port, sherry and madeira, wines that also go well with Christmas cake in case that’s on the menu too.

For those of you who don’t live in the UK and are unfamiliar with mince pies, they’re a small sweet pie traditionally made from minced meat but nowadays made with dried fruits such as currants, raisins and sultanas.

Although there lots of variations on mince pies nowadays I’m thinking mainly of the classic mince pie ‘cos Christmas is all about tradition ... 

* Mulled wine - Never mind the match it’s just what you offer the carol singers on Christmas Eve isn’t it? To tell the truth - whisper it - mulled cider is just as good. Find my favourite recipes here

* Sweet sherry - again a traditional pairing and I think a good one. One of my favourites is Matusalem but own label cream sherries are perfectly good.

* Sweet madeira - less traditional than sherry, but just as delicious. Basic blended madeiras like Blandy’s Duke of Clarence, are fine otherwise look for a Bual or Malmsey

* Tawny port - you may be used to drinking a ruby port like a Late Bottled Vintage but why not try a nutty 10 Year Old Tawny for a change? Otima is a modern interpretation that goes particularly well with mince pies

* Sweet port-like wines from the south of France like Banyuls, Rivesaltes and Maury - maybe a little harder to track down but ideal if you want something different

* Barley wine - which is not actually a wine but a strong, sweet-tasting beer. Any indie with a decent beer range should have one.

* Christmas ales - I’m never totally convinced about Christmas ales with savoury food - except perhaps ham - but they’re great with Christmas baking.

* Black tea Which you might think hardly bears saying but try making it from loose leaf tea, in a pot rather than with a teabag and taste the difference.

photo by Monika Borys For Unsplash+