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Monday 1 December 2014

Loire Wines and Christmas Food

Two Bougrier Loire wines from Oddbins matched to food from ¡Que rico! Tapas

Loire wines, being northerly, light and refreshing, are perfect for warmer weather. However, I was challenged to match a couple of bottles from Bougrier to some Christmas food.

Muscadet's classic food match is shellfish and Breton oysters, whilst rosé d'Anjou's sweet red fruits and fresh acidity make it a perfect picnic wine, so this would be no easy task.

Eschewing the soft option of Boxing Day cold cuts and / or a Christmas breakfast of smoked salmon with scrambled eggs, I asked Estefania Led Ramos of Cambridge-based ¡Que rico! Tapas to help me select something suitable.

Estefania set up her at-home catering business a couple of years ago and I was very impressed with her food when we tried a six course tapas meal last December; the two Loire wines here share with sherry (the traditional match for tapas) a fresh acidity, but are lighter-bodied so need slightly less substantial food.

Muscadet Sevre et Maine sur Lie 2013, la Famille Bougrier (£7.50, Oddbins)
 
Lemony and fresh with a bit of mineral thrill and some savoury leesiness, this is a lovely aperitif wine that also matches with the vegetable and seafood-based tapas here.
 
Spanish Omelette

Clams in Green Sauce

Scallops
 
Rosé d’Anjou 2013, la Famille Bougrier (£8, Oddbins)
 
The simple principle here was to match the red-berry flavours of the wine to pink-ish food, hence roasted red bell peppers stuffed with mushrooms and cream followed by duck with pomegranate sauce.
 
Piquillo Peppers
 
Duck in Pomegranate Sauce
 
Christmas is traditionally a time of eating, drinking and socialising. But there's only so many roast dinners that you want to cook for large numbers of guests - far better is to give yourself a break and arrange for Estefania to provide the catering for an evening whilst you catch up with friends.
 
Wines provided for review.
 
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