Wine to dine

Drinks writer Peter Ranscombe picks three tipples to go with Richard Leparoux’s recipes

JACKSON ESTATE VINTAGE WIDOW PINOT NOIR 2012, £19.50 (TESCO. COM)

A very classy New Zealand Pinot Noir indeed from the Marlborough region. It has a richer and riper taste than many of its rivals, with plenty of black cherry flavours. The wine has enough tannin to stand up to food like the smoked duck and beetroot salad, but they are well integrated, adding to the full bodied feeling in the mouth. Very moreish. The name comes from the ‘vintage widows’ who are left at home during the grape harvest while their loved ones labour away in the fields to bring in the crop.

SHERWOOD ESTATE STRATUM SAUVIGNON BLANC WAIPARA VALLEY NEW ZEALAND, 2014, £11.99 (VIRGIN WINES)

Staying with New Zealand, this is how the Kiwis’ Sauvignon Blanc used to taste before the world went mad and the market was swamped with paint-stripping asparagus juice. Sauvignon Blanc is a great match with lobster and this wine is restrained so it won’t overpower the tails, with gooseberry and greengage flavours mixing with tastes of white peach and apricot. Rounded, with softer acidity but still ample freshness to match food.

CAIRNGORM BLACK GOLD STOUT (£2.35)

When it comes to food and wine pairing, often the best rule is to keep it simple. So if you’re serving a chocolate Guinness cake with Baileys ice cream then try it with a glass of Irish cream liqueur. If you’re looking for a pairing that will cut through the sweetness then try serving Black Gold, made by the Cairngorm Brewery in Aviemore. It’s a firm favourite when it comes to Scottish stout and a good match between the sweetness and the bitterness.

For the lowdown on wines made by Scots and six of the best new Scottish gins, check out Peter Ranscombe’s blog, The Grape & The Grain, on the Scottish Field website at www.scottishfield.co.uk/ category/grapegrain/