Food and Wine Pairings for Hampers
A good food and wine pairing is a match made in heaven. You might have heard that red wine pairs well with bold meats and white wine goes better with fresh fish and seafood, but why do those pairings work so well together?
To understand what foods pair well with wines, we’ve got to start with the flavours of the actual wines. Red wines tend to be more bitter, white, rosé and sparkling wines are more acidic, while sweet wines are exactly as you’d guess - they’re sweeter. Next, we’ll need to consider the flavours of the food. There are seven basic tastes you can break each dish down into: salt, sweet, sour, bitter, umami, fat and heat. Most dishes will be made up of a couple of these components. For example, prosciutto is sweet, salty and fatty, while an apple is sweet and sour.
You can create a wine pairing that’s complementary, for example pairing an acidic wine with a fatty dish, or congruent, pairing a creamy wine with a creamy dish. If you’re looking to try your hand at food and wine pairings, our gourmet range of wine hampers is a great place to start. For meal and wine pairings, here are some great combinations to inspire you.
Fine Chablis food pairings
True Chablis, such as that in one of our French wine hamper, is fresh and aromatic, perfect for highlighting the richness of a meal or cutting through the richness of a dish. Scallops, foie gras and strong washed-rind cheeses are all friends with a good glass of Chablis, but it pairs just as well with oysters and cracked crab. Create an international wine pairing with a touch of home and open up a bottle next time you’re eating some English fish and chips - you’ll be pleasantly surprised. The dry, crispness of the wine will cut through the richness of the batter and complement the flavours of the fish and chips, making it a fun pairing.
Foods that pair well with Chardonnay
Chardonnay is one of those popular whites you’ll find on most restaurant and bar menus and makes for some easy food and wine pairings. Generally, Chardonnay is a medium to full-bodied white with a buttery flavour that pairs well with creamy dishes, seafood, chicken and pork. One of our favourite dishes to pair Chardonnay with seafood bisque, however if you’re after a simple snack brie is the ideal cheese to serve with this lovely white. Treat yourself or someone special to a bottle of Australian chardonnay with this personalised wine hamper and try your hand at creating a tasty wine pairing!
Champagne pairings for special occasions
Every exciting occasion calls for a great glass of champagne. As a certain French monk once supposedly said in 1963, champagne is like drinking the stars, and we can’t help but agree. Typically, you’ll find champagne served alongside raw seafood and caviar, but it also pairs well with steak and white truffle. If you’re looking for a more casual feast alongside your champagne, fried chicken is a surprising match made in heaven. The acidity of the champagne will cut through the oiliness of the chicken, while the crunch will match the bubbles in texture. Get a head start on the celebrations with one of our wine and food hampers featuring champagne, like the decadent Sweet and Savoury Large Gift Hamper.
Bubbly Prosecco wine pairings
Looking to put together a sparkling spread to compliment a bottle of prosecco? You’ll want some drier styles of meat on your board, like parma ham or prosciutto. Smoked salmon pairs well with prosecco, and for cheese, you’ll want to focus on lighter styles like gorgonzola, goat, mozzarella and parmesan. Top it all off with a sprinkling of cashews, almonds and macadamias and you’ve got a divine spread to compliment a bottle of prosecco! As for main dishes, like champagne prosecco pairs well with fine foods like oysters, sashimi and truffle, but is also divine with a good Caprese or niçoise salad.
Sunny food and Rosé pairings
In the warmer months we know there’s nothing like a crisp glass of rosé in the sunshine. Whether you’re sunning yourself in the Côte d’Azur or relaxing in a friend’s backyard in London, we’ve got a few tasty food and wine pairings for you to wow your tastebuds with. A flaky grilled salmon is always going to make a divine pairing with rosé, as is chicken and duck. For any plant-based eaters, some rainbow veggie skewers grilled on the barbecue will work perfectly with the delicate aromatics of this wine. And for your antipasto boards, all manners of charcuterie and soft cheeses will be sure to wow your guests.
Classy partners for Rioja
Bottles from our Old world wine hampers always pair well with old world dishes, and this is no exception with the much-loved Rioja. One of the UK’s favourite wines, it’s an easy-drinking drop with fruity flavours and a memorable finish. Being a Spanish wine Rioja easily pairs with traditional, well-spiced dishes like paella and fabada asturiana, as well as any lamb dish, meaty hotpots and pies and hard cheeses like Manchego. Although it’s a red wine, Rioja is relatively light, meaning it’s a pretty safe choice when it comes to wine pairings and is great for tapas and cheese boards as it complements a wide variety of flavours.
Perfect matches for Cabernet Sauvignon
A big and bold wine, cabernet sauvignon is best served with dishes equally as big and bold, otherwise you run the risk of overpowering the flavour of the food. That doesn’t mean you can only pair a good cabernet with red meat - although it goes without saying that steak and lamb make the perfect companion to a glass of cabernet. Meaty portobello mushrooms are always a winner, and hard cheeses like cheddar, gorgonzola and gouda are great friends with cabernet. Many of our cheese hampers come with a great selection of hard British cheeses, perfect for treating a red wine-loving friend (or even yourself!).
Whatever bottle of wine you’re about to crack open, make the most of it by pairing it with some complementary food that will really bring the palette of the wine to life.
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