Six of the best pairings for roast pork

If you’re wondering which wine to pair with roast pork the good news is it’s a flexible meat that can take a white or a red - or even - given the crackling, a sparkling wine.

Cider too is a great option.

It depends how you cook it, of course - in the traditional British way with crackling and gravy (better with white wines and cider) or Italian style with garlic, fennel and herbs (better with red)

The Portuguese also have a fondness for roast suckling pig with juicy reds like baga and barraida

Here’s what I’d choose

Chenin blanc

Especially old vine chenin blanc and Cape White blends from South Africa which have the richness and weight to cope with roast meat. Sparkling chenin blanc is delicious too.

Cider (aka hard cider)

Just as pork goes with apples, it’s perfect with cider - a medium dry cider for preference. (Apple juice too if you’re not drinking)

Sangiovese

A medium bodied Italian red like a Rosso di Montalcino is perfect with Italian-style roast pork with garlic fennel and herbs

Beaujolais

Classic with charcuterie but also great with roast pork, especially ‘cru’ Beaujolais like a Morgon. It can even handle Chinese-style roast pork. Try Spanish Mencia too.

Côtes-du-Rhône villages

Warm, generous, grenache-based reds are good with wintery pork roasts

Hoppy IPAs

Or even double IPAs are just brilliant with pork, especially pulled pork. Saison beers are good with roast pork too.

For pairings with other pork dishes check out

Which wines pair best with pork

Which wines to drink on St Patrick’s Day

It’s hard to avoid the obvious on St Paddy’s Day. Guinness, Bailey’s and Irish whiskey are the usual suspects but if none of these appeals here are the sort of wines that will work with classic Irish fare.

Oysters

Here’s where the Guinness comes in but if you don’t like Guinness, what then? A crisp white like Chablis, Muscadet or Picpoul de Pinet hits the spot

Smoked salmon and soda bread

Sauvignon Blanc is a better match for smoked salmon than champagne if truth be told. I’d go for one from the Loire myself like a Sancerre, Pouilly Fumé or - bargain drinking - Côteaux du Giennois, available in Majestic and Marks & Sparks

Cockle and mussel chowder

A lovely recipe from TV’s Rachel Allen. The blissful combination of shellfish and cream generally calls for a Chardonnay. Chablis would be classic but any other cool climate chardonnay would do. Or try an Italian white like Soave or Gavi

Irish stew

A plain, old-fashioned dish that works better with beer (bitter or pale ale rather than Guinness, I suggest) than with wine to be honest. Otherwise try a decent (but not too alcoholic) Côtes du Rhône or a mature Rioja

Boiled bacon and cabbage

Again I really like stout with this kind of dish but wine-wise I’d be looking at a cru Beaujolais or other Gamay, an inexpensive red Burgundy or a young Syrah. Natural wines with their vivid fruit flavours work well with ham. Try the Raisins Gaulois I recommended in the Guardian a while back. Cider would also be a good pairing.

Corned beef and cabbage

Another classic St Patrick’s Day dish from Darina Allen. Basically this is boiled salted brisket and vegetables - a simple meal that will make any accompanying wine taste sweeter than it otherwise would. I’d probably go for an inexpensive red Bordeaux though you could drink a crisp white like an Aligoté, Chablis or Grüner Veltliner.

Beef and Guinness pie or stew

Anything cooked in Guinness like these braised beef and champ pies or sausages in Guinness gravy are a good match with Guinness or other stouts or porters. Wine-wise I’d go for a robust Languedoc red, Syrah or Malbec

Roast rib of beef with horseradish sauce

There’s a long tradition of Irish-owned chateaux in Bordeaux so a good claret would be in keeping with the occasion. But any medium-to full-bodied red you enjoy is going to do the trick.

An Irish cheeseboard

Ireland has some fantastic cheeses like Adrahan, Coolea, Gubbeen and Cashel Blue though they tend to be quite strong. I’m not sure this isn’t an occasion to crack open a bottle of vintage port if you’ve got one. A good Late Bottled Vintage or 10 year old tawny if you haven’t.

There’s no classic St Patrick’s Day dessert that I’m aware of. Darina’s Rhubarb Bread and Butter pudding would do nicely (I’d pair a Sauternes with that) or try these clever Irish whiskey shots with a cream float from Rachel Allen

Photograph © Brent Hofacker - Fotolia.com

A quick guide to wine pairings with a Sunday roast

For many of us Sunday roasts aren’t a weekly occurrence any more but that makes them even more of a treat - worthy of a good bottle of wine. But which should it be?

