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Which wines to pick with vegetarian food?
As it's Word Vegetarian Day I thought I'd re-run an article from Decanter on wine and vegetarian food I wrote a few years ago but still contains some useful pointers from top wine producers and sommeliers. (Some of the people quoted are now in different jobs.)
It’s a familiar problem, these days: you invite friends over and plan to open some treasured bottles. You discover one - horrors, two of them are vegetarians. What to do? Eat what you originally planned, making separate dishes for the veggies? Or make everyone eat vegetarian food and serve less interesting wines?
The panic often stems from stereotyping vegetarian food as light and salady - ‘rabbit food’ as its detractors scornfully describe it. In fact there’s as wide a range of flavours in vegetable based dishes as meat based ones - they just need a slightly more creative approach.
The obvious difference between vegetable-based and meat-based cooking is
the absence of raw or rare protein and animal fat which both tame the tannins of full bodied young reds and oakier whites. There are two ways round that if you want to drink a fine red wine. The first is to produce palate coating alternatives in the form of sauces, pures or other ingredients such as cheese or pulses that will build a bridge to your red.
“If you are looking to match the top wines of the world in a mature state, such as the best of Bordeaux, Burgundy, Tuscany and the Napa Valley, you need a dish that is classic, harmonious and balanced, whether it’s based on meat or vegetables” says former sommelier Larry Stone, now General Manager of Rubicon Estate. ”I like grain and mushroom dishes with a mushroom stock and red wine reduction myself but you could equally well serve farfel or spaetzle with a truffle reduction (made with reduced vegetable stock, red wine, a touch of kombu for body, and truffles); kasha with porcini stock and roasted porcini or risotto with chanterelles, cippolini onions, white wine, parmesan and butter.”
Alexis Gaulthier, chef at the Pimlico-based Roussillon (now at the eponymous Gauthier Soho) which has had a vegetarian menu since it opened in 1998 thinks along similar lines. “A dish such as risotto with black truffles cooked with brown butter and a bit of parmesan is perfectly able to take a red wine as is a dish of winter vegetables and fruits with a touch of cinnamon.”
“You can work with any kind of wine. Which style you choose depends how you cook your vegetables and the time of year. In spring the register is likely to be light and mineral whereas in autumn and winter you can be dealing with ingredients that are quite strongly flavoured such as salsify and celeriac.”
Gaulthier’s menus are vegetable-based rather than vegetarian so he can also incorporate meat or fish-based elements to intensify the flavour. “We might take some Jerusalem artichokes and roast them in the caramelised juices left over from roasting a joint of beef. Or cook with a crustac (shellfish) jus”
Other ingredients that are red wine-friendly include beans and other pulses, polenta, cooked tomato sauces, aubergines (eggplant) and cheese. “Add any aged hard cow's milk cheeses such as Parmigiano Reggiano, Saenkanter Gouda, Mimolette or Keen's Cheddar to a vegetarian dish and you'll improve its compatibility.” says Larry Stone
The other strategy is to modify the wines you serve. “The trick with a vegetable based menu is to go with wines that are a bit more mature; ones that have more finesse and elegance and a bit less tannin” says Yannick Chaloyard, general manager and wine buyer for Morgan M in Islington which also has a ‘From the garden’ menu. “With vegetarian food the flavours are more subtle so you have to be a bit more accurate. It’s easy to overwhelm a dish.”
Fred Brugues head sommelier of Pierre Gagnaire’s London restaurant Sketch takes a slightly different approach with the vegetarian menu they serve at the Lecture Room and Library. “The key word for me with vegetarian food is freshness so I look for cooler growing areas - the Loire for example rather than Argentina or Chile. Even with a cooler wine producing country like New Zealand there are some areas I wouldn’t go - Central Otago, for instance. Matching wine to vegetarian food is an opportunity to use small vintages rather than great ones. If you’re talking about red Bordeaux, 2002 is a good vintage to pair with vegetarian food - it’s more approachable and subtle than 2003 or 2000.
Even bearing in mind these caveats it’s easy to misjudge the power of a quality red. Brugues served a 2002 Ata Rangi Pinot Noir from Martinborough, now a full five years old with a richly flavoured dish of braised chicory with a spinach veloute and although the sweetness of the fruit was a good counterpoint to the bitterness of the chicory and spinach it still overpowered the dish. His alternative pairing of a crisp minerally 2004 Gruner Veltliner Kaferberg from Loimer was far better.
