20 food and wine pairings to learn by heart

Inspired by the recent spate of minimal ingredient cookbooks such as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Three Good Things I thought it might be helpful to come up with 20 wine matches that are easy to remember and which pretty well everyone will enjoy.

Of course there will be exceptions - if you’re allergic to shellfish you won’t go for oysters but here, in no particular order, are the 20 I’ve found work time after time.

1 Sauvignon Blanc and goats’ cheese

A winning combination that comes as a revelation to those that think cheese only goes with red wine

2 Duck and Pinot Noir

Especially crispy duck. When you think how well duck goes with red fruits like cherries it all makes sense. Chilean pinot is the best value at the moment.

3 Oysters and Chablis

Whether it’s the traces of oyster fossils in the soil or simply that Chablis is the pure, clean accompaniment that undressed oysters need but it’s brilliant. (As are Muscadet and Picpoul to be fair)

4 Rioja and roast lamb (above)

True other medium-bodied red wines work well too but this is a favourite combination in the region and they should know.

5 Steak and Cabernet Sauvignon

Cabernet’s big tannins are miraculously softened by a chargrilled steak, making it taste smooth and velvety. Closely followed by steak and Malbec which some would hold is even better. Certainly if they come from Argentina!

6 Mushroom risotto and Pinot Noir

In fact almost any kind of mushrooms and pinot (which is what red burgundy is made from). The silkier and more special (and unfortunately the more expensive) the pinot the better.

7 Chardonnay and chicken with a creamy sauce

Chardonnay loves chicken especially when it’s served with an unfashionably creamy sauce or as chicken pot pie. Avoid very oaky styles though

8 Chianti and pasta with tomato-based sauces

Chianti has a sharp acidity that’s brilliant with acid tomatoes. Other Sangiovese-based Italian reds will work too

9 Chilled fino sherry and olives. Or almonds. Or jamon. Or tapas generally

You may be uncertain about the idea of drinking chilled sherry but I promise you it’s delicious. From a freshly opened bottle, please, not one that’s been kept since last Christmas!

10 German riesling and smoked fish

German riesling is fruity, flowery and refreshingly low in alcohol but also has a slight oiliness that makes it the perfect partner for smoked fish - especially smoked eel or trout - but see smoked salmon below

11 Smoked salmon and Sauvignon Blanc

Champagne may be match most commonly associated with smoked salmon but I personally prefer the zesty citrussy hit of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

12 Parmesan biscuits and champagne

Crisp parmesan biscuits - in fact warm cheesy canapés of any kind are ace with champagne. (As are crisps and chips but don’t tell anyone)

13 Parma ham and prosecco

There’s something immensely soothing about silky folds of parma (or San Daniele) ham and a glass of gently sparkling prosecco

14 Seared scallops and chardonnay

Seared scallops have a sweetness and creaminess that chimes in perfectly with oak-aged chardonnay such as white burgundy, especially if you accompany them with a Heston Blumenthal-style cauliflower purée. Gorgeous.

15 Seared tuna and light Loire reds

Look out for reds such as Saumur, Saumur-Champigny, Chinon and Bourgeuil and give them half an hour in the fridge. Totally delicious with a meaty tuna steak cooked on a ridged grill pan

16 Stilton and port

One of the great all-time classics. Almost any type of port will do - Late Bottled Vintage, vintage or 10 year old tawny (my own favourite). See this longer list of possible pariings here.

17 Chocolate and Maury

Dark chocolate and sweet red wine is a match made in heaven (think Black Forest Gateau!) Maury is an inexpensive port-style wine from the south of France - slightly less alcoholic than ruby port but with the same lovely brambly flavours

18 Strawberries and Sauternes

Sauternes is generally associated with foie gras and Roquefort, neither of which pairings I hugely enjoy. But give me some new season English strawberries and a bowl of cream and I’m in heaven.

19 Indian or Chinese food and off-dry rosé

Many still think that spicy Asian cuisines don’t work with wine but if you’ve never been convinced try a strong fruity rosé with a touch of sweetness. Except for . . .

20 Thai food and Pinot Gris

With its hot/sweet/sour flavours Thai food is challenging but Alsace Pinot Gris which generally has a touch of sweetness wins through.

Top image by Shebeko at shutterstock.com

How - and when - to buy good lamb

Given that it's St David's Day here's a piece I wrote a few years ago on Welsh salt-marsh lamb - and why spring lamb isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Unlike the French who have long recognised the virtue of their 'pré salé' salt marsh lamb over the channel in Normandy and Brittany it’s only comparatively recently that we in Britain have realised the potential of this unique grazing land. And one of the prime regions for producing it is the marshy pastures of the Gower peninsula in Wales.

“The farmers in the area used to put their flocks out to graze on the marshes because it was free” says Colin Williams, a local farmer who just over three years ago set up a co-operative called Gower Salt Marsh Lamb with his neighbour Rowland Pritchard of Weobley Castle Farm. Pritchard has some 1000 sheep and the Williams have 300. They envisaged it being a much bigger enterprise but their neighbours were sceptical. “They didn’t think we’d be able to charge a premium for the product.”

