Wine with pancakes for Shrove Tuesday

Ooh, yes, which wine with pancakes for Shrove tuesday? That's a toughie! It really depends on the filling...

Lemon and sugar > sweet, sparkling wine, like Asti, or Nyetimber Demi-Sec

Fresh berries > sparkling rose, like Harrow & Hope, or like Premier Estates Grand Rose if you add sugar to the berries

Golden syrup > orange muscat

Chocolate > sweet red wine or Port

Fruit compote > Tokaji

Savoury cheese / ham / spinach > dry white like Soave or Pinot Grigio

Smoked Salmon blinis > Champagne like this Laurent Perrier from Wine Rack

Anyone giving up wine for lent? No, thought not!

To find out more about Princess and the Pinot please visit www.princessandthepinot.com

Pairing wine with fish

I don't eat fish very often, and shellfish never, but I do know that many people love it and I get questions asking for best pairings. So here are my recommendations...



Fancy pants seafood, such as caviar, lobster and oysters, should be served with Champagne, I mean if you're going to indulge lets go the whole hog! Laurent Perrier Le Grand Siecle is something rather spectacular.

It might not be an obvious thought to pair fish and chips with wine, but sparkling wine matches very well. I'd recommend an English brut, such as Camel Valley NV from Cornwall (£26.99 Waitrose). The acidity and the bubbles cut through the batter, balancing the food-wine experience. #bestofbritish

White fish, such as sea bass, turbot, or Dover sole go well with acidic wines, such as pinot grigio or Sauvignon Blanc. Why not try a delicious blend of Pinot Grigio / Sauvignon Blanc by Puklavec & Friends from Slovenia (£8.79 Waitrose).

Smoked fish, such as haddock or mackerel, needs a full-bodied white wine, such as an oaked Chardonnay. Bisque, chowder and crab also work well with this creamy white wine - try Maggio Chardonnay (£13.00 Wine Discovery).

Sardines, mackerel and other oily fish should be partnered with aromatic white wines, such as Viognier. The aromatic aromas will balance out the strength of the fish. Try Organic Viognier by Yalumba (£9.99 Waitrose).

Spiced fish, such as Indian, Chinese or Thai should be balanced with wines that have a slight sweetness to them, such as Gewurtztraminer or an off-dry riesling. Try this Split Rock Riesling from New Zealand (£11.99 Laithwaites).

Shellfish such as clams, mussles or scallops work really well with citrus whites such as Albarino or Verdelho from Spain, Portugal or Australia/New Zealand. I love You And Me Albarino from Rias Baixas in Spain (£11.99 Ocado).

Tuna, Swordfish and other meaty fish can hold their own with a light red wine, such as Beaujolais or Pinot Noir. My favourite is this Fleurie by Georges Duboeuf, the "King" of Beaujolais (£12.99 Majestic).

BBQ'd seafood goes really well with a rose, something quite punchy, like this Oaken Grove Benham Blush rose from England (£11.49 Waitrose). It's full-bodied to hold up against the charcoal, yet dry enough to allow the seafood flavours to shine.

Seafood pasta deserves to stay true to its roots and be partnered with an Italian wine, a sangiovese will balance any tomato sauce, and Grillo will balance a white or herby sauce. Try this Chianti from Tuscany by Poggio Castagno (£10.79 Waitrose) or this Colomba Bianca Vitese from Sicily (£8.99 Wine Discovery).

I have been informed recently that prawns go well with dry fino sherry! Perhaps its that connection to 1970s prawn cocktails that started it, but apparently any prawn will do - langoustine, prawn stirfry, grilled King prawns... all match this Spanish tipple. I won't be giving it a try, but let me know your thoughts if you do.

Enjoy!

To find out more about Princess and the Pinot and our pop-up wine bars please visit www.princessandthepinot.com

Pairing wine with chocolate

Matching wine to chocolate can be tricky, especially if you listen to the text books that state that desserts should only be partnered with wines that are sweeter. And if you're eating cheap greasy chocolate any dry wine will taste horrible with it. Having said that my favourite dessert in a restaurant is a chocolate brownie or chocolate fondant partnered with a fruity dry red wine, like a Zinfandel or Shiraz. So how else can you pair these two gorgeous food groups successfully?

It will be down to the quality of the chocolate, its origin and the cocoa content. I don't know the ins and outs but I do know this is becoming a well-studied area, but there's still not enough information to make any sweeping judgments. To be sure, I'd say stick to sweeter fortified wines like Sherry, Port, Madeira... but why not experiment?

• ThirtyFifty do in-home chocolate and wine pairing evenings with Rococo for £35-40 per head CLICK HERE to find out more.
• Scharffen Berger sell chocolate kits to be paired with wine for you to host a party in your own home, but you'll have to ship it in from the states. To find out more CLICK HERE.
• You could try a chocolate flavoured wine called Rubis. To be honest, I don't like it, but I know many people who would rather drink it to normal wine any day! Find out more HERE.

I have, however, found perfect chocolate to pair with wine, from Brix. This is chocolate that has specifically been made to partner with wine, using high quality ingredients and methods. This is what they offer:

• Extra Dark 70% Cocoa for Cabernet and Bordeaux
• Medium Dark 60% Cocoa for Zinfandel, Merlot, and Shiraz
• Smooth Dark 54% Cocoa for Champagne, Riesling, and Pinot Noir
• Milk Chocolate 46% Cocoa for Dessert Wine and Burgundy

Totally delicious, and I was very surprised especially to find there is a chocolate to partner with Champagne. Come to one of my Pop-Up wine nights in Marlow, England (find out more HERE) and try some!

The message I will leave you with though, if you find a chocolate and wine pairing you enjoy, then do it, don't worry about what anyone else thinks!

To find out more about Princess and the Pinot and our pop-up wine bars please visit www.princessandthepinot.com

Wine for Chinese new year

Happy Chinese New Year! What shall we drink with our Chinese takeaway to celebrate?

It is Chinese New Year on Saturday 28 January, and I imagine many Brits will eat Chinese food for dinner, but which wine should you pair with Chinese food? The answer depends on what you're eating, what wine you like, and how spicy you like your food.

If you like white wine, Gewurtztraminer and Riesling are always a good choice because they have low acidity, and if you're having spicy food you should find something off-dry so your mouth doesn't feel like its on fire. If you're having Chicken Cashew then a Viognier would partner well. Again, a Viognier tends to have low acidity, but the flavour profile (aromatic, stone fruits) will match well with the nuttiness. If you're eating dim sum then go for a Champagne to truly celebrate! For Sweet & Sour dishes go for an off-dry rose, like the Petticoat White Zinfandel (available from Laithwaites £7.99).

I personally love to partner red wine with Chinese food because it increases the intensity of the spiciness, and something like a Merlot, which has lower acidity than many other reds, will feel well-balanced with spicy dishes. If you choose crispy duck then you should go for a Pinot Noir. For Beef in Black Bean you can go bod with a deeper red, like a Cabernet Sauvignon, perhaps a Bordeaux, or if you want to try a Chinese wine go for Moser XV Cab Sav (available at Wine Rack for £10.99).

If you'd like to read my review of Moser XV then CLICK HERE.

To find out more about Princess and the Pinot and our pop-up wine bars please visit www.princessandthepinot.com