Pairings | Provence

The best food pairings for rosé

The best food pairings for rosé

Rosé was once considered a summer wine but increasingly more people are drinking it year round with almost every type of food and on any and every occasion. But what food goes with rosé? As with white or red wine, the best pairings depends on the style of rosé you’re drinking and whether they’re dry, sweet or sparkling.

What are the best pairings for Provence rosé?

What are the best pairings for Provence rosé?

Provence rosé has a distinct character that sets it apart from other rosés on the market. It’s known for being crisp, dry, and refreshing—qualities that align it more closely with white wines than traditional rosés. This unique profile can be attributed to the region’s winemaking techniques and climate, which yield wines that are both light and structured. Within this style, however, there are variations. On one hand, you have the lighter, easy-drinking wines, known as “vins de soif,” which are perfect for casual sipping. On the other hand, you have more complex and robust rosés, referred to as “vins de gastronomie,” which are designed to pair with a wider variety of foods.

Top wine pairings with goat cheese (chèvre)

Top wine pairings with goat cheese (chèvre)

Since goats cheese and Sauvignon Blanc are such a great match it might seem redundant to think of anything else but despite its reputation for being . . . well . . . goaty, goats cheese is easy to pair with other wines.

The best wine pairings for seabass

The best wine pairings for seabass

Seabass is one of the most popular fish on restaurant menus these days - usually treated quite simply and rarely sauced. But what wine should you pair with it?

The best wine pairings for vitello tonnato

The best wine pairings for vitello tonnato

One of the best hot weather dishes, this piquant dish of cold poached or roast veal with a tuna, anchovy and caper mayonnaise invariably pops up on menus at this time of year. But what to pair with it?

Sponsored feature: 10 ways to enjoy your favourite Provence rosé this Christmas

Sponsored feature: 10 ways to enjoy your favourite Provence rosé this Christmas

Rosé at Christmas! Well, why on earth not? We enjoy white wine year round and reds in the summer so why not enjoy what has become one of the most popular styles of rosé at this joyful time of year?

 Win a case of MAÏA Provence Rosé

Win a case of MAÏA Provence Rosé

I’m sure a lot of you have been celebrating the glorious weather of the past two weeks with a glass or two of rosé. And if it’s the whisper pink Provencal style you’re loving you’re in luck.

Steak tartare and Provence rosé

Steak tartare and Provence rosé

It’s back to the usual drizzly grey grot this Monday morning but the past week has been glorious.

Les-Baux-de-Provence and civet de sanglier (wild boar stew)

Les-Baux-de-Provence and civet de sanglier (wild boar stew)

I went to a great little bistro the other day in St-Rémy-de-Provence called - appropriately enough - Bistro Découverte. It’s run by a very talented young sommelier I used to know in London called Claude Douard who worked for Marco Pierre White and Joel Rebuchon.

Oysters and Provence rosé

Oysters and Provence rosé

I wouldn’t have thought of pairing rosé with oysters to be honest when there are so many good alternatives in the way of white wines but when I was poured a glass of Chateau Galoupet’s Côtes de Provence rosé at Hawksmoor Wood Wharf the other night I found it was a surprisingly good match.

Lebanese mezze and Côtes de Provence rosé

Lebanese mezze and Côtes de Provence rosé

Since I was in Provence for three days last week you might have expected me to come up with an all-Provençal pairing as my match of the week but in fact it was a lunch of Lebanese mezze that provided the best partner for the local rosé we were tasting.

Italian cheese and a Provence red from Microcosmos

Italian cheese and a Provence red from Microcosmos

I don’t often pair red wine with cheese, let alone make it my match of the week but the Italian cheeseboard I had the other day at Bocca di Lupo in Soho proved a great pairing for a highly unusual Provencal red

Couscous royale and 2011 Chateau Romanin Les Baux de Provence

Couscous royale and 2011 Chateau Romanin Les Baux de Provence

Last week we returned to one of our much-loved haunts, Arles, and ate our way round some of our favourite restaurants (the ones that weren’t closed as a number mysteriously seemed to be at what you’d think was still peak holiday season).

3 roses from Aldi to drink right now

3 roses from Aldi to drink right now

At the first sign of spring we all think rosé but ironically, when it comes to cheaper bottles at least, now is not the best time to buy it.

Rabbit Richard Olney

Rabbit Richard Olney

Maybe its because I've just been to Provence but one of the nicest books to arrive through my letter box this summer is Alex Jackson's Sardine which is full of recipes he cooks at his London restaurant of the same name. I've been there a couple of times and really loved it.

The 10 best wines for spring and early summer drinking

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.

Langoustine and chickpea velouté with ‘fine’ rosé

Langoustine and chickpea velouté with ‘fine’ rosé

I went to a really interesting tasting and lunch in London last week to celebrate the new Fine Rosé Day - an attempt to get the world to take rosé more seriously as a gastronomic wine.

Chicken korma and viognier

Chicken korma and viognier

I spent last week on the road in Ireland with wine importer Febvre hosting food and wine matching events for some of their restaurant customers. We covered a lot of ground from Enniskillen to Cork taking in Belfast, Galway and Dublin on the way and enjoyed a lot of amazing food matches.

Brown shrimps and cucumber with Corail Ros 2010

Brown shrimps and cucumber with Corail Ros 2010

I could have made almost any of the pairings in the Restaurants in Residence pop-up supper in Docklands last Tuesday my match of the week but I think this one just inches it, mainly because I absolutely loved the wine, Corail Rosé.

Matching wine and charcuterie - an experiment

Matching wine and charcuterie - an experiment

About the most daunting audience that anyone could face is a group of wine writers, especially if a number of those happen to specialise in food and wine matching so it was with some trepidation that I agreed to lead a tasting on wine and charcuterie in London on Monday night on the eve of the London International Wine Fair.

5 reasons why Mirazur is the best restaurant in the world

5 reasons why Mirazur is the best restaurant in the world

You may have heard that Mirazur in Menton has been voted best restaurant in the world at the World’s 50 Best awards this week. You may well not have heard of it and wonder why it’s so special. I was fortunate enough to eat there and interview the chef Mauro Colagreco earlier this month and here’s why I think it made the no 1 slot.

Can you drink rosé with cheese?

Can you drink rosé with cheese?

Q: I am putting on a cheese and wine tasting for a friend but the problem is he doesn't drink dessert wine as he's diabetic and doesn't enjoy reds. I have come up with some white wine and cheese matches, but am looking for some rose and cheese pairing suggestions:

The best wine matches for sardines

The best wine matches for sardines

Freshly caught grilled sardines are a treat at this time of year but how easy is it fo find a wine that will go with them? Look to the French and Portuguese for inspiration!

A Bastille Day Lunch

A Bastille Day Lunch

July 14th - le quatorze juillet - is an important public holiday in France. It commemorates the storming of the Bastille in 1789 and the beginning of the French Revolution. Despite its bloodthirsty connotations, it’s now seen as a family day, an opportunity for a picnic or an out-of-doors lunch and provides a good excuse - as if we needed one - for Francophiles to celebrate.

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