From the time the lambs are born in March until they are killed (from June to November) they graze out on pastures which contain salt-tolerant plants such as sparta grass, samphire, sorrel, sea lavender and thrift. “The vegetation on marshes differs depending on how often they are covered by the tide” explains Colin’s wife, Vicky. “It’s every other week here.”

Their flocks include a variety of breeds including Welsh Speckleface, Suffolks and Bluefaced Leicester. “The breed isn’t critical they just need to be nimble” says Rowland. “They need to know where the gutters are - the marshes can be quite treacherous.” All the lambs are born on the two farms and are guided through the marshes at an early age by their mothers. “If you buy animals in and leave them on the marsh they’ll wander off anywhere.”

It’s a common misconception that the best lamb comes on the market in the spring, Pritchard points out. “That’s the time when most sheep are lambing. Ewes are encouraged to breed out of season to meet the Easter market in late March and April but the animals will have been largely reared inside and fed on concentrated feed so you pay a premium for a product that has less taste.”

Grass fed lamb doesn’t start to become available until June in south Wales and later still in the case of hill lamb reared in the north of England and Scotland. It’s actually autumn lamb that has the most flavour.

I was surprised to find that the Gower producers only hung their lamb for three days - many producers advocate more, especially for older lambs but was swiftly converted once I had tasted it. It tasted neither of salt or wild herbs but, deliciously, of the best kind of lamb I could ever remember eating. Some authorities argue that the high salt level of the pastures encourages moisture retention in the animal which would figure: the meat was certainly unusually sweet and succulent.

Better still, this biodiverse pasture has significant health benefits, according to Professor Jeff Wood of the School of Veterinary Science at Bristol University who has been researching the effect of different grazing land for several years. “What we found was that both hill and saltmarsh grazed lambs produce meat that is higher in healthy omega-3 fatty acids as well as having higher vitamin E content – which prevents the meat from oxidising and protects its taste and colour.”

Wood and his team were unable to pick out any superior qualities belonging to saltmarsh lamb that distinguished it from other lamb bred on wild pastures such as moorland or uplands-bred lamb but observed that these habitats had a rich variety of vegetation with between 30 and 60 species of plant compared to around 10 in conventional pastures.

It obviously benefits both the taste and vitamin content of the meat that the sheep should be on the pastures for as long as possible, particularly during the early part of the growing season when plants are at their most nutritious. However there isn’t yet a minimum requirement in this country of the number of days a sheep must spend on a particular type of grazing. In France pr sal lamb must be spend 100 days on the salt marshes. “One large retailer contacted us to see if we could do salt marsh lamb for them and said they thought that the lambs only needed to be out on the marshes for six weeks” says Vicky Williams wryly. “But they need much longer than that to make a difference to the taste.”

The two farmers have already seen a benefit in marketing their sheep as ‘salt marsh’. “In the first year we sold 100 lambs. Last year it was 300 and interest is growing. They also won a National Trust Fine Farm Produce award for their lamb cutlets with judges praising its “great length of flavour and buttery taste.” Time for the French to sit up and take notice.

When is a lamb a lamb?
Milk fed lamb - very young, unweaned lambs of between 4-6 weeks, much prized in Mediterranean countries such as Spain, Greece and south-west France where they’re described as as elev sous la mre
Spring lamb - young lambs born around Christmas to hit the Easter market. Generally reared indoors and on concentrated feed so tend to have little flavour
New season’s grass-fed lamb - available from end of May to August, depending in which part of the part of the UK they’re born
Yearling/hoggett - young sheep of between one and two years old
Mutton - Generally used of meat from a sheep that is over two years old though some producers describe their 18 month old sheep as mutton. Traditionally from a wether (a castrated male) nowadays may well be from breeding ewe that has reached the end of its productive life. For more information about mutton visit www.muttonrenaissance.org.uk

This article first appeared in the June 2008 issue of Decanter

Can you match wine and chillies?

Who better to turn to than the Aussies for advice on pairing wines with a wide range of spicy Asian food? Here's another preview of the food and wine matching sessions at the Melbourne Food Festival - Solving the Eternal Chilli Dilemma. Answers from Neil Prentice of Moondarra Wines and chef Benjamin Cooper of Chin Chin.

Q So what should we be thinking about in wine terms when we're matching wines to chilli?

NP "I am always primarily conscious of avoiding a clash between tannin and chilli. Though my Koh Samui friends love to point out that locals only ever drink beer (bitter) or Black tea (bitter/tannic) with their food."

BC "I tend to go with something that has a reasonable residual sugar level and lower alcohol levels. (The sugar tends to mellow the chilli heat) . You want something that is happy to play second fiddle rather than fighting for attention.

A good acid structure also makes pairing easier eg a good Sauvignon Blanc."

Q Can you give some examples of the styles of wines that work best with individual hot dishes?

BC "Riesling, Gewurtztraminer, Sav Blanc, Pinot Gris/Grigio, Pinot Noir.

The sweeter whites work really well with things like jungle curry or som tum (papaya salad) while the pinot will go with a red duck curry or rare beef salad."

NP "The sherbet /sweet/sour of riesling harmonises with the combination of spice and seafood.

