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The best wines to drink with salads

STYRIAFirst published in The Irish Times, Saturday 7th July, 2018

As the good weather continues, this week we will look at wines to drink with summer salads. I may have been guilty of blithely suggesting to match a particular wine with salads in general. But what kind of salad? There is a huge difference between a delicate herb-scented dish of courgettes and fennel, and a plate of full-on chili-spiked Mexican beans. And what if you are serving a barbequed steak, lamb skewers or sweet chili chicken drumsticks alongside your salad?

As with most food and wine matching, it makes sense to serve light-bodied wines with delicately flavoured foods and richer wines with more powerful recipes. Sharp acidic salads go best with crisp refreshing white wines. Many books suggest only white wines, but if I often drink a Beaujolais or another light red with whatever is going.

Vinegar is wine that has gone sour, so a dressing made with vinegar doesn’t do any favours to wine. I generally add lemon juice to my vinaigrette instead. The wine of a region often provides a great match for local foods. Provence Rosé with a classic Salade Niçoise works really well, as does Beaujolais with ham and other charcuterie or an Assyrtiko with Greek salad.

Chardonnay

Salmon, with its rich, oily, meaty texture and flavour, needs something more substantial. With salmon tartar, smoked salmon or cold poached salmon with cucumber and salads, I would usually go for a Chardonnay. The de Martino below would be perfect, as would the Begude Chardonnays in O’Briens (€16.95-18.95), a Chablis or the Aldi Limestone Coast Chardonnay (€8.49).

Or why not experiment a little with a Godello from Spain, or a nicely textured Grüner Veltliner from Austria – Grüner being one of the all-time great food wines. If you are barbequing or grilling your salmon, then a rosé or Pinot Noir might be a better bet. Marks & Spencer have the fragrant juicy Albert Bichot Bourgogne Hautes-Côtes de Beaune 2015 for a very reasonable €19.50, or the Couveys below offers good value. All of the above would go nicely with cold chicken-based dishes too, including Caesar salad.

Italian whites

With salads featuring prawns, scallops and crab, go for crisp aromatic whites such as Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling or Albariño. Riesling (and Grüner Veltliner) also goes well with Thai beef salads. Sauvignon Blanc partners nicely with milder goat’s cheese salads. Tomato and red pepper based salads are generally best with crisp whites. I tend to go for Italian whites, such as Soave or Verdicchio.

I suspect that at outdoor get-togethers, most of us probably serve a mix of different salads instead of a single dish. My go-to wines to cover all bases would include a dry Riesling, Grüner Veltliner, Sauvignon Blanc, or an unoaked Chardonnay, but possibly best of all would be a medium-bodied rosé. It is summer after all.

Bottles of the Week

Couveys Pinot Noir Les Petits Greniers 2016, Pays d’Oc 13%, €10.99

Ripe smooth red cherry fruits with an earthy touch and a rounded finish. Good with barbequed salmon or chicken, and mixed salads.
Stockists Spar, Eurospar, Londis & Mace.

Grüner Veltliner Löss 201, Kamptal, Rabl 12%, €14.95 until 15th July (normally €18.95)

A light refreshing Grüner, with lovely elegant peach fruits and a touch of ginger spice. Great with cold seafood dishes, Thai food and summer salads.
Stockists O’Briens. Obrienswine.ie

Legado Chardonnay Reserva 2017, de Martino, Limarí Valley 13.5%,€7

An impressive medium-bodied Chardonnay, with very refreshing clean pear and apple fruits, a vein of crisp acidity and a long dry finish. With salmon, tuna and Cesar Salad.
Stockists The Malt House, Trim; Jus de Vine, Portmarnock, jusdevine.ie; Martin’s Off Licence, Clontarf, martinsofflicence.ie; Molloy’s Liquor Store, molloys.ie; Wineonline.ie

Ch. l’Ou Rosé, 2017, Côtes du Roussillon 13.5%, €20

Medium-bodied with lovely strawberry and raspberry fruits, finishing dry. A great all-rounder to serve with a range of summer salads.
Stockists Whelehan’s Wines, Loughlinstown.

