Top wine pairings with goat cheese (chèvre)

Since goats cheese and Sauvignon Blanc is 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.

Unless you’re slathering it on a cracker as a sneaky snack the chances are you’re going to be eating it with something else - in a salad with asparagus, say, with roast red peppers or beetroot or on a cheeseboard with other cheeses - unless you’re in Provence where they don’t seem to serve any other kind.

With all those dishes it helps to have a wine with some fresh acidity of its own so here are my suggestions:

Sauvignon Blanc - you know that already. Doesn’t matter hugely where it’s from though I personally think the white wines of the Loire like Sancerre, Pouilly Fumé and even Sauvignon de Touraine work especially well. (The classic pairing is a Sancerre and a Crottin de Chavignol.)

Wines that taste like Sauvignon Blanc so other citrussy whites such as Bacchus, Côtes de Gascogne, Rueda and other crisp whites such as Albarino, Alvarinho, Chablis, Picpoul de Pinet, Pinot Grigio and other unoaked Italian whites, dry Riesling, Gruner Veltliner . . . (See what I mean about it being versatile?)

Crisp dry rosé especially Provençal rosé. Provence-style rosé and goats cheese is a great pairing (think summer picnics!)

Fresh, fruity reds such as Beaujolais and other gamays, inexpensive red burgundy and Loire cabernet francs like Chinon, Saumur and Saumur-Champigny

So basically any wine - white, red or rosé - that’s young, fresh, unoaked and lightly chilled will go with goats cheese. Which makes it the perfect summer cheese.

PS If you’re a cheese aficionado you may be a fan of more mature goats’ cheeses in which case I would go for an aged white like a Chablis or a mature Alsace riesling too as you can see from this post.

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8 great wine (and other) matches for roast chicken

Both red and white wine go with roast chicken so the key thing to focus on when picking a wine pairing is what flavourings you put with it and the sides you serve. These elements can vary widely depending on where you are in the world, but there’s no doubt that roast chicken has global appeal: 

Here in the UK chicken is arguably everyone’s favourite “Sunday roast”, typically served with gravy and loads of vegetables (much like in the U.S.). In France, poulet rôti is a classic weekend meal, often bought off a rotisseries and typically served with a green salad and potatoes which have soaked up the chicken fat.

This guide offers my top eight wine and other drink pairings for different ways of serving roast chicken. For tips on other chicken dishes you might find this post useful.

How to choose the best wine for roast chicken

In general, if you’re cooking it simply with its own roasting juices I’d incline towards a white or light red. Roast it British-style with gravy and loads of vegetables and I’d go for a more substantial red such as a Côtes-du Rhône - though not a full-bodied one like a Grenache or a Shiraz unless you’re dealing with some sweetness and spice in the seasoning - as with this honey-roast chicken recipe. Here are more drink pairings that work: 

White burgundy or other good quality oaked chardonnay

A blissful match with a simply roast chicken without much done to it - or accompanied by mushrooms or truffles as Lucy Bridgers reports here. Also a good choice if you’re seasoning it with tarragon or serving it with a creamy sauce.

Viognier

This rich white is a good choice when you have a slightly spicy stuffing or one with fruit like apricots in it.

Red burgundy or other good quality pinot noir

Again, a good choice for a simply roast chicken served with its own juices or rubbed with Chinese five spice.

Beaujolais-Villages

If you’re serving the chicken at room temperature with a salad or seasoning it with lemon a good Beaujolais Villages or cru Beaujolais like a Brouilly is a good choice for spring or summer drinking. As of course is a rosé.

Côtes-du-Rhône Villages

The generous sweetness of a grenache-based Côtes-du-Rhône Villages is perfect If you’re making a more traditional, meaty gravy or are serving more strongly flavoured vegetables. Look out for specific villages such as Cairanne and Vacqueyras

Cider

Chicken and cider is a marriage made in heaven and that particularly applies to roast chicken. Use cider in the gravy too.

Golden or blonde ales

The beer world’s equivalent of Chardonnay: smooth, slightly sweet and just delicious with chicken. Roast chicken is also one of the staples of the Oktoberfest where they serve it with a light Helles lager but you could also enjoy it with a more full-bodied one like Budweiser Budvar or Brooklyn.

