Surprising Matches
Food & Wine Matching--red
Wine can be a restrictive world to enter at times. For all the talk of liberté and egalité that gets bandied around when wine drinkers get together, there are an astounding amount of rules - both written and unwritten - which are upheld in some circles through the medium of muttered words and downward glances.
It can be a jungle out there. Such rules range from the ridiculous system which allocates a certain type of glass for certain types of wine, the precise temperature for serving wines and endless sets of guidelines on storing and pouring and sniffing and swirling and god knows what else. Such rules do little more than baffle newcomers and put everyone else off, because it’s hard to imagine they have any real meaning for those who follow them to the letter.
Saying this, there is a set of rules which does stem from logic, common sense and practicality, rather than from pretentiousness and pointless ritual. The guidelines which exist around pairing food and wine have helped many a seeker of sensory delight achieve their goal, and a good match between food and wine can result in something wonderful, and something far more than the sum of its parts.
But sometimes the proof is simply in the pudding - an unconventional pairing, or maybe just an unconventional ingredient. There's no rules for that. Just think of red wine and fish (yes, it can work!)
You just have to give it a shot!
Luckily we've done the work for you - behold, the most uncommon food and wine pairings!
Pizza--pizza
Sangiovese
Assuming you’ve gone classic and have got a tomato base, you’re facing off against a wicked combo of acid and tomato-ey sweetness. One grape that does an admirable job of duelling with these twin blasts of flavour is Sangiovese, with its own tangy acid and bright red fruit flavour. It also happens to be Italian….where pizza comes from…
Chocolate--strawberry
Rich Shiraz
Chocolate is a tricky beast to match with wine, thanks to the combo of sugary sweetness and the inherent bitterness of cocoa. We’re guessing you don’t want to be drinking buckets of dessert wine, so the next best thing is probably a rich, hedonistic Shiraz
Ice cream (vanilla/caramel)--earth
Chardonnay
This one comes with a bit of a caveat because I once had a bad experience with chocolate ice cream, a bottle of Chardonnay and a young French girl….but that’s another story. If you’re onto the straight up vanilla, or perhaps caramel swirl, there’s nothing like an oaked Chardonnay to pair up with the flavours. The oak is the thing here, because barrels often impart flavours like vanilla/butterscotch/caramel….a perfect match.
Crisps/doritos/pringles--cellar
Rosé
Whichever ad agency invented the tagline ‘once you pop, you cant’t stop’ was a damn genius. Sure, you don’t see Pringles around as much anymore, but I’m pretty sure it’s been scientifically proven that once the packet is opened, there is zero chance of there being any chips left the next day.
Sate your thirst with a dry, tangy rosé to mix with the salty bite of these fiendishly good chips.
Burgers--bugger
Pinot Noir
Whether you’ve gone for the golden arches or Belles Hot Chicken, there’s one grape that’s so versatile that it can confidently flex across all styles of burger – Pinot Noir. Low tannins, silky texture, bright acidity and firm red fruit flavours all combine for a burger-happy glass of delicious.
Check out our burger and wine pairing guide for more delicious matches.
Popcorn (at home)--plum
Off-Dry Riesling
Important to note the at home part here. First of all you’ll probably get told off smuggling a bottle of wine into the cinema, but second of all the popcorn you make at home doesn’t have anywhere near as much butter as the good stuff at the movies. If you do go hard on the butter, perhaps consider a Chardonnay. Otherwise, create junk food heaven with a bottle of off-dry Riesling to balance out the saltiness of the popcorn. Magic.
Fried chicken--cork
Champagne
Not just Champagne with fried chicken, in fact, but Champagne with fried anything. We have a friend in Edinburgh who regularly pops open a bottle of sparkling wine and pairs it with that great Scottish culinary delight, the deep fried battered meat pie, but perhaps that’s taking it a step too far.
Make no mistake, Champagne is a wine which works beautifully with fried chicken and french fries. The bone dryness of a good Champagne, along with that distinctive biscuity flavour, cuts through the grease and salt of fried food magnificently, cleansing the palate and removing any trace of oiliness that might otherwise become too heavy.
It’s best to steer clear of Prosecco and Cava for this combination, though - they tend to be more on the fruity side, when really want you want is that clean, acidic, biting nature that Champagne does very well indeed. Plus, is there anything cooler than cracking open a bottle of bubbly and drinking it alongside a greasy plate of takeaway chicken?