It is in fact these lighter, crisper, more elegant white wines that really come into their own with vegetarian food, especially at this time of year. I remember Michel Bras serving his famous ‘gargouillou’ of vegetables with a simple local white wine that cost 15 euros on his list and it struck exactly the right note. (How many 3 star restaurants would dare to do that!) Chaloyard at Morgan M had a similar pairing - a fresh crisp Vin du Gers with a creamy white bean soup flavoured with lemon confit. Sometimes, with very delicate preparations, the wine needs to play second fiddle.
What seems quite clear is that vegetable-based menus are very much here to stay - and that it’s not just vegetarians who are opting for them. Your cellar may well have to accommodate a vegetarian sooner rather than later if it hasn’t already had to do so.
Clever tricks with veggie food
To match rich whites add:
* Rich unctuous purees enriched with cream and/or butter
* Vegetable gratins with crispy toppings
* Nuts (especially almonds and hazelnuts). They pick up on the flavour of oak, especially oaked whites.
* roasted pinenuts or pumpkin seeds
* Top quality pulses such as lentils and coco beans
* Add a little cream to vinaigrettes
* Incorporate sweet, rich vegetables such as sweet potato, butternut squash and roast red peppers
To match full bodied reds add:
* Warm spices such as cinnamon, ginger and five spice (though use the latter in moderation
* Enhance flavour by roasting grilling and barbecuing, Rich caramelised flavours add a richness that helps to tame tannins.
* Use miso, soy sauce (and even Marmite) in sauces and stews to replicate meaty flavours
* Drizzle aged balsamic vinegar over your food
* Add shaved cheeses such as parmesan and asagio
* Use mushrooms, especially porcini
* and chestnuts
This article appeared in the June 2007 issue of Decanter
You may also find this article on pairing wine with vegan food useful.
Image © Franck Boston - Fotolia.com
Food villains - 9 awkward customers that could kill your wine
This weekend I’ve been down at my favourite food festival in Dartmouth where I’ve been giving a number of wine talks. One of them was a forum on food and wine matching with wine writer and TV presenter Susy Atkins and former sommelier and wine supplier Tim McLoughlin-Green of Sommelier’s Choice.
We’d discussed the talk beforehand and came up with 9 foods that in our experience could be tricky matches for wine and suggested some wines to pair with them. Here’s how they worked:
Eggs - it’s generally runny yolks that are the problem but scrambled egg can be tricky too. The solution - one we all agreed on - is a dry sparkling wine. Champagne if you feel like splashing out - Cava or a crémant if you don’t. (Prosecco is a touch sweet in my opinion)
Grillled artichokes in oil - not as bad as boiled artichokes, especially with a vinaigrette but still a bit of a villain. We tried an inexpensive zesty Chilean sauvignon blanc which I thought worked rather well and an aromatic Traminerfrom north-east Italy I thought was delicious but was less convinced by as a match.
Avocado - we were going to feature asparagus but couldn’t get our hands on any went for a stightly less tricky customer, avocado, again with the sauvignon and traminer. Most preferred the latter but I found it too perfumed for avocado. A drier Italian white like a pinot grigio or Verdicchio or - if it’s served as a guacamole - a margarita for me.
Smoked kipper - Does anyone drink wine with kippers? Normally I’d go for a cup of tea but Susy’s suggestion of a fino sherry was spot on.
Pickled anchovies - the hardest of the ingredients, I thought. Again quite a few liked the traminer but I’d have gone for a drier white like a Muscadet or Vinho Verde. Or, frankly much better, a well chilled pilsner.
Marinated chicken with chilli sauce from the South Devon farm - not as tricky as it might have been. The marinade was quite mild and there was no accompanying dip. I really liked it with a new aromatic medium-sweet English Schönburger called Mena Hweg from Devon producer Knightor which is only 7.5%. Even better with a Vietnamese or Thai-style chicken salad.
Bucklers cheddar - we were originally going to serve one of those super-stinky cheeses like Stinking Bishop but couldn’t find one so went for this strong cheddar and a blue (below) instead. Surprisingly it went rather well with an Alsace gewurztraminer - my normal preference would have been for an oak-aged chardonnay or a strong ale. (Bordeaux also works well but with slightly milder more mellow cheddars.)