Posted in: Irish Times

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Chill out: Why you should be drinking red wine from the fridge

Are cool reds finally catching on? Wine manager Ian Brosnan recently launched the Ely summer wine list, featuring a Cool Red page for the first time, offering customers the option of drinking these wines lightly chilled, or at room temperature. Drinking low temperature reds makes sense in hot weather but it isn’t just about the sun. We eat more salads, cold meats and seafood in the summer months, and all of these go so much better with a lightly chilled red wine. We tend to drink red wine a little too warm throughout the year (and white wine too cold). The oft-quoted “room temperature” refers to a Victorian room without any central heating, probably about 16-18 degrees. Lighter summery red wines are probably best at 10-15 degrees. An ice bucket is not necessary; an hour in the fridge is about right, remembering that your wine will warm up quickly once poured.

Regular readers will know that I am a huge fan of Beaujolais, a region that has re-emerged in recent years. Beaujolais is the perfect summer wine. Most of the supermarkets seem to have to added a few to their selection, but for real excitement, ask your local off-licence or wine shop for single-estate wines. There are some thrilling wines. My own favourite is Domaine Vissoux (Terroirs, Donnybrook) but there are plenty more around. The best Beaujolais is light and fruity with no drying tannins on the finish. They make brilliant all-purpose food wines, with salmon or tuna, as well as chicken, pork and all sorts of charcuterie and cheese.

The other great summer red is Loire Valley Cabernet Franc; they tend to be a bit more savoury, sometimes with peppery dry tannins, making them brilliant wines to drink with food, but occasionally a little austere on their own. This may explain why they aren’t more popular; given the increasing demand for light, low-alcohol wines, you would expect to find them everywhere, but few of the multiples seem to stock them. Marks & Spencer does have the excellent Plessis-Duval Saumur-Champigny (€15) and O’Briens the soft ripe Saint Nicolas de Bourgeuil (€16.95). Otherwise, check out your local wine shop.

As part of their French wine sale, Lidl has a number of summery wines, including the lightly fruity Beaujolais Domaine de la Presse Fleurie (€10.99) and a very gluggable Bourgogne Pinot Noir 2017 (€9.99). I almost preferred the less expensive, very attractive, juicy Beaujolais 2016 (€13) from Marks & Spencer to its Fleurie (€17), but I would be happy to drink either. Elsewhere, Aldi has an attractive, easy-drinking Beaujolais 2016 for an amazing €7.99, perfect for large summer gatherings.

Beaujolais ‘Les Bécots’ 2017, Thorin

13%, €11.99

Light rounded blackcurrant fruits with a smooth finish. An attractive multi-purpose wine to match with white meats, charcuterie and salmon. Summer parties on the patio.
Stockists: Mace, Spar, Eurospar, Londis

The Flower and the Bee 2016, Ribeiro

13%, €19-€20

From Spain, a very attractive light juicy wine with crisp raspberry and red cherry fruits. Good acidity and very refreshing; this would go nicely with grilled salmon, or mixed tapas.
Stockists: Green Man Wines, Terenure; Kelly’s, Clontarf; Deveney’s, Dundrum; Michael’s, Mount Merrion; Clontarf Wines; 64 Wine, Glasthule

Beaujolais Villages du Grappin 2017

13%, €24.99

Light and juicy with vibrant red cherry fruits. Some savoury refreshing tannins on the finish, making it the ideal partner for roast pork, pâtés and barbecued lamb kebabs.

Stockists: Whelehans Wines, Loughlinstown, whelehanswines.ie; 64 Wine, Glasthule, 64wine.ie; Bradley’s Off-licence, Cork, bradleysofflicence.ie; Alex Findlater, Limerick; alexfindlaterandco.ie; Green Man Wines, Terenure, greenmanwines.ie.

Le Clos des Quarterons Vieilles Vignes 2015, St Nicolas de Bourgeuil

12.5%, €27.95

One of my favourite red wines so far this year; a Loire Cabernet Franc with an irresistible combination of delicate silky yet concentrated red fruits and gently refreshing acidity. Beautifully textured with nicely integrated tannins. Enjoy with pork dishes, a herby roast chicken or a baked ham.

Stockists: Searsons, Monkstown, searsons.com

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