The viscosity and mouthfeel of Pinot Gris is great friend of spicy pork.

The classic combination of duck and Pinot Noir transcends cultures by crossing wonderfully from French cuisine to Thai."

Q And some of the ones that don't hit it off so well?

NP "To my mind bordeaux/cabernet is a clash because of the chilli/tannin conflict. So while Bordeaux is the most "digestible" of wines I don't think it has empathy for highly spiced dishes."

BC "I don’t really enjoy chardonnay and spicy curries together

Big heavy reds and wines with high alcohol content are slightly more challenging to pair with Asian food. For example a big shiraz and massaman curry for me doesn’t work so well. I find it leaves the palate all a bit overpowered. The high alcohol also igniting the chilli further."

Q Are there other ingredients/sides you can bring to the party that makes a pairing more likely to work?

BC "Definitely - for instance the duck and pinot thing

Tomatoes help to bring the chilli and wine together

Proteins definitely help. The classic meat and red wine pairing or seafood and white

Herbs can help to bridge the flavour profiles as well

Chocolate also helps eg chocolate moles in Mexican cuisine"

NP "A little sweetness in Riesling, Pinot Gris or Chenin Blanc can enhance aromatic herbs like coriander and also be a beautiful foil for both the fire of chilli and pungency of fish sauce."

Q Surprise me with a match I'd never think would work and tell me why it did.

NP "Pinot Noir with spicy seafood can work - a red curry of soft shell crab for instance. The glycerol in Pinot Noir has empathy for red chilli and breaks the seafood/red wine rule. A slightly sweet riesling an be a wonderful match with a Massaman Curry - breaking the preconceived rules of beef and white wine."

BC "Pinot noir and stir fried mussels in tomato and chilli jam.

Seafood is traditionally a white wine food but the tomatoes and the smokey wok and chilli heat really work well with the pinot."

The Melbourne Food Festival starts this Friday and runs until March 17th.

You can find Benjamin Cooper's top Melbourne food tips here. And Neil's article on Wagyu and wine (he also rears Wagyu cattle)

Will Studd's tips for matching cheese and wine

Those of you who are lucky enough to live in Oz have the enticing prospect of the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival coming up next month - a two week extravaganza of feasts, workshops and tastings with some of the country's top foodies and wine experts.

I thought the rest of you who, like me, are shivering in the Northern hemisphere (will the weather EVER warm up?) might like the chance to vicariously enjoy a couple of the sessions in the 'Perfect Match', a weekend of seminars on food and wine pairing.

First, I put a few questions to cheese expert Will Studd of Cheese Slices who is hosting a wine and cheese seminar with Steve Flamsteed of Giant Steps/Innocent Bystander in the Yarra Valley.

So, Will, what should we be thinking about in wine terms when we're matching cheese?

Cheese and wine matching is all about taste and texture and is usually based on finding a complementary or contrasting balance of flavours and textures. There are no firm rules and you can have a lot fun trying the myriad of possible combinations but the starting point is always to look for similarities of character and strength.

Can you give some examples of the styles of wines that work best with individual cheeses?

Goat’s milk cheeses are extraordinarily versatile in matching with wine. The lingering, creamy flavours of a fresh goat cheese go particularly well with sparkling wines or fresh, crisp whites such as Sauvignon Blanc with a dry finish. Pinot Gris is particularly good with creamy surface-ripened goat cheeses matured under a wrinkled geotrichum rind, while semi-hard and mature goat cheeses are more at home with juicy, fruity reds with soft tannins such as Pinot Noir and Merlot and even robust aged reds.

And some of the ones that don't hit it off so well?

Regrettably countless bottles of expensive red wine are ritually wasted on cheese matching, perhaps because cheese is often served at a time in the meal when red wine is still on the table. This is particularly the case in Australia where red wines often contain a lot of tannin. This astringent substance is a natural enemy to the creamy, lactic flavours of many locally soft surface mould-ripened cheeses and blue mould-ripened cheeses which tend to be high in fat leading to nasty bitter, angular, hollow, metallic or even mousy flavours.

Are there other ingredients/sides you can bring to the party that makes a pairing more likely to work?

Light sourdough bread or crispy baguette are the ideal accompaniments with cheese - bread, wine and cheese are the holy trinity in France.

Apples are great for cleansing the palate when tasting different types of cheese. There's an old adage which says ‘Buy on apples and sell on cheese', the idea being that, while apple cleanses and sharpens the palate, the fatty coating of cheese can easily hide imperfections in wine. By offering potential customers cheese when they were tasting wine, a wine merchant could make the wine seem smoother and richer than it really was.

Surprise me with a match I'd never think would work and tell me why it does

2 year old Cravero Parmigiano Reggiano is a great companion with an Australian sparkling burgundy (not sure you're allowed to call it that these days, Will ;-)

The effervescent sparkling acidity of the wine slices through the fine crumbly texture of this hard cooked cheese emphasising both the condensed caramel sweetness and the heady perfume in the wine.

Will Studd and Steve Flamsteed's The Classic Wine and Cheese is on at 10am-11.15am on Saturday March 9th. Lucky you if you can get there . . .