Devon Blue - Blue cheeses generally work best with sweet wines. This wasn’t as powerfully veined as some blues but quite punchy and salty, so also worked well with the gewurztraminer. Monbazillac would have been another good pairing
Lindt Mint chocolate - this, we thought, would be the real killer but actually worked really well with Tim’s suggestion of a recioto, a delicious sweet version of Valpolicella. The other options we tried, PX sherry and dark rum, knocked out the mint flavour of the chocolate which some might regard as a positive but if you're into mint chocolate wouldn't be so good.
You may also find this earlier post interesting The 10 trickiest foods to match with wine
Many thanks to Browns Hotel who did a grand job of preparing the foods in an easy ‘one bite’ format for people to taste and to William Atkins for serving them so charmingly.
Photo © dpexcel from pixabay
How to drink vodka like a Russian
I have to admit I accepted Leonid Shutov’s invitation to taste vodka with some trepidation having heard tales of the hangovers that some of my colleagues had suffered as a result of their visits to his Soho restaurant Bob Bob Ricard.
My worst fears were confirmed when he insisted that our vodka shots should be downed in one but as it turned out his assertion that ‘that was the way it was done in Russia’ was not a line.
I Googled ‘How to drink Russian vodka’ afterwards and came up with this excellent article on BBC’s h2g2 which asserted that “a traditional Russian drinking bout is generally preceded by toasts, during which it is considered rude not to drain your glass 'bottoms up' as a sign of respect to whomever is being toasted.” And who was I to be disrespectful?
Anyway we were there (in theory) to try three antique vodkas and to explore how they went with food or ‘zakuski’ - the little tapa-sized appetisers that are vodka’s traditional partner.
The qualities that are valued in vodka in Russia, Leonid explained, are smoothness and lack of aftertaste - “flavour in vodka indicates you can’t afford a more expensive drink."
Until the1980’s Russian vodka - which is always made from wheat not from other grains or potato - was the only beverage that would be drunk throughout a meal but Leonid genuinely believes it brings out the flavour in food. “You see flavours shine in a way they wouldn’t on their own.”
All the vodkas we tried were served ice cold ( -18°F ) in small shot glasses - he disapproves of drinking it at room temperature.
We kicked off with Kauffman Collection Vintage 2006 (£65 from the Vodka Emporium, £69.99 from Fareham Wine Cellar) The use of the word 'vintage' in relation to vodka indicates that the grain it is made from comes from a particular year. This is a limited production vodka - just 5000 cases - and to me tasted very smooth, slightly sweet and woody (it is apparently sweetened with honey) and very slightly minty: a perfect foil to a dish of jellied ox tongue with horseradish flavoured cream (above) that would not have been out of place at a Victorian banquet. Horseradish is a spot-on match for vodka.
The next vodka was Kaufmann Luxury Vintage 2003 which is apparently flavoured with shizandra or extract of magnolia vine and costs a hefty £23 a shot at BBR (though you can buy a bottle for a comparatively modest £135 at Fareham Wine Cellar). Only 25,000 bottles are made and it takes fourteen distillations to achieve the requisite level of purity.
Not being a habitual vodka taster I struggled for a vocabulary in which to write my tasting notes but it was again very pure and smooth with a faintly toasty flavour that apparently comes from infusing it with dried wheaten bread crusts. It was partnered with blinis and (farmed) Beluga caviar from the Caspian sea which confirmed the conclusion I’d reached in a caviar tasting in New York that vodka and caviar is a great combination - the smoothness of the spirit helps you to appreciate the texture of the eggs. “You need a nice big mouthful” encouraged Leonid who told me he used to put away a pound of beluga a sittling in a previous life. He also sneaked in a shot of Stoli red to show how coarse it was by comparison. “You just taste the fatty acids.”
The third vodka was the silky Russian Standard Imperial (£32.95 a bottle from The Drink Shop), one of Russia’s best-selling premium vodkas - eight times distilled and filtered through quartz: “perfect for the effortless cosmopolitan" according to the website.This was served with herring cured Russian-style with cinnamon, cloves and allspice and warm potatoes which Leonid instructed us to eat in order. the warm potato after the herring. There were also some pickled cucumbers on the side - again, a totally natural register for the drink.
Frustratingly (and possibly unwisely) we then moved on to wine - a 1990 La Conseillante Pomerol which was solidly matched with a beef Wellington with truffled sauce and a half bottle of Chateau d’Yquem 2001 - served with a delicate Bramley and Cox Apple Jelly which it slightly overwhelmed. But after the vodkas, neither seemed quite as exciting as it should have done. I just wanted to get on with exploring other vodka pairings.
I dined at Bob Bob Ricard as a guest of the restaurant.
