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Carefully selecting a complementary wine to partner a particular dish can bring out the best of both; transforming a good meal or pleasant tipple into a fabulous feast of flavours. Get this partnership wrong and you could end up with a sour taste in your mouth.
The Wine Maestro simplifies the task of wine and food pairing for you, providing informative, straightforward, expert advice & tips, utilising his wealth of knowledge and experience. Enjoy!
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| Recipe:
Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce |
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Serving a hollandaise sauce adds complexity to asparagus so it calls for a complex wine from Alsace. Try Pinot Blanc or, even more delightful, dry Muscat; both wines are full of flavour with attractive weight from this delightful area in the North East of France. |
EG recommends
also good with: |
Try with simple Seafood dishes or light meats such as Chicken or Pork, mild-flavoured Cheeses work well too. |
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| Recipe:
Fried Halibut Steaks |
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Halibut is a meaty fish and this recipe is delightful because of its simplicity. Enjoy with a classic match: Chablis from Northern Burgundy. White, dry with good acidity and full bodied. Or, from further north but still in central France, Pouilly Fumé, a Sauvignon from the Loire. |
EG recommends
also good with: |
Try with white Fish simply grilled. Dover Sole, Turbot or Trout work well. |
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| Recipe:
Rocket Pesto |
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Pesto, especially with peppery rocket, needs a robust wine to complement it. Pesto is Italian so an Italian white should be the wine. I suggest Gavi di Gavi from the North West of Italy: Piemonte. Made with Cortese grapes it is dry, fruity and aromatic with good minerality. |
EG recommends
also good with: |
Try with Shellfish or light poached Fish, good with Prawns or even a plump Crab. |
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| Recipe:
Grilled Lemon Sole With Lemongrass Butter |
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Lemon sole is a fish with a gentle flavour so this dish raises the game by adding some Thai spicing. Dishes with lemon grass cry out for a dry wine from Germany such as a Riesling or the lesser known Scheurebe. Look for Trocken written on the label - even better with Spätlese as a suffix. Made with ripe grapes fully fermented giving a wine with a gorgeous richness. |
EG recommends
also good with: |
Try with grilled or barbequed Fish, Shellfish & light Meats, holds up well to a touch of Spice too. |
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| Recipe:
Roast Leg Of Spring Lamb With Garlic And Rosemary |
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The succulence of this very seasonal dish is made for a claret, a red wine from Bordeaux. A light wine balances the delicate flavours of the lamb and you needn’t buy an expensive Château like Mouton Rothschild but do avoid the very cheap red Bordeaux. |
EG recommends
also good with: |
Fabulous with full flavoured roasted Meats, try with a good Rib of Beef or grilled Lamb Chops. |
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| Recipe:
Course Sardine Pate |
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I immediately think of Portuguese wine with sardines but that would be when the fish are grilled or barbecued. With this coarse sardine paté, however, a Sauvignon Blanc from the New World, especially South Africa, is a treat, principally because of its extra richness. |
EG recommends
also good with: |
Surprisingly good with Thai Food as well as Sushi, Poultry & full flavoured Salads, such as Caesar or Greek. |
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| Recipe:
Asian Aubergine & Pork Hotpot |
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A crisp, dry white, with a hint of bitterness, from the Tuscan town of San Gimignano, known as the Manhattan of Italy because of its proliferation of medieval towers. This distinctive wine matches the spiciness of this dish as well as the full flavour of the aubergine. Another idea would be pink Champagne! |
EG recommends
also good with: |
Try with Italian influenced simple Soups, Pasta or Bean dishes and Fish. Lovely with Calamari. |
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| Recipe:
Warm Salad of Samphire, Asparagus & Crab |
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Crab will be the prominent flavour in this dish handsomely backed up by these delightful green spring vegetables. So a Viognier from the south of France or, even better, from Australia would be a treat. Dry with good acidity and hints of blossom on the nose with good fruit on the palate. |
EG recommends
also good with: |
Try with Grilled Prawns, Scallops or mild flavoured Fish and Poultry dishes. Keep the seasonings mild though. |
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Eating Out In Essex