I’m assuming it’s served with the traditional British accompaniments, by the way - the sort of Sunday lunch you get in a pub.

The good news is that roasts are very forgiving so almost any red you enjoy tends to rub along. A couple of things to bear in mind if you want to raise the game is what kind of sauce or gravy you’re serving with the meat and the type of vegetables.

The more full-flavoured the accompaniments the riper and more full-bodied the wine needs to be (so think reds from the southern hemisphere and California rather than more traditional northerly parts of Europe).

Yorkshire pudding and roasties? They don’t make a huge difference winewise but what would a Sunday roast be without them?

Wine with roast beef

These days beef is generally served rare which calls for a red wine with some structure and tannin. My own choice would be a good red Bordeaux or similar Bordeaux blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc. Or cabernet or merlot on their own. Malbec and shiraz are always good with beef too

For more suggestions see Which Wine (or beer) to serve with roast beef

Wine with roast lamb

Depends a bit on the cut and what time of year you’re eating it (spring lamb is particularly delicious with pinot noir) but in general I’d go for a Rioja or Ribera del Duero or, again, a red Bordeaux or cabernet sauvignon. I like a good Chianti with roast lamb too.

For other ideas check out my top wine pairings for lamb

Wine with roast pork

I actually like cider with roast pork but wine-wise you can go white or red. Whites that work particularly well include chenin blanc and viognier while Rhône reds like Côtes du Rhône and similar grenache, syrah, mourvedre blends from the Languedoc and elsewhere in the world are a good red wine choice. Also, if you like Beaujolais, that’s great with pork!

See also six of the best pairings with roast pork

Wine with roast chicken

Again you can go white or red with roast chicken but bear in mind it’s a lighter meat so needs a less full-bodied, high alcohol wine. For me red burgundy or other pinot noir would be the ideal red wine choice while I’d go for a subtly oaked chardonnay if I was drinking white. Viognier is good with chicken too.

Try some of these other great matches for roast chicken

And not your average Sunday roast but if you’re looking for wines to serve with roast turkey you’ll find some suggestions here https://www.matchingfoodandwine.com/news/pairings/top-wines-to-drink-with-turkey/

Wine with a vegetarian Sunday roast

Often served with similar types of veggies and gravy to a meaty roast so many of the above suggestions will work equally well. Good all-rounders in my book are fruity pinot noirs (especially with mushrooms), Côtes du Rhône and Rioja. Both Merlot and malbec are pretty versatile too.

Here are my suggestions for the best wine pairings with a nut roast

Top picture by Magdanatka, roast chicken and vegetables by MShev, both at shutterstock.com

Six of the best wine pairings with cassoulet

Anyone who has a passing knowledge of cassoulet will know that there are hotly disputed arguments about what constitutes the authentic version. But whichever way you make it it’s a substantial dish, a slow-cooked casserole of beans, meat and herbs. French-style comfort food.

I see little reason to stray away from the wines of cassoulet’s homeland of south-west France and personally much prefer red to white as a match.

Here’s what I’d go for...

6 Best Wine Pairings with Cassoulet

Marcillac

Probably my favourite choice, a delicious bright fruity red made from Mansois, the local name for Fer Servadou.

Madiran

Can be a little high in alcohol for such a heavy dish but if you like more robust reds it’s a good choice

Cahors (and other malbecs)

Another south-western French red that hits the spot. Malbecs from elsewhere in France and more savoury European styles of Argentinian Malbec would work well too.

Hearty Languedoc reds such as Minervois and Corbières.

Kate Hill, author of Cassoulet, A French Obsession, recommends a biodynamic Coteaux du Languedoc called Far Ouest made by biodynamic wine producer Mylene Bru.

Côtes du Roussillon

Lighter and brighter than some of the more expensive and extracted Roussillon reds, their freshness would offset the richness of cassoulet well.

Côtes du Rhône Villages

A good Côtes du Rhône especially from a named village like Séguret or Valréas would also be a good match as would a Costières de Nîmes

Red Bordeaux

This might be more of a surprise but can work really well as this pairing with Chateau le Puy demonstrates.

If you want to stray over the border into Spain there’s really no reason why you shouldn’t drink a Rioja crianza or other tempranillo.

For other bean pairings see The Best Wine Pairings with Beans.

]Photo ©Jerome.Romme at shutterstock.com