Possibly the best truffle dinner ever
Did I want to go on a truffle trip to Spain at the end of January? Balmy Barbados seemed like a better option but since that wasn’t on the cards and the enquiry came from an old friend I said yes. The 2 day visit - the annual Viñas del Vero ‘Days of Wine and Truffles’ in Somontano would include an outdoor picnic in the foothills of the Pyrenees (eek), a truffle hunt and - the clincher - a multi-course truffle menu by one of the region’s most talented chefs followed by a gastronomic brunch. “Bring the Gaviscon”. my friend sagely advised.
I’ll be writing about the truffle hunting in due course so let’s concentrate on the dinner at Bodega Blecua which was the best truffle experience I’ve ever had. It kicked off in style with a selection of truffle-flavoured canaps including truffle flavoured macarons, parcels of truffle threads in lambs skein (sic), tartlets of pigs trotters and truffles (awesome) and best of all, truffle flavoured truffles of the satiny consistency of the best chocolate truffles. These were served with Tio Pepe (also owned by Viñas del Vero’s owner Gonzalez Byass) and V de V’s fragrant Gewürztraminer which I’m not sure I didn’t marginally prefer, to my surprise. (The 2009 is currently on offer at £6.49 at Majestic)
The first proper course was a glassful of truffles served with a hot broth which transformed it into truffle consommé followed by ‘Royal de Trufa with egg yolks and passion’. Fortunately this turned out not to be passion fruit as I had feared but a sumptous blend of truffles and pork fat of the consistency of creamy mash, scattered with yet more truffles. (I hadn’t thought of the combination of pork fat and truffles before but it’s a winner, let me tell you). With that we drank the 2010 Viñas del Vero Clarion, a rich, structured white about whose components they were curiously reticent but which seems to be Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer and Chenin Blanc.
That was followed by one of my favourite dishes of the meal, cardoons with oysters and almond sauce topped with a truffle shaving. Again a really imaginative and delicious combination of ingredients. This was served with a 2008 Clarion in magnum which suited the dish better than the younger fruitier vintage would have done.
They then brought on a potato ‘mushroom’ with ceps, a mound of fluffy truffle-infused mash moulded into a ... well, not a mushroom, more like a potato but fantastic anyway and a good match with the Blecua 2004 served in magnum.
Blecua is the flagship wine of Viñas del Vero - a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Garnacha, and Tempranillo from seven different parcels and possibly one of the best wines you've never heard of. It has more warmth and generosity than many Bordeaux and more finesse and complexity than most Spanish reds. The '04 also went perfectly with the next course, a truffle infused risotto topped with an outrageous amount of truffles.
By this stage even I was almost truffled out but just about found room for a mouthful or two of veal shanks with truffle sauce and chestnut purée (particularly good with the richer, more complex Blecua 2005) and some local truffled cheese.
And I didn’t make much impact on either of the two interesting desserts - a semi-frozen cylinder of something faintly ice creamy with amaretti crumbs and ‘snow truffles’ on muscovado cream, a truffle-inspired but, to some relief, not truffle-flavoured finale.
The general conclusion? That truffle dinners could be a lot more inventive than they generally are, that Spanish cuisine, dare I say it, has a lot to teach the French and that truffles can take younger, fruitier wines than you might imagine. Quite an experience.
The event I went to was a private one but If you want to sample chef Carmelo Bosque’s cooking go to his restaurant La Taberna de Lillas Pastia it’s in Huesca. It specialises in truffles and has a Michelin star. Tel: +34 974 211 691.
I attended the dinner as a guest of Gonzalez Byass.
10 Australian Shiraz - and Shiraz blends - that might surprise you
Although there’s still plenty of the rich, lush style of Shiraz we’ve come to associate with Australia there’s more than one style as I discovered on my recent trip. If you like more restrained, even funky syrahs, Australian producers can deliver. Unsurprisingly many of them are organic or biodynamic and made with a minimum of sulphur. Most are from cooler vineyards. Take your pick . . .
Battle of Bosworth Puritan Shiraz 2011 (on UK shelves from March/April. about $20-22 in Australia)
If you’re going to the Bibendum tasting this week you’ll be able to taste this electric young syrah from Joch Bosworth’s (right) organically run vineyard. No oak, no sulphur, designed for early drinking. "We wanted to make a fresh, vibrant Spanish ‘Joven’ style of Shiraz ready for opening and enjoying immediately" he explains. He has.
