Wine and the Art of (Not) Pairing

Seeing as we are halfway through the recipes we thought a few words on the murky world of wine pairing might be useful. Although if you’re looking for one of those neat grids that align every food under the sun with the ‘perfect’ wine, you are going to be disappointed. We’re not here to tell you that venison simply has to be enjoyed with slightly aged Chianti Classico – not only because it probably doesn’t but because that’s not an approach with which we’re comfortable. Of course there are frequent eureka moments where something you are eating and something you are drinking seem to have some kind of telepathic arrangement to take you into a higher state of happiness – but that tends to be when two flavours align (an amazing piece of Parmesan and a very old Chenin Blanc, for example). A cooked dish, however simple, will generally have lots going on (sweet, sour, salty) so claiming that a certain wine will match it perfectly is slightly disingenuous. Guests often panic when faced with the wine list, anxiously enquiring whether the Albariño they’ve ordered will match their starters. Please don’t stress. We would prefer to find out what you like to drink rather than worry about pairing perfection. It’s very rare that your food and your wine will end up waging internecine war on your palate.