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What wine goes best with chicken - red or white?
Good news! The best wine with chicken can be either red or white - it depends on your own personal taste and the way it’s cooked.
Which wine pairs best with salad?
Asking which wine to pair with salad is a bit like asking about what wine to match with meat or fish. There's no single answer. It depends on the vegetables you use, what other ingredients it contains and what type of dressing you use.
Wine and Appetizer Pairings: a quick guide
The best wine to pair with appetizers and hors d'oeuvres rather depends on whether they precede a meal, as is traditional, or, as is the way now, actually ARE the meal. We all seem to enjoy grazing these days.
Champagne and monkfish liver
OK, I appreciate this is a bit left-field but I was given some monkfish liver to try by Bristol fishmonger, Bristol Fish and also had a bottle of Aldi’s Easter champagne promotion to taste and they went brilliantly together. Often the best pairings come about by accident.
Chicken liver crostini and Rosso di Montalcino
One of the most striking things about my trip to Tuscany last week was the reminder of how good young red wines are with Tuscan food - right the way through the meal, not just with the main course.
Calves' liver and Marcillac
One of the pleasures of the huge clearing and putting away operation at our new French home is the discovery of forgotten bottles. The other day it was a Marcillac from Domaine Laurens which went incredibly well with that night’s supper of seared calves’ liver.
Duck liver, bacon and onions with orange wine
There’s still a lot of suspicion about orange wine with many in the wine industry taking the view that it’s faulty rather than, what it actually is, a different style of wine.
All you need to know about hangovers
In his latest guest post GP Jonathan Tricker explains why we get hangovers, how to avoid them and how to get over them.
How about having a New Year's Eve beer dinner for a change?
If you haven’t already made your plans for New Year’s Eve why not invite over a few friends and treat them to a beer dinner instead of one based on wine? It’s a great way to open their eyes to the great range of artisanal beers that are now available.
How to cook grouse
You might be daunted at the idea of cooking grouse but it's a great treat for a small dinner party.
Why I changed my mind about eating foie gras
Drive through the gently rolling hills of the Gers in the south west of France and you won’t go half a kilometre without spotting a sign advertising foie gras. It’s the engine of the local economy here - supplying not only France’s insatiable appetite for this most sensuous of luxury foods but the rest of the world’s too.
Chicken liver paté and cherry beer
I often feel I don’t get - or make - enough opportunities to try beer with food so was especially pleased to be invited to a Dea Latis beer dinner at The Albion in Bristol last week
Which foods pair best with tawny port?
We rarely think of tawny port as a flexible pairing for food. We serve it with stilton, obviously and with hard cheeses like cheddar, with nuts and dried fruits and over Christmas with fruit cake and mince pies but that’s usually as far as it goes.
Enoteca Pinchiorri: far from a credit crunch lunch
I wouldn’t say that it’s been a lifelong mission to come here, but it’s certainly been on the list ever since it won its third Michelin star in 2004. Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence is one of Italy’s most revered restaurants – most expensive, too, many will grumble. But don’t let that deter you. Just to get it out of the way though, yes, Enoteca Pinchiorri is hideously expensive - our bill for four came to 500 per head with wine. Get over it – or don’t go.
Food and wine pairing in Trentino
For many foodies, Italy is way up there on the must-visit list. Not only are there world-class restaurants in all the big towns, even the smallest villages boast places where the chefs (who are often self-taught) take pride in bringing out the best in the ingredients they work with.
Does The Kitchin deserve a second Michelin star?
You can’t help feeling that it’s Tom Kitchin’s misfortune to be in Edinburgh. Not because his isn’t proud of his Scottish roots - he obviously is - but because if he were in France I’m sure he’d have two stars rather than one.
What to drink with Middle Eastern food?
With middle-eastern food still very much on-trend Dubai-based blogger Sally Prosser of mycustardpie.com tells us which drinks she thinks makes the best pairings
How Greeks celebrate Easter: the feasting after the fast
No-one who hasn’t experienced a Greek Easter can imagine the scale of the feasting. Wine writer Ted Lelekas tells all about "the most lavish and important meal of the year".
Why I drink wine. A guest post from a doctor who knows the risks
I'm handing over my blog this week to Dr Jonathan Tricker, a practising GP. We were discussing the UK Government latest guidelines on alcohol on the train a while back and he offered to share his perspective as a doctor who is also a winelover.
The best food pairings for dry Furmint
All countries like to boast that their signature grape variety goes with practically everything but in the case of Hungary’s furmint it’s true.