Bobar Syrah 2009, Yarra Valley. Excel Wines has the 2010 at £120.20 for 6 bottles. £20.25 St. Clair & Galloway Fine Wines, Bognor Regis. £24.99 The Smiling Grape, £28.50 Green & Blue. Australian suppliers are on to the 2011 vintage.
More in the funky natural wine vein this won’t be to everyone’s taste and I suspect will be more susceptible than most to the day on which it’s tasted and the conditions under which it’s been stored and transported. I tasted it at a dinner at the Healesville hotel and it was delicious with a really fresh, mineral, spicy character. Unfined and unfiltered. The current 2011 vintage is only 12.5%
Castagna Adams Rib 2008 Nebbiolo/Shiraz, Beechworth £23.50 St. Clair & Galloway Fine Wines, Caves de Pyrène
I mentioned Julian Castagna’s Genesis Syrah in my Guardian article because that’s the wine that’s most widely available but I also loved this perfumed, supple Nebbiolo blend with its lovely bitter twist - the perfect wine for drinking with Italian-style grills and roasts. There's also a cracking Syrah/Sangiovese called Un Segreto at same price as the Syrah ($75 in Australia)
Clonakilla Hilltops Syrah 2009, Canberra NSW. £14.99 West Mount Wine £18.50 Fortnum & Mason slurp.co.uk has the 2010 at £16.95, $25 in Australia
Not a producer I visited but one of the best examples of new wave Aussie shiraz that you can find on the shelves at a reasonable price though it no longer seems to be available from Waitrose. More in the classic lush style but with real finesse.
Eastern Peake Walsh Block Syrah 2008, Victoria N/A in UK, $35 in Oz
I tasted this at the end of a long wine bar crawl with Max Allen at Gerard’s wine bar in Melbourne so can’t vouch for the accuracy of my tasting notes but remember finding it wonderfully fragrant, spicy and smoky. And delicious with fresh mozzarella and smoked tomatoes.
Jamsheed La Syrah 2010 N/A in UK, $20 in Australia
A bright, breezy young syrah sourced from 4 different vineyards in the Yarra Valley. 50% new oak, unfiltered, unfined “my take on Crozes - a good young quaffing syrah” says winemaker Gary Mills who worked for 2 years for Ridge in California. “A lot of the time we used to mimic South Australian shiraz. The best now comes off cooler sites.”
Ngeringa J.E.Syrah 2009* imported by Caves de Pyrène. £17.25 www.scc-finewines.co.ukaround £106.60 a case of 6 from Excel Wines, around $25 in Australia
Another bright syrah - or ‘bright and chirpy’ as Erinn Klein (right) from this biodynamic producer in the Adelaide Hills puts it. They compare the fruit to Schwetchen plums - I thought the predominant note was black cherry with a good kick of spice. Either way it’s delicious - as is the more expensive Ngeringa Syrah (about £35 here, $50-60 in Australia)
* pronounced neringa
Paxton Quandong Farm Shiraz 2009 McLaren Vale £18.90 Fareham Wine Cellar, £19.99 Cadman Fine Wines, £20.45 Noel Young Wines, £22.95 Jeroboams
I mentioned Paxton’s AAA shiraz/grenache in my Guardian column this week but I really like this scented, floral, almost violetty shiraz too which comes from a single biodynamically farmed vineyard. Shows McLaren Vale fruit can have finesse as well as weight.
Ruggabellus Archaeus 2009, Barossa N/A in UK, 40AD
One of three blends of grenache mataro and shiraz from Eden Valley which were released to rave reviews and sold out within six weeks. A fascinating insight into what young producers in the Barossa are doing - aromatic, spicy and peppery. “We use no new oak and pick early looking for vitality, crunch and intrigue” says winemaker Abel Gibson.
The Yard Riversdale Shiraz 2010 Frankland River, Larry Cherubino. N/A in UK, around $35 in Australia from March
If you want to get an idea of what Western Australia’s Frankland River is capable of look out for this sensuously soft, natural tasting shiraz with a lovely structure that Cherubino suggests drinking with duck, French-style roast lamb or spiced meatballs with rosemary. The secret? "We don’t make shiraz outside the Great Southern - Margaret River is too maritime for shiraz" he claims.
You might also be interested in two other wines I mentioned in my column, First Drop's Mother's Milk Shiraz 2009 (£14.99, The Secret Cellar, Tunbridge Wells; £15.03, The Sampler, London SW7; £15.99, Cambridge Wine Merchants) and Picardy Shiraz (£22, auswineonline.co.uk)
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