Whisky and a cheese and onion toastie

You may be thinking more of whisky in the context of haggis this week given Burns Night is coming up but an accidental pairing suggested another direction to take it

I’d just finished an online whisky tasting for my Substack subscribers and was a bit peckish but couldn’t be bothered to make a proper meal so rustled up a cheese and onion toastie (grilled cheese sandwich) with the glass of Shackleton whisky I was finishing off. (Drunk neat with a splash of water)

I hadn’t consciously thought it through but whisky goes well with cheddar so why not a toastie? Shackleton is a light, versatile blended malt whisky (which you can currently buy from Waitrose for £20) and worked really well. 

A perfect late night winter snack when you didn’t think you were going to be hungry and suddenly are ...

For other whisky pairings see Which Foods pair best with Whisky 

And if you’d like to join my Substack which contains all my up to the minute food and wine tips and recommendations sign up here.

Photo (not of the toastie I made) by Brent Hofacker at shutterstock.com

Mature gruyère and white port

I don’t drink a lot of white port, I must confess. More often in summer with tonic rather than at this time of year.

But now I’ve discovered how well it goes with gruyère, I may.

Port is an obvious pairing with cheese*, I know, but a mature white port like the Kopke White Colheita 2010 my fellow wine writer Kate Hawkings produced the other night adds a different dimension.

At that age it’s showing a degree of oxidation, not unlike a vin jaune but with a sweetness that works well with the deep savouriness of gruyère. There’s a touch of quince and orange peel in there too.

You can buy it, somewhat to my surprise, from Waitrose - though only in a few branches, I imagine - and online from their website and Waitrose Cellar for £42.99 which is obviously not cheap but would make an interesting Christmas present for a winelover.

*I was reminded, going through the archives, that 20 year old tawny port is also a great match for gruyère

See also Christmas pairings with port, sherry and madeira 

The best wine matches for Comté (which is very similar).

Gruyère photo by barmalini at shutterstock.com

White onion and cheddar tart and Mayacamas chardonnay

I was really spoilt for choice with wine pairings at Claridges last week. (It’s not often I get to write a sentence like that …)

When you eat in their restaurant you can choose a bottle to go with the meal from the enviable selection in the shop downstairs, the only problem being settling on which one.

One solution is to work out roughly what you have in mind to eat before you go down there, a decision made rather easier by choosing from the very good value (for Claridges) set price lunch or pre-theatre. menu which is £49 for two courses or £58 for 3.

My companion, fellow winelover Barry Smith and I worked out that if we chose a red we would go for the ballotine of confit duck and the lamb navarin while if we chose a white we’d opt for the white onion and cheddar tart and Cornish brill with clams and seaweed butter.

In the event we discovered from head sommelier Emma Denney that they also had a 2018 Maycamas chardonnay from the Napa Valley on by the glass which meant one of us could have the tart and the other the ballotine with the bottle of Domaine 2005 Blagny La Pièce sous le Bois, a lesser known and comparatively modestly priced burgundy Barry had spotted on the shelves.

It also went really well with the navarin but the standout match for me was the chardonnay and the cheddar tart.

I’ve tried chardonnay with cheddar before but this wine, which had a wonderfully refreshing acidity you don’t always associate with Californian chardonnay, took the pairing to another level.

You can also buy it by the bottle from Claridges Wine Cellar for £75 (at the time of writing) which is great value given it’s £50 by the glass and read about it here,

Next time you have cheese and onion quiche think chardonnay …

See also The Best Wine Pairings for Cheddar Cheese

And for other chardonnay pairings The Best Food to pair with Chardonnay

I ate at the restaurant as a guest of Claridges

Parmesan custard and Soave

Parmesan or parmigiano reggiano is one of the most wine-friendly of cheeses but on its own normally pairs best with an Italian red. But in this fabled incarnation of an unctuously rich creamy custard by chef Rowley Leigh, white wine makes the better pairing

I discovered this at his pop-up Chez Rowley at Laylow in Golborne Road last week when I had it with the 2022 Pieropan Soave he had recommended which is also creamy but with a crisp refreshing edge that cuts through the richness of the dish and also goes brilliantly with the anchovy toasts you dunk in it. At around £16 (£15.81 in Lay & Wheeler) it’s not quite the bargain it was but it’s a really good wine

It would also be great with a top-notch white burgundy or other cool climate chardonnay or - if you're feeling extremely decadent - a blanc de blancs champagne.

Chez Rowley is taking bookings until Christmas and is a great chance to enjoy Rowley’s food if you’re a fan from his days at Kensington Place and Le Cafe Anglais.

I ate at the restaurant as a guest.