Pairings | Cabernet franc

The best food pairings for cabernet franc

The best food pairings for cabernet franc

Cabernet franc can be the most food-friendly of wines, as good with fish and veggies as it is with meat but it comes in several styles. If you’re looking for a food match for cabernet franc I’d be mainly thinking of the lighter more fragrant Loire type which stars on its own in such appellations as Saumur, Saumur-Champigny, Bourgeuil, St Nicolas de Bourgeuil and Chinon. Even then it can vary from vintage to vintage and from lighter wines to more serious oak-aged examples. 

What food to pair with red Bordeaux

What food to pair with red Bordeaux

Although Bordeaux produces some of the most expensive wines in the world it also produces bottles that are great for everyday drinking. So what kind of food pairs best with them?

What type of wine pairs best with Vietnamese food?

What type of wine pairs best with Vietnamese food?

Sunday marked not only the start of the Chinese New Year but the Vietnamese New Year celebrations too - known as Tet. As in China there are certain foods which are traditional to the occasion such as pickled vegetables and candied fruits, none of which are particularly wine-friendly but in general I find Vietnamese food, with its milder heat and fragrant herbal flavours easier to match than Thai (although I haven’t had such extensive experience of doing so).

Wine and lamb: my 5 favourite pairings

Wine and lamb: my 5 favourite pairings

It’s tough to say what the best wine matches for lamb are - it’s served so many different ways and there are so many wines (mainly red) that work but here are my five favourites.

Win a case of Catena Cabernet Franc and a £100 meat voucher from Swaledale Butchers

Win a case of Catena Cabernet Franc and a £100 meat voucher from Swaledale Butchers

Sponsored feature: Having taken the decision earlier this year to cut back on the number of competitions we ran on the site* it’s been a while since we had one but I’m happy to say we have a cracker for you this month.

Rhubarb cheesecake and 2007 Peller Estates Cabernet Franc Ice Wine

Rhubarb cheesecake and 2007 Peller Estates Cabernet Franc Ice Wine

With four days in Edinburgh and three at the Ballymaloe Food & Drink Litfest in Co Cork this weekend I’ve been overwhelmed with good food and drink matches but as I haven’t singled out a dessert for a while I’m making Tom Kitchin’s Rhubarb cheesecake my hero dish this week.

Lamb with coriander and the Garage Wine Company's Cabernet/Carignan

Lamb with coriander and the Garage Wine Company's Cabernet/Carignan

This is possibly the most off-the-wall pairing I encountered on my recent Chilean trip and for that reason the most exciting - both on account of the food and the wine.

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.

Blesbok loin with root vegetables, num num and 2010 Delaire Graff Botmaskop

Blesbok loin with root vegetables, num num and 2010 Delaire Graff Botmaskop

Another week of brilliant pairings, another tough decision to make but I’m going for this combination at Delaire restaurant in Stellenbosch because it was such a great dish.

Roast suckling pig with Casa de Saima Bairrada Tinto

Roast suckling pig with Casa de Saima Bairrada Tinto

I recently went to a Portuguese food and wine evening in Bristol hosted by an enterprising wine merchant called Corks of Cotham. It featured the wines of a producer called Casa de Saima, the ports of Niepoort and an intriguing Barbeito Single Harvest Madeira which went exceptionally well with some classic Portuguese custard tarts.

Duck paté, rillettes and red Anjou

Duck paté, rillettes and red Anjou

Last week we spent 24 hours in Cheltenham, mainly to eat at Le Champignon Sauvage about which I’ll be posting a review tomorrow. We also had lunch at a pub/bistro I’d heard good things about called the Royal Well Tavern which has this year been awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand and recently picked up a glowing review from the Observer’s restaurant critic, Jay Rayner

Cold rare fillet of beef and Cinsault

Cold rare fillet of beef and Cinsault

Given that it’s been in the mid-30s in the Cape Winelands recently it’s not surprising the local prefer their beef cold rather than hot but that also requires a change of thinking - from full-bodied to lighter reds.

‘Meli Melo’ 2013 and 3 other good wine finds from Yapp

‘Meli Melo’ 2013 and 3 other good wine finds from Yapp

One of the problems of recommending a wine that most people can only buy online is that they generally have to buy a case - either of that wine or others they haven't a clue whether they’ll like or not.

Domaine Joel Delaunay L’Esprit des Dames Touraine Chenonceaux 2014

Domaine Joel Delaunay L’Esprit des Dames Touraine Chenonceaux 2014

This was recommended by the manager at my local Oddbins in Bristol and I really love it.

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