Storage of Wine

Food and Wine Matching:

Wine and Richness - A Match Made in Heaven?

The richness, or weight, or a meal is one of the key considerations when making a food and wine matching choice. It is all about balance - you are aiming for a complimentary and enjoyable experience when drinking wine with your meal, not for either meal or liquid to overthrow the other.

The Principles

Nice and easy this one - match hearty dishes with robust wines, match lighter dishes with lighter wines. The weight or richness of the food can come from the main ingredient, such as a beef steak, or in the accompanying sauces and sides. Turkey meat is a light meal on its own, but add roast potatoes, chipolatas, stuffing and rich gravy and suddenly you have one hearty Christmas lunch!

So What Works?

What I call ‘homely’ food such as roast meats, game, and casseroles fall into the heavy-weight category - red Bordeaux, Aussie reds, Malbec, Chilean Shiraz and Rhone-style wines are all great matches. Try the classy Chateau Turcaud (£7.50) with your roast beef, or a Rasteau Domaine Didier Charavin with game (12.50). From the Rhone, this wine gives many Chateauneuf-du-Pape a run for their money! Rich, rounded white wines such as the Pouilly Fuisse Roger Sauvestre (£12.50), other oaked Chardonnays and Viognier also have a place here, especially with rich and creamy fish pie. Indeed, it is better to go for a full-bodied white than a lighter-bodied red in this case.

Shepherds Pie, pizza, Spaghetti Bolognese and sausages are middle-weights. Italian reds such as Chianti and Valpolicella, Spanish Rioja and lighter Rhone-style wines work well. Great tries are the Cote du Ventoux Domaine Juliette Avril (£7.50), a spicy Rhone red, and the Tempranillo Reserva Castillo de Manzanares (a bargain at £5.75, this Rioja-style red drinks way above its price point). Paella works well with Spanish whites and good quality Italian Soave. Definitely one to try on a special occasion (or even just because you feel you deserve it!) is the Soave Tamellini at £10.50. Full of hazelnut, honey and stone fruit, this little gem shows what Italian whites are all about. Creamy risottos can take soft, rounded, oaked Chardonnays (a lot depends on the additional filling though).

Simply cooked white meats and fish require more delicate wines so as not to overpower their subtle flavours - they are officially light-weights. For something a bit different, try a Malvasia from Italy. With a light, crisp edge surrounding gentle tropical fruit flavours, it is a more interesting alternative to cheap Pinot Grigio (and at £6.25, it won’t break the bank either). Light reds can work too; just make sure that the tannin level is low. Pinot Noir and Beaujolais defy the whole ‘red wines and white meat don’t go’ rule. Try the Bourgogne Pinot Noir at £8.75 or the Fleurie la Madone at £9.50, both from the Sauvestre estate. Smooth and supple, these wines will elegantly partner the simplest of dishes.

So What to Avoid?

The opposite of what I have said here.