Four easy wine pairings to try at home

Keep it crisp: a decent white like an Albariño works with almost any type of risotto

Pairing wine is rarely a priority; more pressing, usually, is whether there’s enough of the stuff

There is a particular pleasure when food and drink match up, though; odd wines can come into their own when matched with the right dish (though, dispiritingly, rarely is this true the other way around). A good sauternes with a slice of roquefort, fresh oysters with muscadet, fino sherry with grilled octopus… a proper match is the way to squeeze a third flavour out of a meal; the first is the food, the second the wine, the third the pair together. Of course, the standard disclaimers apply, and the wrong wine can taint your eating.

There are ways to go about finding what works. One is a kind of alcoholic Tinder: find a dish, get a few wines on the go, keep drinking till something makes sense. The other is easier, cheaper and doesn’t come with a raging hangover: ask about. In that vague memory of real life, when restaurants were still open, the easiest thing to do was ask a sommelier. They tend to have the best tips and usually don’t need much of a prompt to share them; when you’re back out, give it a go. In the meantime, try Twitter.

Below, though, are four pairings that go with the kind of food that’s easy to cook up during quarantine, with wines that fill the shelves of supermarkets – no difficult names, no outrageous prices. Bert Blaize and Claire Strickett, who Instagram as @whichwinewhen, have put them together, and done them rather brilliantly, too. There’s more of this stuff to come in their book Which Wine When: What to drink with the food you love, which is out at the end of the month.

Risotto – Albariño

“Risotto makes almost anything you forage from the depths of your cupboard, fridge or freezer feel like a proper, civilised meal. Albariño – a white wine from north-west Spain (and north-west Portugal, where it’s called Alvarinho) will go down a treat with almost any version of risotto you concoct. It’s a fresh and zesty wine with lots of texture, making it an excellent counterpart to a satisfying carb-fest. You’ll need a slug of the wine for cooking, then the rest is all yours to drink.”

Lasagne – Chianti

“Lasagne is exactly the sort of crowd-pleasing, batch-cooking comfort food we need right now. And that calls for an equally crowd-pleasing, comforting wine. Chianti is a Tuscan red that’s always a great shout when you want a big hug in a glass. It’s got plenty of acidity (like many Italian reds: this is what makes them such great companions to food) and lovely tart red cherry flavours, all of which helps it cut through and complement a rich lasagne. If you spot a reasonably priced bottle labelled Chianti Classico, rather than just Chianti, snap it up – it’s the mark of one of the region’s better wines.”

Curry – Sparkling Rosé

“Curry of any kind isn’t the most obvious food to pair with wine because spices cancel out a lot of wine’s more interesting and complex flavours. But a sparkling rosé is perfect. The bubbles will keep your mouth refreshed and your spirits up: bubbles are always cheering. A lot of fizzy pink wines – especially the cheapo ones from the corner shop – are slightly sweet, and that’s actually a great thing here because a little sugar in wine balances out heat perfectly, leaving food and wine tasting at their best.”

Odds & Ends Stew – Australian Shiraz

“Now more than ever it’s important not to waste anything: from home-made stock to the remains of a roast, vegetables on their last legs or tins of unloved pulses, a warming stew is the simplest way to give them all a second lease of life. Whatever you put into it, a hearty stew needs a wine with weight and spice. Call on some Australian sunshine in the form of a spicy, rich, full-bodied Shiraz, which can take pretty much anything you throw at it. If you can spare a glass, it could enhance the stew itself, too.

"Which Wine When: What to drink with the food you love" by Bert Blaize & Claire Strickett, @whichwinewhen, will be out on April 30, published by Ebury/Penguin Random House. £9.99 in hardback, it can be pre-ordered here.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT