Wine to dine

WALNUT BLOCK NUTCRACKER SINGLE VINEYARD CHARDONNAY, 2015, £16.50 (VINTAGE ROOTS)

Chardonnay is such a versatile grape – grow it in cooler climates and it’ll give you citrus flavours, or put it out in the sun to let it develop tropical fruit character. Clyde and Nigel Sowman grow their organic chardonnay at Marlborough in New Zealand, where it takes on melon and pineapple aromas and flavours. But it’s the brothers’ clever use of oak ageing that I’m interested in here because the vanilla and toast notes from the wood will work really well with the smoked haddock.

GALLICA ALBARIÑO, 2016, £38 (SIDEWAYS)

Few wines pair so perfectly with seafood as those produced using albariño, a white grape with great acidity to match meaty scallops. Albariño is best-known for being grown in Galicia in North-West Spain, but here I’ve opted for an interesting example made by Rosemary Cakebread in California, which is packed with crispness and citrus flavours that will work well with those earthy accompaniments, like cauliflower, peas and smoked bacon.

PREMIÈRES CÔTES DE BORDEAUX, £6.65 (TESCO)

I love panna cotta and the pairing with whisky-poached pears got me really excited. I’m a big fan of serving whisky with dessert – especially if you’re cooking with it – but if you’re hankering after a wine then I’d head for the honeyed sweetness of Bordeaux. I think the subtle apricot, peach and honey flavours of this Premières Côtes de Bordeaux will work nicely with the panna cotta, while still providing the honey and vanilla flavours to match its accompaniments.