Is cider more food-friendly than wine?

Susanna Forbes of Drink Britain reports on a vigorously fought contest over dinner at The Thatchers Arms near Colchester last month

"As one of the organisers, along with our host, the affable landlord Mitch Adams, I was confident that cider could hold its own against even the most tastiest of dishes. But even I didn’t think it could win 4: 1, particularly once I saw the big guns our wine champions were recruiting to their cause.

But first a little background. Mitch loves all drinks. A host with the most, he is a beer’n’food matcher extraordinaire. He organised a lively Beer vs Wine charity dinner back in 2011, with telly’s Tim Atkin MW squaring up against writer and beer expert, Adrian Tierney-Jones.

So The Thatchers Arms seemed the perfect home for this, the first contest between wine and cider. Eighth-generation Aspall cidermaker Henry Chevallier-Guild joined Beer Writer of the Year Pete Brown who was in the midst of finalising the first major global book on cider, World’s Best Cider, to champion cider, while Harper’s Best Sommelier of the Year, Emily O’Hare of the River Café, teamed up with Dan Probert, manager of Adnams’ Holt Cellar & Kitchen store in the wine camp.

The scene was set. Before dinner, guests enjoyed a glass of Aspall Cuvée Chevallier, an elegant, light sparkling cider made in the methode traditionelle. Once seated, a show of hands revealed that only a handful of people had ever tried cider with food. Even fewer felt it could win the evening’s match.

Following a few introductory words, the gloves were off, and battle commenced.

Broccoli & Parmesan Soup with Homemade Chilli Foccaccia

Vallobera Rioja Blanco 2011, Spain; £7.99, Adnams
El Gaitero, Spain, 5.5%; £1.55 33cl; Slurp.co.uk, Waitrose

Cider hits home first – 44:17

A creamy broccoli soup given a salty tang with Parmesan, was won by El Gaitero, from Asturias, northern Spain, where the cidermaking tradition goes back centuries. Production is ‘very strictly controlled’, said Pete, before explaining that El Gaitero was chosen for its slight pepperiness. The Vallobera Rioja Blanco 2011 had been aged in oak, giving it a pleasant creamy weight. To my mind, the soup stripped the wine’s aromatics, deadening the match, whereas the light, baked apple notes of El Gaitero with its sparkle provided a good balance to both soup and foccaccia.

Mackerel Fillet with a Fennel, Mint & Parsley Salsa & a Pont Neuf Potato

Gouguenheim Torrentés 2011, Mendoza, Argentina; £6.99, Adnams
Aspall Premier Cru, Suffolk; £2.59/50cl; Aspall, Adnams

Wine strikes back – 43:18

An exceptional dish a with vast array of flavours, demanded complexity in the glass. This was achieved with both Aspall’s Premier Cru, with its elegant, balanced tannins, and the Gouguenheim Torrontes, with its expressive aromatics. Floral notes on a backbone of gentle but textured acidity provided a fine counterpoint to the dish’s uplifting green notes.

Slow Roast Blythburgh Pork Belly with a Homemade Duck, Pork & Sage Sausage & Tomato & Mixed Bean Cassoulet

Quinto do Crasto, Crasto Tinto 2010, Douro Valley, Portugal; £9.49; Adnams
Henney's Vintage 2011, Herefordshire; £2.09/50cl; BeersofEurope.co.uk

Crunchtime – Cider pulls it off – by just one point – 31:30

As arms went up with the Red (for wine) and Green (for cider) cards – we’d gone all Ready, Steady, Cook – table by table, the room silenced. Two recounts later, cider took the course, by just one point. Created by former-Bulmers cidermaker, Mike Henneys, his Vintage 2011 presented a three-pronged attack: a solid but balanced tannic backbone to match the strength of flavours on our plate, a pleasing cider apple sweetness to complement the sweetness of the pork, and a good astringency to partner the tricky, but tasty, bean cassoulet.

Quinta do Crasto’s Douro red 2010 was no slouch, as the score indicates. Its time in oak gave it a good texture and depth, while its pure fruit flavours sang alongside the pork. Perhaps a little young for this match, in my view it was overwhelmed by the cassoulet.

Eddy’s Sour Cherry Cheesecake

Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé NV Champagne, France; £52.99; Berry Bros & Rudd, selected independents
Aspall Imperial Cyder, Suffolk; £3.08/50cl; aspall.co.uk; BeersofEurope.co.uk

Wine fails to break back, losing 21: 32

Perhaps the trickiest match, pastry chef Eddy is renowned for his cheesecake. One bite and we could see why. A light cream mousse is set off beautifully by sour cherries. The Billecart-Salmon Rosé showed class, with sprightly connotations of red berries, and an elegant but persistent sparkle. It seduced many of us, including Mitch and myself, and our two Cider advocates.

However the room disagreed, voting for Henry’s grandfather’s recipe, Aspall Imperial Cyder, with its mix of bittersweet and dessert apples plus a dash of muscovado sugar. Its medium nature and good depth matched the sour cherry while the fine sparkle cut through the creaminess of the pud.

Suffolk Gold & Binham Blue Cheeses with chutney & biscuits

Gonzales Byass 'Vina AB' Amontillado, Jerez, Spain; £13.59; Adnams
Once Upon a Tree Blenheim Superb 2011; Herefordshire; £16/37.5cl; Once Upon a Tree

Match of the day – 58: 3

Cider now had an unassaible lead, but could Wine redeem itself on the cheese course? Err… no. 58: 3 to cider

Rather than play safe and opt for Sauternes or Port, the Wine team went out on a limb, choosing a solera-aged sherry, replete with nuts and dried peel. The only trouble was, it was way too dry for the two local cheeses.

Instead Once Upon a Tree’s dessert cider, the Dragon Tree Blenhim Superb, ran away with the Match of the Day tankard. The honeyed sweetness and depth of cooked apple plus the ripe mandarin and peach flavours complemented both the salty tang of the Binham Blue and cutting through the creamy texture of Suffolk Gold, a semi-hard farmhouse cheese. No wonder they call this sort of ice cider the apple world’s equivalent of Sauternes.

I’d like to thank…

Thanks go to all involved, including Aspall, Adnams, Billecart-Salmon, our cider and wine champions plus the marvellous crew, both front of house and in the kitchen, at The Thatchers Arms.

DrinkBritain.com champions all British drinks, specialising in artisanal producers, and those who offer a warm welcome to visitors. To keep in touch with drinks news, events such as the above, and great places to visit, subscribe to its newsletter, or get in touch via Twitter (@DrinkBritain) and Facebook.

Dominic and Ashley, student members of the Offshoot Films Club, captured the evening on film. You can watch it here on YouTube.

Other retail stockists for the wines can be found on winesearcher.com

Susanna Forbes is editor of Drink Britain website.

The 10 best wines for spring and early summer drinking

The last two days have been quite, quite beautiful, starting mistily, basking midday in an unseasonally warm sun and finishing with an extended dusk that announces that spring is finally here. I immediately want to eat lighter meals: the new season’s vegetables are not quite in yet but I can at least plan for summer and that means a spring clean of the cellar, pushing the full bodied reds to the back and assessing what whites, lighter reds and rosés I still have lurking in the racks.

Now is the time to drink up any lighter wines from last year that may have slipped my notice and make a shopping list for the weeks ahead.

The idea of changing the wine you drink with the season, just as you change your diet and your wardrobe still meets some resistance. People tend to ‘like what they like’ when it comes to wine, drinking the same bottles right through the year. The more pronounced acidity and palate weight of lighter wines may not be to your taste. But try them with the right kind of food and you’ll see how perfectly tuned they are to the flavours of spring.

Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon blends
What more is there to say about Sauvignon Blanc? Only that there is much more variety than ever before and that quality seems on an unstoppable upward curve. Try those from South Africa if you’re not familiar with them. And revisit white Bordeaux and other Sauvignon-Semillon blends.
Best food pairings: goats’ cheese, asparagus, grilled fish and other seafood, dishes flavoured with coriander and dill

Grüner Veltliner
No sign of the Grüner bandwagon slipping off the rails. It’s still every sommelier’s darling - less demanding than Riesling, more sophisticated than Pinot Grigio (though see below). Drink young.
Best food pairings: Light Asian flavours e.g. Asian accented salads and noodle dishes, Vietnamese spring rolls

Albariño
Another fashionable option, Spain’s feted seafood white, which comes from Galicia in the North West of the country, has the intensity to cope with most light fish preparations. A good wine to choose in fish restaurants.
Best food pairings: shellfish, light fish dishes, spring and summer soups e.g. gazpacho, tomato salads

Chablis and other unoaked or lightly oaked Chardonnays
If you’re a Chardonnay drinker, time to change the register from oaked to unoaked or at least subtly oaked. (Those rich buttery flavours will overwhelm delicate vegetables and seafood unless they’re dressed with a rich butter sauce.) Faced with competition from the new world, Chablis is better quality than ever and a good own brand buy from supermarkets. Watch out for offers.
Best food pairings: oysters and other seafood, poached chicken, creamy sauces, fish and vegetable terrines, sushi

Dry Riesling
Like Marmite Riesling tends to polarise wine drinkers - some love it, some hate it. There’s no denying though that its crisp, fresh flavours and modest levels of alcohol it makes perfect spring sipping. If it’s the sweetness you’re not sure about stick to Alsace Riesling, German kabinett Riesling or Clare Valley Riesling from Australia. If it’s the typical kerosene flavours it can acquire with age, stick to younger wines.
Best food pairings: Smoked fish especially smoked salmon, crab, trout, smoked chicken, salads,Cantonese and lightly spiced south-east Asian food

Pinot Grigio
The tide of insipid, cheap Pinot Grigio has given the wine a bad name but the best examples (mostly from the Alto Adige) are elegant minerally whites that deserve a place in your cellar.
Best food pairings: antipasti, light seafood pastas and risottos, fresh tomato-based pasta sauces

Prosecco
The Veneto’s utterly charming sparkling wine, softer and more rounded than Champagne. It mixes fabulously well with fresh summer fruits such as peaches and raspberries as in the famous Bellini
Best food pairings: A perfect spring aperitif or to sip with panettone

Light rosé
I say light because so many rosés now are little different from reds in their levels of alcohol and intensity. Not that that style doesn’t have a place (it’s a great wine to drink with barbecues, for example) but it can overwhelm more delicate flavours. At this time of year try the lighter, less full-on styles from Provence and elsewhere in the South of France or from the Rioja and Navarra regions of Spain.
Best food pairings: Provençal-style dishes such as salad Niçoise and aioli (vegetables with a garlic mayonnaise), grilled tuna, mezze

Light Loire reds
Well, actually not so light if you look at the 2005 vintage but in general Loire reds which are mostly based on the Cabernet Franc grape are light and fragrant, perfect served cool. Examples are Chinon, Bourgeuil and Saumur-Champigny.
Best food pairings:
Seared salmon and tuna, grilled chicken, goats' cheese

Young Pinot Noir
I stress young because you want that bright, intense, pure raspberry fruit rather than the slightly funky notes you can get with Pinot (especially red burgundy) that has a couple of years’ bottle age. The most reliable place to find it currently is in the Marlborough region of New Zealand. Chile, California and Oregon have some appealingly soft, fruity Pinots too, though again, watch the alcohol and serve lightly chilled.
Best matches:
Seared duck breasts, salads that include fresh or dried red berries or pomegranate seeds, seared salmon or tuna.