I'll have a wee dram if you don't mind
Next time you wonder what bottle to put on the table maybe you should reach for a malt whisky instead of a glass of red or white. At least that’s the Big Idea from drinks giant Diageo, distributor of the Classic Malts Selection™ who are energetically promoting a glossy new magazine-style food section to their website www.malts.com.
What to drink with Mark Hix's budget feast
I’m torn about what to drink with Mark's recipes in The Independent today. Although they’re based on humble ingredients they’re classy recipes, most of which will take some time to prepare. An excuse for bringing out a good bottle from the cellar (or cupboard under the stairs) or finding an equally good value bottle? Here’s some alternative ways to play it.
Wine lovers' New York: Where to drink well in the Big Apple
So where are the best places in New York for a wine lover to hang out? And what should you drink there? Blogger and winelover Zeren Wilson of Bitten & Written sets out a game plan.
Noble Rot: a tribute to old Soho
Those who were worried about incomers ruining the Gay Hussar, the iconic Greek Street restaurant whose site the new Noble Rot Soho now occupies, needn’t fret. The owners, Mark Andrew and Dan Keeling, are far too canny for that. True, the walls are dark green rather than the deep red I remember and the clientele more 2020s Soho than ‘80s politicos but it still has that warm clubby feel. And the staff - masked, of course - are much friendlier and more engaging.
Pinot Noir and Asian food
Following Lauraine Jacobs' report earlier this week from the Pinot Noir 07 conference in Wellington here are some more timely thoughts on pairing pinot with Asian food from another attendee Ch'ng Poh Tiong.
Aged Vouvray and wild boar terrine
I sometimes forget to put the wine first in a pairing when it should be the star of the show and this 1995 Close du Bourg Vouvray from Huet was truly spectacular: still fresh as a daisy but subtly, seductively honeyed it was pure pleasure from the first to last sip.
20 Christmas wine pairings to learn by heart
One of the most popular posts I’ve ever written on this site was one called 20 food and wine pairings to learn by heart - an easy reference guide to commit to memory.
What food to pair with Vin Santo?
No visit to Tuscany is complete without a glass of Vin Santo or ‘holy wine’, a (usually) sweet wine that is served at the end of the meal, almost always with hard little ‘cantucci’ biscuits.
Cherries (and plums) with Central Otago Pinot Noir
One of the standard ways of devising a wine pairing is to pick out flavours in the wine and put them in the accompanying dish. Not too much or it can cancel out the flavour of the wine but done with skill, as it was by chef Des Smith at The Hunting Lodge, it’s pretty impressive.
Joseph Drouhin Rully rouge 2012
The dilemma for us wine writers is when to recommend a wine we're really excited about. Do we save it up for a round-up of the best wines we’ve tasted in that category or tell you about it straight away on the basis that every other journo will be pushing it too?
Ideas for a beer and game menu
I've been invited to a game dinner at Brown's hotel in Mayfair next week at which every course is matched with a beer or a perry. I can't make it but thought you'd be interested in the pairings (my notes in italics):
Who’s pairing what? From bacon and beer to Earl Grey and lemon cake . . .
A new series for the Wine Pros section on what’s been happening in the world of food and drink pairing over the past few weeks:
In praise of bin end clubs
Anyone who buys wine on a regular basis will be familiar with the frustrating experience of discovering undrunk bottles lurking at the bottom of a rack that should in theory be long past their best. They’re too good for everyday drinking yet too uncertain to serve to guests. And if they have survived they may be, frankly, slightly weird. Old wine is not to everyone’s taste.
How to host a wine dinner
Ollie Couillaud’s inaugural wine dinner at The Lawn Bistro in Wimbledon, west London yesterday was a masterclass in how to get it right.
Venice restaurants: Eating off the beaten track
If you want to get away from your fellow tourists in Venice - and who doesn’t? - here are five very different restaurants to try. Three of them are on the Giudecca - one of the best places for avoiding the hoardes, especially at the weekend.
An insider's guide to the fish restaurants of Marseille and Cassis
Travel writer Philip Sweeney hobnobs with the locals, checks out the best places to eat and discovers why fishing for bouillabaisse isn't as easy as it once was . . .
The Walnut Tree, Abergavenny
The Walnut Tree at Llandewi Skirrid has been on my radar for as long as I've been interested in eating out. First under Franco Taruschio and now Shaun Hill, it’s been a place I’ve returned to every couple of years, always wondering why I don’t go more often.
The Dairy, Clapham: Smart, casual
I’d heard good things about The Dairy, not least from my son Will (of Hawksmoor*), one of whose favourite restaurants it is, but being south of the river it took me a while to haul myself down there.
