Pairings | Pinot grigio
Top wine pairings with asparagus
Whenever anyone talks about foods that are difficult to match with wine, asparagus always comes up but I reckon the problem is overstated.
Just like any other ingredient it depends how you cook and serve it and how many other ingredients there are on the plate. Few people serve asparagus totally unadorned.
The most popular pairing is with Sauvignon Blanc which can have a marked asparagus flavour itself so you need another ingredient on the plate such as salmon, chicken or goats cheese to revive those flavours in the wine.
Wines that can be tricky are wines with a touch of sweetness as asparagus can accentuate that. Oaked whites are generally not too successful (except with rich buttery sauces - see below) nor are wines with pronounced tannins.
Here are my suggestions with different asparagus preparations:
- With a vinaigrette - Needs a wine that can cope with the vinaigrette and won’t compete with the asparagus. I prefer an earthy, dry, unoaked Italian white such as Verdicchio or dry Orvieto to a Sauvignon Blanc here. Or a light, dry rosé without too much upfront berry fruit
- With melted butter or mayo - Where the asparagus is offset by the richness of butter or mayo but there isn’t anything else on the plate: an unoaked or lightly oaked Chardonnay such as Chablis
- With hollandaise or soft-boiled or poached eggs - Here the sauce or accompaniments begin to take over so go for a mature oaked Chardonnay (one in which the wood is well integrated but which is still fresh-tasting), traditional white Rioja or Champagne
- With goats cheese or prawns and salad - here’s where to drink Sauvignon Blanc, especially minerally Sauvignons from the Loire like Sancerre. The goats’ cheese accentuates rather than knocking out the asparagus flavours in the wine. English whites like Bacchus are also good.
- With grilled salmon - Semillon-Sauvignon blends, especially from Bordeaux or Western Australia generally work well
- With crab - a very dry Riesling, from e.g. Austria won’t overwhelm the crab
- With sautéed or fried chicken - Here asparagus is likely to be the vegetable so go for a wine that will match the chicken such as a light or moderately oaked Chardonnay
- Asparagus risotto - You’re matching the creamy risotto not just the asparagus. A crisp, fresh Italian white such as Pinot Grigio from the Alto Adige is the ideal option in my view or other dry Pinot Grigios
- Asparagus quiche - Alsace Pinot Blanc or Italian Pinot Bianco is a generally reliable choice with quiches. Alternatively go for a light, unoaked Chardonnay
- Chargrilled asparagus with mushrooms/roast asparagus with pancetta - Here’s where you can go for a light Loire red such as Bourgeuil or Saumur-Champigny, inexpensive red burgundy or other light, unoaked Pinot Noir
- In a stir fry - the sauce is likely to be the determining factor here. Assuming it’s something reasonably light to preserve the flavour of the asparagus I’d go for an off-dry Riesling from e.g. Germany
- White asparagus - Popular in central and southern Europe. My favourite pairing is young Grüner Veltliner, though others will go for dry Riesling or even dry Muscat (though the latter is not to everyone’s taste). Dry Spanish rosado is also good.
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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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The best food and wine pairings for Valentine’s Day
If you’re planning a special meal for Valentine’s Day you may be wondering which wine to pair with your menu. I’ve picked some favourite Valentine’s Day foods and suggested some matches that should work well with them.
Asparagus
If served on its own with melted butter or a hollandaise sauce a subtle, creamy white burgundy or chardonnay would be the most seductive choice. If dressed with a vinaigrette or in a salad with seafood I’d go for a crisper white like a Sancerre, Pouilly Fumé or other top quality sauvignon blanc.
Camembert
Camembert baked in its box makes a sexy instant fondue but isn’t the easiest of dishes to pair with wine (even trickier than when it’s served cold). Funnily enough a glass of champagne - or similar style sparkling wine - works surprisingly well or go for a dry white like a Chablis.
Caviar (or, more likely, a caviar imitation)
Dry champagne. (Vodka is arguably better but not as romantic.)
Chocolate (dark)
There are possibilities with wine (sweet reds like Maury or Quady’s seductive Elysium being good choices - see
www.quadywinery.com) but my own preferred option with dark chocolate is a frozen shot of cherry brandy or other fruit-flavoured spirit or liqueur or a small glass of sloe or damson gin. An orange-flavoured liqueur like Grand Marnier also works well.