See also: English sparkling wine with fish n chips. Yum.
Salad nicoise--eggplant
Pinot Noir
Red wine with salad? That’s a combination which is going to raise a few eyebrows, for sure. However, both of these red wines are light and juicy enough - with mountains of fruity character - to bring out the best in those tuna flakes, chopped tomatoes and green beans. The vinaigrette dressing’s acidity will actually soften the wine on the palate, making it incredibly smooth and silky, and bringing out the sour hints of dark fruit and cherries that make this pairing a great, if unorthodox, choice.
The full english breakfast--lemon
Bordeaux
The ‘Full English’ is one of those things you hear talked about at length by your mate who went to London for one summer, and couldn’t quite believe what the locals cooked up on a hungover Saturday morning. It’s a culinary tour de force, a national identity on a plate, and something which is actually pretty easy to replicate in your own home. The most common variation on the Full English consists of (deep breath, now): bacon, fried or scrambled eggs, fried bread, baked beans, sausages, mushrooms, a grilled tomato, black pudding (a type of blood sausage) and - if you’re in London - bubble and squeak, which is essentially just fried mashed potato with a few veggies chucked in. Head over to Wales, and you’ll be served fried seaweed and shellfish on the side, in Scotland, potato scones are a key component not to be missed.
Sounds good, right? And you know what makes it even better? A nice glass of Bordeaux to go with it. Now, hear us out - the Full English isn’t the kind of breakfast you’re going to eat in the morning before work. It’s a weekend early-afternoon kind of breakfast, so don’t worry about your friends staging an intervention; this isn’t like pouring a glass of wine to have with your corn flakes at 7 am.
Bordeaux wines - as well as other wines in which Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot make their presence felt - have a depth and roundness to them that work really well with the punch of the bacon, and also with the saltiness and savouriness of the other ingredients. Even if you’re doing a toned down version, just with bacon and eggs (which, let’s face it, is a top meal at any time of day), this combo really can hit the right spot - just don’t tell the French.
Burritos--racy
Grenache
Most people - understandably - turn to tequila and beer when Mexican night rolls around, but a good glass of Grenache is actually a fantastic pairing for pork or beef and rice burritos, minced meat tacos, and a range of other Tex-Mex classics such as chilli con carne, and loaded nachos. Grenache has a great juiciness and roundedness that works with all of those harmonious savoury flavours - rice, meat, beans, cheese, avocado, etc - and ties the whole lot together. It’s an approachable, easy-drinking sort of wine, and one which isn’t going to overwhelm (or be overwhelmed by anything) on the palate.
Sushi--vegan
Sherry
While a couple of decades ago, sushi was almost something of a novelty dish, nobody could deny its world-beating presence as a global favourite today. Here in Australia, we actually have some of the finest sushi to be found anywhere outside of Japan, and there has been much written about pairing wine with this highly distinctive cuisine.
However, most wine pairings when it comes to sushi seem to focus so prominently on the gentler, more delicate aspects of the dish, when in fact sushi’s flavours can actually be pretty robust. Soy sauce, wasabi, ginger, seaweed… nobody would say that these are delicate flavours, and yet they take up a huge amount of palate space in any sushi dish. Also, that mineral tang of raw salmon and tuna deserves a wine to play with, not to pussyfoot around.
Our recommendation? Manzanilla Sherry. Again, it seems kind of weird, but it really does work very well. Good Sherry has layer upon layer of flavour, and loads of floral characteristics which suits Japanese cuisine down to the ground. There’s also a distinct saltiness to Manzanilla too, which works gorgeously with pickled rice and raw fish. Give it a try - you won’t regret it! You might do as we did, and absolutely fall in love with these combinations. On the other hand, they might not quite work for you… but no harm ever came from stepping out of your comfort zone and trying something new, no matter how counter-intuitive it may appear at first. There are tens of thousands of wines out there, each with something to say and something to offer. Keep an open mind, don’t be scared to jump in headfirst, and discover some new perfect pairings for yourself!
About the Author
Banjo Harris Plane is the three-time winner Sommelier of the Year Australia and a certified advanced Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers. He first cut his teeth in the wine industry working as a sommelier in Australia's best restaurants, before starting multiple businesses in the space of a few years... these included two restaurants, a wine import business and co-founding Good Pair Days!