Champagne

It might seem extravagant but if you’re in the mood to splash out, a full bodied champagne like Bollinger or Louis Roederer is terrific with a roast chook - it’s the umami taste of the chicken skin that does it!

See also What wine goes best with chicken - red or white?

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6 of the best drink pairings for Brie (updated)

One of the world’s most popular cheeses, brie can be mild and slightly chalky or decadently gooey and quite strong in flavour.

The best wine pairing for brie will mainly depend on the maturity of the cheese rather than the origin. I wouldn’t recommend radically different drinks for a Somerset brie than a Brie de Meaux, for example (although there’s always the local cider!).

Basically you should think of lighter wines in terms of younger milder cheeses and more structured ones for more mature intensely flavoured ones.

Wine might be the obvious beverage to turn to but there are other drinks that work well too including beer and aperitifs. And I’ve. suggested a couple of alcohol-free alternatives too. 

Six top drink pairings for Brie

* Fruity reds such as New Zealand or Chilean Pinot Noir. (More mature bries or brie-style cheeses will need more powerful structured wines such as those from Central Otago.) Or try a fruity (but not too tannic) Merlot or a ripe ‘cru’ Beaujolais from a good vintage such as 2022. For milder bries a basic Beaujolais Villages is better

* A fruity dry rosé - lovely on a picnic

* A creamy, subtly oaked chardonnay - even a posh white burgundy!

* A cherry or raspberry-flavoured fruit beer (Kriek or Frambozen), particularly when the brie is accompanied by fresh cherries.

* A red berry fruit-flavoured cider. I’m not normally a fan but they do work well with brie. 

* Guignolet (a cherry-flavoured French aperitif) by the same logic.

If you’re looking for an alcohol-free alternative think in terms of similar red fruit flavours. Cranberry juice and pomegranate juice would both be good options.

See also Pairing wine and cheese: 6 ways to do it better

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6 versatile wine pairings for a Chinese New Year feast

Asking which wine is the best match for Chinese food is a bit like looking for the best match for European food - it in no way reflects the diversity of Chinese cuisine.

That said many of us will probably be enjoying a Chinese meal this week - either in a restaurant or from a takeaway and wonder what to drink with it.

For most westerners who don’t share the Chinese reverence for red wine, white wine is a more appealing option with the sweet-sour flavours of many popular Chinese dishes though as with other meals you may want to change wines when you switch from seafood and chicken to red meat (especially beef).

Here are my six top picks:

Sparkling wine - particularly if you’re eating dim sum or other fried dishes. Not necessarily champagne - an Australian sparkling wine with a touch of sweetness, especially a sparkling rosé will do fine.

Riesling - probably the best all-rounder with the majority of dishes as it usually has a touch of sweetness. Alsace, Austria, Australia, Germany, New Zealand, Washington State - it truly doesn’t matter too much where it comes from. This off-dry Clare Valley riesling was a great hit with my Chinese New Year feast last year.

Torrontes - I’ve been struck for a while by how good floral Argentinian Torrontes is with spicy food - a less full-on alternative to gewurztraminer which goes brilliantly with some dishes (like duck) but isn’t such a good all-rounder.

Strong dry fruity rosé - such as the new wave of Portuguese rosés and Bordeaux rosé - not the pale delicate Provençal kind. Surprisingly good with Chinese food.

Pinot noir - obviously a particularly good match with crispy duck pancakes but if you choose one with a touch of sweetness such as those from Chile, New Zealand or California, flexible enough to handle other dishes too.

A generous fruity but not too tannic red - which is of course what many Chinese themselves would drink, particularly red Bordeaux. I’d probably go for a shiraz-cabernet or GSM (grenache/syrah/mourvèdre blend) myself but only with meatier dishes, dishes with aubergine or dishes in black bean sauce. A good cru Beaujolais like Morgon would be another option.

For a more extensive list of Chinese food pairings see Pairing Wine with Chinese Cuisine and The Best Pairings for a Chinese Stir-Fry.

And for some more adventurous pairings check out these sommeliers views on Serious Eats.

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