Ristorante Cibreo, Florence
If you’re going to go to a restaurant in a tourist city like Florence it certainly helps to go with a couple of Italians. Especially if one of them is a well-known chef* and - better still - has been recommended by one of his mates at one of the poshest local hotels.
Gill Meller's raised pork, chicken and parsley pie
If you fancy a cooking project this weekend Gill Meller's raised pork, chicken and parsley pie from his new book Outside would be perfect.
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.
What wine (or other drinks) should you pair with herbs?
Do herbs ever have a strong enough influence on a dish to determine your wine pairing? Relatively rarely in my view. Only very herby sauces like pesto or salsa verde dominate a dish to such an extent that you need to choose a wine to accommodate them.
The best food pairings for Tokaji Aszu
Tokaj or Tokaji Aszu from Hungary is one of the most historic and delicious dessert wines which now has it’s own dedicated day on December 10th but if you’re looking for the ideal food pairing you can take it much further than the dessert course.
The best food pairings for Sauternes
Sauternes is a famously luscious sweet wine from the Bordeaux region of France but what kind of food should you pair with it?
Best matches for the Observer's 50 Best Recipes Ever
I have to say I mistrust lists like the Observer’s 50 Best Recipes Ever. Who’s to say? Celebrity chefs get to pick their favourite but may do so for many reasons: the need to sound interesting/as if they have humble roots or the fact they love their mum or gran. But chances are some of them will be your favourites too. Here’s what I’d drink with them:
The best food pairings for Gewurztraminer
Often compared to rose petals, lychees and Turkish delight, gewurztraminer is the wine world’s most exotic grape variety so what on earth do you pair with it?
4 good wines to pair with red mullet
Red mullet or rouget can be a bit of a challenge to pair with wine as it is often accompanied by a rich sauce made from the liver or with punchy accompaniments such as tapenade, olives or saffron
What to eat with old Côte Rôtie
An irresistible dinner invitation came my way a few weeks ago, to attend a game dinner and tasting of René Rostaing’s Côte Rôties at Emanuel College, Cambridge. Cambridge colleges are famous for their wine cellars but these wines came from the personal wine cellar of its ‘wine steward’ Dr Jonathan Aldred, the fortunate fellow (in both senses of the word) who buys all the wine for the college.
What to drink with foraged food?
Mark Hix, a great forager himself, concentrates on recipes you can make from the hedgerow this week in The Independent (now is a good time to go to his new restaurant, I suggest . . . ) so I’m thinking a little outside the box as to what to pair with them. Country wines, made with hedgerow fruits, seem the perfect answer. I don’t know why we don’t see more of them.
Roquefort and Loupiac
With just over three weeks to Christmas - and even less time to order the Christmas wine if you haven’t already done so - it’s time for us laggards to focus on what we’re going to be drinking and that’s what I’m going to be doing this week.
Montlouis Sec and crab
This great pairing arose as a result of a new interest my husband has in natural wines. Actually no-one has come up with a watertight definition of ‘natural’ but it’s generally agreed that the vines are treated organically and/or biodynamically and the wines made with as little sulphur and chemical additives as possible (in some cases none).
How to cook a turkey without having a breakdown
There’s a myth that cooking a Christmas turkey is simple - a slightly souped up version of an ordinary Sunday roast. In fact it’s quite tricky because of the size of the bird and the number of other things you have to get ready at the same time.
Haggis for people who don’t like haggis
When you think about it for a moment haggis is pretty unappealing. An monstrous turd of a sausage stuffed with suet and assorted offal (sheeps heart, liver and lungs) served with a veg (neeps) the French only feed to cattle it’s mystifying why we dedicate a night to eating it every year. No wonder you need whisky to wash it down.
Hix at The Tramshed: chicken, steak and Damien Hirst
You’d think the combination of a great site in Hoxton, an installation by Damien Hirst and a steak- and chicken-based menu devised by one of London’s best known and most successful chefs, Mark Hix, would be something you’d hurtle across London for but somehow his new restaurant The Tramshed just doesn't come off.
The best food matches for Amarone
A recent lunch* and discussion hosted by Masi at Heston Blumenthal’s Dinner gave a revealing glimpse of what the best food pairings for amarone might be.
'Meat fruit' with Pacherenc du Vic Bilh Larmes Célestes 2004
I know I’ve already raved about this stunning combination at Heston’s new restaurant Dinner but it's already a candidate for one of my top 10 pairings of 2011, never mind my match of the week.
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