Chocolate (white)
An ice-cold raspberry-flavoured wine or liqueur like Southbrook Winery’s Framboise from Canada. Especially if the dessert includes raspberries.
Duck
Pinot Noir. Look to New Zealand and Chile for the best value
Ice cream (vanilla)
Tricky with wine. A toffee or chocolate-flavoured liqueur is your best bet. Very sweet PX sherry can be wonderful poured over it.
Ice cream (chocolate)
Try a coffee-flavoured liqueur like Toussaint or Kahlua.
Lobster
Good white burgundy (or other chardonnay) or vintage champagne.
Wine with lobster: 5 of the best pairings
Oysters
Champagne or Chablis. Not Guinness on Valentine’s Night, I suggest.
Passion fruit
Can be quite sharp so you need a very sweet wine to balance it. A sweet riesling or late harvest semillon or sauvignon blanc will work well. If it’s mixed with a creamy base as in a passion fruit brulée you could drink a sweet (demi-sec) Champagne or other dessert wine. Or a passion fruit flavoured beer. (Yes, such drinks exist! Try Floris from Belgium.)
Prawns/shrimp
If you’re serving a classic prawn cocktail I suggest a dry or off-dry riesling which would also work with an Asian-style stir-fry or salad. A sparkling rosé - including champagne - would be a suitably kitsch all-pink choice.
The best pairings for prawns or shrimp
Smoked salmon
Champagne on this occasion. But see
Scallops
Made for top white burgundy or other really good chardonnay. Champagne is also spot on if that’s what you’re drinking.
Top wine pairings with scallops
Steak
The best full-bodied red you can afford. Whatever turns your partner on . . .
My 5 top wine and steak pairing tips
Strawberries
If served plain and unadorned, gently sparkling Moscato d’Asti or Asti is lovely or go for the luscious
Fragola liqueur. If they’re served with cream you could serve a classic sweet wine like Sauternes.
My top pairings with strawberries
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6 of the best wine pairings for spaghetti carbonara
Spaghetti carbonara - spaghetti with a creamy bacon and egg sauce - is one of my all-time favourite pasta dishes but what’s the best wine pairing for it?
Remember, as usual with pasta, it’s the sauce you’re matching not the pasta shape so these suggestions would go equally well with fettucine or tagliatelle treated the same way.
Personally I’d go for a white wine rather than a red or rosé - a crisp dry Italian white at that though I’ve suggested a couple of French wines that I think work well too. Choose from one of these.
* Pinot grigio - there’s so much ropey Pinot Grigio around it’s easy to forget its virtues as a crisp, clean, immensely food-friendly white. Look out for ones from the Alto Adige region. Pinot Bianco (aka Pinot Blanc) would be good too
* Gavi di Gavi - another very popular Italian white for those who like a fuller, slightly smoother white
* Soave - same reasoning. Smooth, dry, brilliantly food-friendly.
* Picpoul de Pinet - a crisp white from the Languedoc coast that would work really well too
* Chablis - also works well with creamy sauces, and with ham
* Teroldego - a light Italian red that would rub along well if you fancied a red.
The best wine pairings with chicken Kyiv
Chicken Kyiv - or Kiev - as it used to be known - is a much loved version of fried chicken that you can also easily buy off the supermarket shelf but what sort of wine should you pair with it?
If you’re not familiar with the dish it’s a deep fried chicken breast stuffed with garlic butter so it’s more about the garlic than the chicken.
That pushes me towards a white wine or sparkling wine rather than a red. Here’s what I’d choose
A crisp dry white wine like a Chablis, aligoté, albarino or Picpoul de Pinet, even a pinot grigio (preferably one from the Trentino region of north-east Italy)
Sauvignon blanc, especially from the Loire e.g. Sancerre or Pouilly Fumé
A dry champagne or champagne-style sparkling wine, especially a blanc de blancs (100% chardonnay or other white grapes). Sparkling wine is always great with deep fried food.
If you fancy a red wine with chicken kyiv I’d be inclined to go for a Beaujolais or other gamay or an inexpensive red burgundy
A light lager or pils
Top image by Alexander Prokopenko at shutterstock.com
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